The Board of Trustees is the governing body for the UUCP. Board meetings are open to all, however, due to concerns of privacy, during executive sessions, if sensitive topics are discussed, guests may be asked to leave. Contact Us or any member of the board if interested.
UUCP Board of Trustees
Arlene Holpp-Scala, Co-President
Arlene Holpp Scala has been a member of UUCP since 2005. She was formerly a Board Trustee, Chair of the Program Team, a member of the Growth Team, and she is the Shop Rite card “Lady “ who sells Shop Rite gift cards for the congregation.
Arlene is a Professor and Chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at William Paterson University. She earned her doctorate at Columbia University. She teaches many Women’s and Gender Studies courses including “Sex Equity in Education”; “Women, Sport and Culture;” “Contemporary Feminist Issues”; “Capstone,” the senior Feminar; “Lesbian Issues”; and “Racism and Sexism in the U.S.” and she is currently conducting interviews for a book on the Butch/Femme Society of New York City, 1989-Present.
She has lived Englewood since 1997 with her Civil Union partner Donna Ezrol and numerous cats. Arlene and Donna have six adult children and two beautiful grandchildren, Emily Rose and Juliana.
Deborah Singer Pires, Co-President
Deborah is an Associate Professor Emeritus, of English as a Second Language, Union County College. She is also a writer, actress, singer, painter, mother, and grandmother. Her education includes an M.A. from NYU and a B.A. from Queens College of CUNY.
She joined UUCP in 1998. Deborah was formerly Board of Trustees, Trustee; Program Team Chair; Committee on Ministry, Chair; and member of the Growth Team, choir, R.E. Team, Membership Team, Racial & Social Justice Team, ad hoc committee to develop Small Group Ministries, Small Group Ministry. In addition, she was the Entertainment Coordinator for several canvas dinners. Attended G.A. Boston, Metro District, ARC meetings, District meetings at Shelter Rock, as well as attending all UU FaithAction NJ Issues Conferences.
Sydelle has been a member of UUCP for more than fifteen years. While her initial goal was to find a meaningful spiritual experience for her family, she has remained a member because she has found a community of caring, committed and exceptional people. She has served on the Committee on Ministry, the Religious Education Team, and the Finance and Fundraising Team.
Sydelle was raised in an extended, working class family of mostly secular Jews in the Western Queens neighborhood of Astoria, which, at that time was composed of Jews, Italians, Germans, Greeks and Eastern Europeans, many of whom were first generation immigrants. Through her relationships with several older cousins she was introduced to the world outside their neighborhood. She began to explore and experience the greatness of New York City. Through her cousins she also became more aware of the inequities of our society and travelled with them, by bus, to the now famous March on Washington in August 1963. In college and beyond she devoted time to progressive political causes and women’s rights.
For the past thirty years Sydelle has worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at several agencies serving people who are blind or visually impaired. Many of her clients have, themselves, faced immense injustice in their lives and she has learned a great deal from them about determination, patience and advocating for ones’ rights.
She is now seriously contemplating retiring from her current position and has begun to plan this next phase of her life. She is looking forward to travelling more (her favorite travelling companion right now is her 24 year old daughter, Hannah). She also wants to continue learning and taking classes (dance, drumming, maybe even cooking) and determining new ways in which she can be of service to her community and the larger world.
She studied math at Boston University and moved to Englewood in 1974 with her husband where they raised their daughter. Her daughter lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and daughter.Donna has worked for 45 years as a computer programmer and earned a Masters degree in Statistics from Columbia University. She is currently working at Columbia University as a data analyst in Cancer Research.In addition to numbers, she loves sewing, quilting, walking/hiking and gardening.
And best of all is spending time with her 11 year old granddaughter.She was introduced to UUCP in 2004 and became a member shortly after.
She served on the Membership Team and the Board of Trustees before accepting the position of treasurer.
