Who We Are
Board of Trustees
Rev. Jean-Marie Schweizer, MDiv, LUT
President of the Board
president@unitysouthcentral.org
Rev. Jean-Marie Schweizer is a licensed and ordained Unity minister and serves as the senior minister of Unity Fort Worth in Fort Worth, TX. Before his ordination in 2018, he served as a Licensed Unity Teacher (LUT) in various capacities in Unity ministries in and around Houston, TX, while leading Unity Lake Houston in Kingwood, TX, as their spiritual leader for five years. Jean-Marie has a strong background in both the business and spiritual world. He served on the USCR board since 2018, first in the vice-president role and now as the president of the board.
Rev. Gordon Keyler
Vice President & YFM Representative
vicepresident@unitysouthcentral.org
yfmrepresentative@unitysouthcentral.org
Originally from Elk Grove Village, IL, Gordon moved to Albuquerque, NM, in 1979 where he began his journey in Unity. He has been a Truth student since. Between 1980 and 1997, he served in just about every volunteer capacity there is in a Unity Spiritual Center, including 20 year as a YOU Sponsor for which he received UWM's Distinguished Service to Youth Award. In 1996 Gordon co-founded the East Mountain Unity Center in Edgewood NM and served as the Spiritual leader until 2009. He served as the Spiritual Leader of Unity of Joplin MO. until he was ordained in 2020 and then served as the minister until June of 2021. Rev. Gordon is currently the minister in his home church at Unity Spiritual Center Albuquerque.
Rev. Tomás de León
Treasurer
treasurer@unitysouthcentral.org
Tomás de León is a Licensed Unity Teacher and an ordained Unity Minister. Born in Donna, TX. He has been married for 41 years to Rosemary, and they have two grown children, Marcos (35) and Marisa (28). He served as Spiritual Leader of Unity Spiritual Center Rio Grande Valley, TX, from 2014-2021 . He is currently the Minister at Unity of Georgetown, TX.
Tomás is an Honorably Discharged U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran. He is a lifelong musician (drummer and vocalist).
Rev. Kirti Cesaratto
Secretary
secretary@unitysouthcentral.org
Rev. Kirti Cesaratto, ordained in 2020, is currently serving as a Staff Minister at Unity of Houston and an Adjunct Minister at Unity Bay Area Houston, Rev. Kirti's commitment extends to several Unity congregations, including, Unity of Brazosport, and Unity of Portland.
She is very active in Unity Urban Ministerial School as an instructor and member of the curriculum team. She also plays pivotal role as the co-chair of the UUMS Prison Ministry Curriculum. The team is developing the Prison Ministry certification program for upcoming ministers. Her leadership extends to heading both the Unity of Houston Prison Ministry team and the Spiritual Business Connections Group. She is presently forming the Expansion Ministry, Unity Divine Expressions, for recently incarcerated citizens.
Rev. Karen Saunders
Regional Representative
regionalrepresentative@unitysouthcentral.org
Rev. Karen Saunders is an ordained Unity Minister. She follows as a legacy with her mother, Rev. Helen D. Saunders, who graduated from the first class of Unity Urban Ministerial School, and Karen graduated from the first online class of the Urban School 30 years later. Karen currently is the Senior Minister at Christ-Love Unity Church in Omaha, Nebraska, founded by her mother. In addition, she is the Registrar and Adjunct Professor for the Unity Urban Ministerial School.
She has worked in non-profit management for over 35 years, during which she held positions as Executive Director, Project Manager, and Volunteer Manager. Karen holds a BA in Urban and Metropolitan Studies from Michigan State University. She is an accomplished speaker, trainer, and community advocate. Karen has studied New Thought all her life, joining Unity in 1994.
Linda Gillispie
LUT Representative
lutrepresentative@unitysouthcentral.org
Linda Gillispie received her credentials in 2004 as a Licensed Unity Teacher. At that time, she was serving the ministry at Unity of Austin. In 2009, Linda moved to Unity of New Braunfels and served that ministry as LUT, assistant minister, and bookstore manager. She recently served on the Application Review Team, which was the first step in the selection process for the executive director.
Get in touch.
You can write to us individually at the emails above, or send a message to the group using board@unitysouthcentral.org. Otherwise, feel free to send us a note using this form.
Staff
Lane Smith
Administrator
Lane Smith has attended Unity Fort Worth, TX, since 2017 and now serves the community as Office Manager, as well as volunteering with the tech, music, and community engagement teams. She has served as Administrator for Unity South Central Region since 2021.
With a background in and heart for engineering, Lane has a passion for experimenting with and leveraging technology to develop systems which simplify, organize, and communicate more efficiently and effectively, and enjoys using her knowledge and experience to support the organizations she serves.
Rebecca Jeter
Outreach Ambassador
outreach@unitysouthcentral.org
Rebecca Jeter has been attending Unity since 2017. As a congregant of Unity Fort Worth (UFW), she was fascinated with Unity’s approach to spirituality from the very beginning and got involved right away. Rebecca is an avid Unity student, working through the SEE program with interest in pursuing the Licensed Unity Teacher path. She also co-leads the Sunday Meditation group, has offered weekly meditations throughout the lock-down time, has hosted healing circles, serves as a platform chair, and is now the leader of Unity Friends, UFW’s team that provides pastoral care and prayer support for their community.
Janette Jordan
YFM Consultant
yfmconsultant@unitysouthcentral.org
Janette Jordan is a Certified Spiritual Educator (CSE) and has been the YFM Director of Unity Fort Worth since 2022. Prior to this, she served as the YFM Director at Unity of Arlington from 2015 to 2022. She was a part of the writing team for the Virtual Curriculum Project. Janette has been a part of the Unity movement since 2012.
Janette holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Social Work from the University of South Florida. As a social worker, she worked in community mental health, employee assistance programs, and private practice. She has extensive experience working with children, families, and adults. Janette has acquired her knowledge of education from working in various settings.
Julie Core
YOU Consultant
youconsultant@unitysouthcentral.org
Julie has been attending Unity since 1986. She has served as a YOU sponsor for 21 years and is a recipient of Unity Worldwide Ministry’s Distinguished Youth Services Award. Her experience as a sponsor includes working closely with YOUers in planning and organizing many YOU retreats. She encourages and supports the teens in developing their leadership skills and creating youth-led events. Julie has served as a Head Sponsor at more than 25 international, regional, and sub-regional YOU events, rallies, and retreats. She also serves as the IYOU Event Agent for Unity Worldwide Ministries.
Rev. Scott Schell
Accountant
accounting@unitysouthcentral.org
Rev. Scott Schell is the minister of Unity Columbine Spiritual Center in Boulder, CO. Scott was ordained in 1994 but his history with Unity began in 1968 when his family started attending Unity of Des Moines. Scott is a CPA and has worked in both accounting and management positions. Scott has been involved with the finances of our region for over 20 years, serving first as treasurer and now as accountant.
