Board of Trustees
You can contact our board by emailing boardoftrustees@unityofgaithersburg.org.
Monthly board meetings are open to congregants.
Contact the office at admin@unityofgaithersburg.org for more information.
Rev Edith Washington-Woods
Senior Minister
minister@unityofgaithersburg.org
Reverend Edith Washington-Woods is an ordained Unity minister with a Master of Divinity degree. She is also a Licensed Unity Teacher specializing in Adult Education. She is an empowering, motivational and inspirational speaker who loves teaching Unity Truth Principles and drawing from a variety of Spiritual practices. She invites people to use them to transform and live their best lives. With over 30 years of recovery from opiates and alcohol, Rev Edith understands that in order to invite others to do their work, she continues to work on herself. Rev. Edith is passionate about being of service to others in heart-centered ways. The highlight of her work is with interfaith, marginalized people, those in recovery and LGBTQ+ communities. Her strength is in being down-to-earth, open-hearted, open-minded, and someone who loves to shake her butt! She is grateful to her amazing congregation for their compassion, empathy and understanding when the balance between caring for self/family and congregational needs tips to care of self and family, leading to times when the needs of someone in the congregation are not fully met.
Pamela Mills
President
Pamela Mills has participated in the Unity of Gaithersburg community for 11 years. In addition to her service as President of The Board of Trustees, her current service is with Prayer teams and as a Platform hostess. Throughout her time with Unity of Gaithersburg, Pamela has volunteered with a large variety of teams and programs. With over 30 years as A Course in Miracles practitioner, she sees all service as Self-service, aligning with its guidance that “He who sent me will direct me.”
Pamela holds two master’s degrees: an MS in Counseling Education and an MA in the Management of Aging Services. Professionally, Pamela Mills is the Associate Director of Care Management for Corewood Care, an aging life care management and home care agency in Bethesda, MD. Her over 25 years of professional experience has included work as a corporate executive, Memory Care Director, adult day program entrepreneur, business owner, and clinical educator. She has written a curriculum for person-centered approaches to supporting people living with Alzheimer's disease or related neurocognitive decline.
Pamela is the author of the book Simply Being: One Year with Spirit and is a columnist for the internationally published A Course in Miracles magazine, The Atonist. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, baking her blue ribbon awarded chocolate cookies, kayaking, and caring for her household of animal companions including backyard chickens and ducks.
Gloria Haws
Vice President
Gloria discovered this spiritual community in 2019. Since then, she has volunteered where needed and is a frequent participant in classes and book studies. Currently, she’s serving on the prayer team, greeter/usher team and the counting team. Gloria holds a bachelor’s degree in history from The Catholic University of America, magna cum laude, and an MBA, with honors, from the Jack Welch Management Institute, Strayer University. She was previously on the board of a local non-profit focused on improving adult English literacy in Montgomery County, MD. Professionally, Gloria has worked in operations in government contracting and other professional services firms for 30+ years.
Kevin Flatt
Treasurer
treasurer@unityofgaithersburg.org
Kevin has been a member of Unity of Gaithersburg for over 25 years. Over the years, He and his wife Edie Crane have been active members. His areas of service include youth education, small group leadership, usher greeter team, tool belt ministry and AV team. Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is retired after 35 years working in construction and engineering for Verizon.
John Robbins
Secretary
John was born in Arlington Virginia in 1954. His family moved many times in his first 12 years, eventually settling in LaGrange Illinois where John went to Jr. high school and High School. After high school, John went to three different colleges: Earlham College (a Quaker school); the Drama Division of the Juilliard School studying acting; then two years at Columbia University in NYC. John then left school without a degree to pursue a music career.
John was the lead singer and played one or more of guitar, keyboard and/or bass guitar with various rock bands and jazz bands for about 8 years from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s. John quit the music business and returned to school in 1983 studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Maryland in College Park. Upon graduation, John passed the Patent Bar and has worked as a Patent Agent in various law firms in the US and Japan.
In 1985, while at UMCP, John and wife Jill discovered Unity of Gaithersburg.
In 1989, John, Jill and two small children spent a year in Japan. They all returned to Japan in 1994 and lived there for another six years.
In 2000, the family moved to Vacaville, California and were active in Unity of the Valley in Vacaville. Vic Jenkins was the minister at that time. At Unity of the Valley, John became active in the music ministry, performing for the first time in over 15 years. In 2004, John and Jill returned to Maryland and soon after re-joined Unity of Gaithersburg.
John retired in October, 2024.
Sarah Collins
At-Large
Sarah Collins is a newer member of Unity of Gaithersburg. She is a local to Maryland, having been born and raised in Rockville. She holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology and is passionate about understanding and helping others. At Unity she attends weekly service, assists with Youth & Family Ministry and is also a member of the choir. In her free time she loves hiking, cooking, exercise and working with herbs in the garden.
Bill Sunderman
At-Large
Bill Sunderman is a long time Unity of Gaithersburg member. Prior to coming to Unity he participated in the Methodist church. He is a Licensed Unity Teacher and has given the talk at services when called upon. He has taught Spiritual Education and Enrichment classes. For a time he held a meditation service which was offered in the morning before the celebration service. Bill frequently contributes goodies to the hospitality table. The many ways he has contributed throughout the life of UoG are really too many to count.
Autumn Williams
At-Large
Autumn discovered Unity of Gaithersburg in 2023 and instantly felt at home. Since joining, she has become a member of the board of trustees and is highly involved in the communications team. With a background in graphic design, she contributed to the recent redesign of the church's website.
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As a child, Autumn was a dedicated Girl Scout for over a decade, earning numerous awards, including the Silver Award for her community service. She also participated in a dual enrollment program, completing her associate's degree while still in high school. After graduating, Autumn pursued her passion for art, earning a degree in graphic design. Today, she works in Potomac, Maryland, creating training videos on ethics.
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Outside of work, Autumn enjoys watching documentaries about nature, aliens, and the wonders of space. She also loves spending time outdoors, laughing, and playing with her dog and friends.