Benette Sherman started in her position as Director of Lifespan Religious Education on July 1, 2011 after serving as a two-year Interim DRE in Los Alamos, NM. Prior to that she was the Program Consultant for the Northern New England District consulting with UU congregations on a variety of topics. She grew up in Oklahoma as a Southern Baptist; went to college in Maryland as an agnostic; found inspiration, guidance and joy practicing the teachings of Vedanta (subsequently founding a yoga ashram in rural WI); and discovered UUism in Indiana after the births of two sons.

While on this spiritual journey, she received a BS in journalism from University of Maryland and worked as a newspaper reporter for about four months. She worked as a special education teacher for five years, has worked as a teacher for Head Start, worked as a psychiatric tech in a residential unit with troubled teens in Oklahoma, and eventually completed a RN program in Iowa. While working as a psychiatric nurse she continued to volunteer at her UU congregation as the Coming of Age coordinator, RE teacher, and in other roles. This immersion into the RE program became a distinct calling and acting on that calling led to her accepting her first DRE position in Ames, IA where she served for 10 years. During those years she also completed work to become a credentialed religious educator. She has served on the RE Crendentialing Committee of the UUA twice as well as providing workshops at General Assemblies, regional gatherings, or district gatherings on Contemplative Youth Ministry, Multigenerational Programs, and RE in small churches.  

Benette likes to garden (and was a master gardener in Iowa), hike, mentor other religious educators, read all kinds of books, dance with international folk dancers and contra dancers, play the recorder, visit family and friends, travel, create special RE programs, chant, and meditate.