Rev. Nic Filzen has been in fellowship as a UU Minister since 2020 and was ordained in March 2021 by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Saint Petersburg and the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara. Before moving to Georgia to serve here at the UU Church of Augusta, he and his family were living in Santa Barbara, CA. 

While in SB, he worked on many social justice issues with interfaith groups such as CLUE, SB ACT, and Interfaith Sanctuary Alliance; and was a frequent guest speaker at neighboring UU congregations, like the Universalist Unitarian Church of Santa Paula, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kern County, and Live Oak UU of Goleta. 

Though he has always had a deep curiosity and passion about the complexities of theology, spirituality, and life together in this universe, most of Nic's story has revolved around music. A career that included singing professionally with organizations like the John Alexander Singers, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the LA Philharmonic. He grew up Missouri Synod Lutheran, but Unitarian Universalism found him when he was hired as a church musician at the UU Congregation of Shelter Rock in 2007.



Desria Seay is a native Tennesseean who has worked with children and families for roughly twenty years. Her childcare background began early as a childcare worker at her aunt’s child care center at the age of 16 and mother’s helper to area families. Her experience entails substitute teaching, pre-kindergarten teacher, parent’s group director, and homeschooling cooperative director. 

Her most recent experience includes Family Programs Coordinator and Business Office Manager at the Steiner Branch Family YMCA in Grovetown, GA.

Desria’s interests include nature walks, reading historical fiction, listening to podcasts, and trivia games. 

Hi! I'm Branda Hicar but my family and friends call me Brandy. I grew up in Augusta in the 80's and 90's, but after college, I moved to Sarasota, Florida to manage the closing department for a mortgage company. I worked there for nearly 15 years until the owner retired.  I took some time off so my husband, Nick, and I could start a family. During this time, my friend approached me with an offer – she and her husband were opening a restaurant and wanted to include me as a partner. Other than a short stent as a host in high school, I had not worked in the restaurant industry. So, this was a big change for me. We opened our doors for business in March of 2012 and we met some of the most wonderful people who became family to us. 

In June of the same year, Nick and I found out I was pregnant. Life was really good! My family was growing and our business, built and maintained on love, was successful. After 5 years of learning the business, loving the business, and becoming a staple in our small community, my family and I decided to return to Augusta when my father died. This allowed us to be closer to my aging mother and my husband's parents (who live in North Carolina). We’ve been here ever since. Nick works in Aiken, and our daughter, Faith, attends Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School. Some of our favorite things to do are road trips, hiking, camping, shopping, and gardening. We have 2 crazy dogs, a 60 lb Carolina Dog and a 5lb Maltipoo, a Crested Gecko, and a bunch of fish. 

I've been a stay-at-home mom since we returned from Florida. Now that Faith is older, I'm ready to step out and take on a new role. I'm really looking forward to getting to know more people in this community.

A Georgia native, Josef Patchen began work writing and arranging popular music while studying piano with Robert Spillman at Eastman School of Music (one of the premiere music conservatories in the world). Returning to Georgia, he worked as house arranger at Studio South in Augusta for years and worked on a wide variety of music projects and styles while there. In 1991 he began scoring original videos for large corporate clients through Edge Media in Aiken, South Carolina. His work has won regional and national awards. You can hear many of his original compositions and arrangements on his Soundcloud page. Throughout his career as a composer, he has continued to perform regularly and is one of the finest pianists in the CSRA. 

Hi! My name is Farren Smith. You can call me “ Fern” for short . I am a native of Rochester, New York but have in the Augusta area for over 20 years . I am a proud graduate of Valdosta State University and currently work with the Richmond County School System as a Preschool Speech language Pathologist. In my spare time I enjoy thrifting, crafting , and hiking, and singing to my hairless Guinea pigs : Ida and Inez.

Victoria (preferred name Vic, they/she) is a local teacher and activist passionate about working for justice and equity in the South. A Florida native now living in South Carolina, they earned a B.S in Middle Level Education from Augusta University in 2020 and have been teaching 6th–8th grade students virtually since then. In addition to volunteering with youth at UU Augusta, Vic also serves as a Guardian ad Litem in Aiken County and as a member-at-large of PFLAG Aiken. Vic also previously volunteered with The Trevor Project and led a school GSA (Gender-Sexuality Alliance) for three years. They will be serving as an OWL facilitator as well. In their free time, Vic enjoys reading, writing cards to loved ones, and spending time with their dogs, King and Sriracha.