User:Kevin jagoe

Professionally, I am in the midst of a career shift. I am moving from almost a decade of marketing/communications work with nonprofit organizations to become a facilitator of intentional communities for Unitarian Universalists and humanists, nontheists, atheists, and other nonbelievers.

My hope is that some of this work is done in what we think of as religious communities and some of this work is done in other contexts (colleges, coffee shops, bars, interfaith meetings, and more).

I am lucky to work with two organizations promoting humanism in the world. The first is The Humanist Institute where I am the director of marketing and development. This work brings me all over the country meeting potential students, leaders in the movement, and developing coursework that is accessible to people all over the world.

My other position is with First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, which has been explicitly humanist since the early 1900s when John Dietrich helped coin the term “religious humanism.” At the Society I am the youth and media director; my youth work includes coordinating our Religious Explorers program for grades eight through twelve and facilitating our Senior High Group. The media work I do includes social media, brand identity, and outreach to the community as well as traditional media.

In 2007 I graduated from Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN, with a BA in anthropology, criminal justice, and forensic sciences as well as minors in psychology and biology. Many times I am asked what I learned through this broad array of liberal arts coursework. I would say I began to learn about human beings and what makes us tick: from the cellular to the societal. I was able to appreciate the ways we function and dysfunction biologically, socially, and psychologically as well as the ways we work well together and hurt each other in groups, families, and in our broader society.

My graduate work is ongoing. In 2013 I graduated from Class 17 of The Humanist Institute with a certificate in Humanist Studies and Leadership, this graduate program brought me more formally into the humanist movement at a national level. Next spring I will graduate from Hamline’s School of Business with a master’s degree in nonprofit management.

I am also a member of the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis and identify as a Unitarian-Universalist Humanist theologically as well as an Atheist (yes, one can combine these without any internal contradictions).

I currently volunteer as the LGBTQ Humanist Council Coordinator for the American Humanist Association.