A Unitarian Universalist parish minister for nearly two decades, Fred is also a singer-songwriter and environmental lawyer. In 2015 he left parish ministry to devote his energies to organizing for environmental, racial, and social justice.
Pete Seeger called Fred “one of America’s best songwriters.” In 2023, Nosy Crow published a children’s picture book adaptation of Fred’s iconic lullaby of inclusion and unconditional love, “Everything Possible.” Kirkus Reviews calls the book “a touching celebration of love and individuality.” Waterstones named it one of the Best Books of 2023.
Fred has studied with some of the wisest spiritual teachers of our time, including Thich Nhat Hanh, Eknath Easwaran, Joanna Macy, John Philip Newell, Tara Brach, and Kaira Jewel Lingo. In 2018, Fred earned his Certificate in Spiritual Guidance from the Rowe Center. A member of Spiritual Directors International, he leads workshops on spiritual support for climate engagement and offers one-on-one counseling, especially for climate anxiety and ecological grief.
Educated at Yale (BA 1974) and the University of Michigan (JD and MS in Natural Resources 1978), Fred served as a staff attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation. In 1980, Fred left CLF to tour internationally as a folksinger and songwriter, releasing seven albums over two decades on the Rounder, Flying Fish, and Aquifer labels. Pete Seeger called him “one of America’s best songwriters.”
In 1996, Fred entered Harvard Divinity School, where he designed the Green Sanctuary program adopted by the Unitarian Universalist Association and implemented in over 250 congregations. Awarded his M.Div. degree in 1999, Fred was ordained a Unitarian Universalist minister by First Church Unitarian in Littleton, Massachusetts. After nine years in Littleton, in 2008 Fred was called by First Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts.