Spotlight on our Speakers

Our contracted Minister, Rev. Diane Diachishin graduated and was ordained by All Faiths Seminary in NYC in 2022. She taught music for 30+ years in private and public-school systems. She has been an active member of the UUCRT for 25 years, wearing many hats. Diane has been Chair of Pastoral Care, served as VP and Secretary to the Board, and Chair of Sunday Service Ministry.

She facilitated the study and practice of Compassionate Communication for several years and currently facilitates the monthly Soul Matters group. Diane considers herself a life-long Unitarian. From the age of four, summer vacations were spent with her family and her Star Island community, at an ongoing retreat for UU’s of all ages, which still continues to be a source of renewal and inspiration for her. Diane is passionate about her family, playing music, hiking, and travel.

The Rev. Jen Youngsun Ryu (she/her) serves the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene, arriving in 2021 while the building was still closed and the congregation was finding its way back to one another. Born in Seoul and raised in Ohio, she found Unitarian Universalism as a young adult in Baltimore and was drawn to a faith that honors both the tough mind and the tender heart. She entered seminary in 2002, then spent nearly a decade in parish ministry with the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists. Her vocational path later led her into healthcare chaplaincy, where she specialized in oncology care and earned board certification. Working as a staff chaplain in Charleston deepened her pastoral skills and broadened her interest in spiritual care research. In the wake of the pandemic, Rev. Ryu felt called back to the parish and to the rhythms of a multigenerational community.

Rev. Dr. L’Anni Hill is a transplant into the Presbyterian Church USA from the Reformed Church in America, in which she was one of the first women ordained about 45 years ago, amidst great controversy. While awaiting that decision, she earned a degree in Social Work from Rutgers (same as UU friend, Marcia Westra). Raised in the Philippines with medical missionary parents, L’Anni had no TV but amused herself with her 4 brothers, 3 pet monkeys, a shelf of World Book Encyclopedias and the many guests visiting their home. Hospitality is part of her spiritual DNA. L’Anni has served churches in Egypt, NJ, NY, as well as Puerto Rico and the Hague, Netherlands. She is currently licensed as a trauma therapist in Atlanta and began opening her home to asylum seekers during the pandemic. When ICE made a raid on her home in 2025, removing one of her Latino friends, she became even more committed to detention ministry and immigration justice. L’Anni enjoys having her adult children and granddaughters living nearby in the Atlanta area, along with her rescue- pup and a couple of very grand-cats.

Sterling Cruz-Herr (they/them) is a Board Trustee for the UU Catskills Congregation and is also the founder of T4Timbers, which features hand-crafted, affirming LGBTQ+ goods. They have served on the LGBT Advisory Panel at Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, Horizon’s Community Services, and the NYC Women’s Suffrage Centennial, and founded dapperQ. They are also a member of the grassroots organization RiseUp Kingston, a BIPOC-led organization dedicated to dismantling systems of racism and oppression.