Jennifer Brown, Senior Pastor 

Jennifer Brown was ordained to the ministry by First Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and received her Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, in 2017. Her ordination is recognized by the American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountain Region (ABCRM) and by the International Council of Community Churches (ICCC). Previously she served as an Associate Pastor at Community Church at Tellico Village in Loudon, TN and prior to that she was the Pastoral Resident at First Baptist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She also served as a women’s prison chaplain in Raleigh, NC. Pastor Jennifer is a deep believer in the power of the local church and UBC’s commitment to welcoming everyone. She knows good questions make great faith. She’d love to meet you over coffee, food of any kind, or walk around USM with you! To contact her please send her an email or call the church office at 601-264-6908. Outside of church you can find Jennifer reading (seriously a lot), listening to podcasts (Spotify wrapped documented nearly 12,000 minutes this past year), or just hanging out with her husband John-Mark and their ridiculously cute goldendoodle Linus.

 

Dr. Ian Cicco, Director of Music

Dr. Ian Cicco completed his PhD in music education (specialization in elementary/choral) with a minor in voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He teaches at The University of Southern Mississippi as Assistant Professor of Music Education and previously taught at the University of North Texas as a Visiting Lecturer of Music Education. Ian taught in P-12 schools in Southwest Florida with an emphasis in elementary general music and high school choral music. During his time in Florida and Indiana, Ian served as a section leader for several churches and most recently served as a youth band/choir director. An active presenter, Ian has presented research and practitioner sessions at state, national, and international conferences. His research has been published in the Journal of Historical Research in Music EducationVisions of Research in Music Education, and The Orff Echo. He currently serves on the The Orff Echo editorial board. Click HERE to contact Ian.

 

 

Xin Zhang, Church Secretary/ Financial Administrator

Xin is so excited to join the staff and has joined UBC as a member since 2018. She has been playing the piano since her childhood. Xin earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia, a Master of Music from Southeastern Louisiana University, and an Artist Diploma from Texas Christian University. Xin had studied business courses at the College of Business and Economic Development in the University of Southern Mississippi from 2018 to 2019. She has worked as piano accompanist and adjunct faculty at USM and behavior specialist assistant at Lamar County School District in Mississippi. Xin enjoys watching TV shows, learning new things, and spending time with her family and their cat Upa. Click HERE to contact Xin.         

                                         

 

Willie Holloway, Custodian

Willie has been our custodian since June 2014, having come to us following his retirement from the City of Hattiesburg Sanitation Department after a 28-plus-year career. He is a lifelong resident of the Hub City, with numerous family members and friends in the area. Willie is a member of the True Light Baptist Church in downtown Hattiesburg.

 

 

 

Idella McSwain, Childcare Provider

Idella, a daughter, sister, a friend, and mother, has worked with our children since 2006. She loves all the roles God has bestowed upon her which have allowed her to learn and grow through love and respect. The youngest of Rev. George and Bessie L. McSwain’s fourteen children, Idella lost her mother at a young age. She was the first of her siblings to attend college and since her time in school all McSwain children have been bound for higher education. Her philosophy is: The world is a school, the people whom we encounter are our teachers, and the lessons we learn from them are important and begin with God.

 

 

 

Olivia Carter, Childcare Provider

In addition to serving our children at UBC, Olivia Carter is an Assistant Teacher at the USM’s Center for Child Development where she has worked for the last 5 years. Olivia holds two degrees in Child and Family Studies and Child Development. She has spent the last 9 years working and volunteering with children ages birth to 6 years and hopes to continue to expand her experience. Olivia is currently working to complete her Master’s in Counseling Psychology at the University of West Alabama. She enjoys working with children of all ages and hopes to soon make a shift from teaching to child & family counseling.