Rev. Douglas Wilson
Executive Director

Douglas Wilson is a Unitarian Universalist minister. In 1971 as a young assistant minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Brooklyn, NY, he had come to Rowe to be the assistant director of Junior High Camp, and was profoundly touched by the Rowe Spirit. In 1973, he left Brooklyn and set off hiking the Appalachian Trail in an effort to come to know his country in a deeper way. Stopping to visit a ministerial friend, Holly Bell of Benrnardston, MA, he learned that the camp had just acquired the Sibley Farm and he was offered the job of caretaker for the winter.

Being possessed of youthful energy and a certain entrepreneurial spirit, the young minister saw an opportunity to share the wonderful energy he had found at Rowe Camp with adults. He saw an opportunity to create something new, something that had not existed before. He loved the woods, creeks, lakes, and mountains and was not anxious to return to the urban or suburban areas where most UU churches were located. So when he was offered a free hand to create a center in the way he thought best, he accepted. He became the camp manager, the director of Junior High Camp and the founder and director of Rowe Conference Center.

One of the central tenets of Unitarian Universalism is that each person needs to discover the truth for him or herself and that truth varies from person to person. Douglas created a community ministry with a vision of providing a space for exploring new avenues, new vistas, new ways of seeing the world, endeavoring to give people the respect and the space they deserve and need to be able to form their own opinions and values. Over three decades later, Douglas is still living that vision.

Executive Director job description

Felicity Pickett
Director

Felicity Pickett came to Rowe in 1991 and quickly showed us she knew how to work and knew how to make organizations work. Prior to coming to Rowe, she was a social worker and directed a large child care system for Catholic Charities. She began at Rowe as the Office and Finance Manager and held the positions of Camp & Conference Center Manager and Director of Operations before becoming Director in 1996.

She is an introvert and prefers to stay out of the spotlight, but she is the one who cares for Rowe on a daily basis, keeping her eye on the day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year details and rhythms. She is creative and resourceful and has kept Rowe on solid financial footing. She is an idealist and visionary. A central figure in fostering the community that lives at Rowe, she created the work-study internship program and initiated the Woodside Diversity Program. In recognition of her work, she became the Director of Rowe Camp and Conference Center some years ago. Rowe is a better place for her commitment and her skills.

Director job description

Paulette Roccio
Facilities Manager

Paulette Roccio took the position of Facilities Manager in November of 2009. Paulette is not a newcomer to Rowe. She worked in the office in  1995 and has visited numerous times, as she is Felicity’s daughter. Paulette is here with her two daughters Madison and Morgan, making our first three generation family at Rowe Camp and Conference Center.

Paulette has a background in business management and worked as a sales representative before taking this position. She was also part of a family business, Wicked Good Builders. She was going through a transition in her life and ready for a change. Living and working at Rowe was a dream come true.

“How I came to live and work at Rowe is nothing short of a miracle.  One midsummer day,  in my Outlook inbox was an email from Felicity.  The email spoke of an upcoming lunar eclipse.  Although I can’t recall the specifics, the email mentioned that this upcoming eclipse was very powerful and would assist in manifesting what you truly desired in life.  The previous six months had been spent grieving the loss of my marriage and I took the email as a sign to truly consider what I wanted in my life moving forward.  I spent several hours in meditation and prayer in preparation for the ritual I would perform the night of the eclipse.  I took a very intimate look at every aspect of my life.  I will not bore you with everything I chose to manifest however I would like to mention a few;  Work that I truly enjoy that allows me the flexibility to spend lots of time with my children and myself, To live in the mountains, To live in a place that is beautiful where my children feel safe, A home and life that is filled with creativity, laughter, joy and bliss, A deeper connection with my spirit and God,  To experience  peace and abundance on a daily basis, To laugh more with my children, To be closer to my mother. 

At the time I performed the ritual I had never even considered living and working at Rowe, but from that day forward I felt I was being carried on Angels wings.  Daily I prayed, and thanked the Universe in advance for bringing me what it was I desired and magically everything fell into place.  Within a month of my ritual a job opened up at Rowe.  Somehow in this awful economy I was able to sell my house in less than a week.   Six months after the ritual, everything I have mentioned above has manifested in my life.”

Maddie and Morgan love living in Rowe. They go to the Rowe Elementary School, enjoy their two new kitties, Licorice and Raven, have learned a lot from their new community, and have fun hanging out more with Grammy Felicity. Both are avid Rowe campers and are looking forward to summer when they will be back at camp.

Facilities Manager job description

Dan Ross
Kitchen Manager/ Head Chef

Dan is a tall drink of water. That said, he is also an avid bicyclist, traveler, adventure seeker, and lover of food and friends.

Dan has been working with youth since 1990 and at Rowe since 1995. He loves it. He has worked at both Jr. High and Sr. High camps as a staff person and Co-directed Sr. High camp in 2006 and 2007.

Among his many skills, Dan is also a talented cook and a great manager. He combines his zany humor, his love for camp, and his passion with food to serve up great meals for both the camps and conferences.

Kitchen Manager job description

Linda Miller
Office/Finance Manager

Linda Miller joined the Rowe staff in 2007.   She and her daughter, Jane both had attended Rowe camps and programs in the past.  Linda had been investigating opportunities for living in community for several years. While walking down the corridor at Murray Unitarian Universalist Church in Attleboro, MA one day, she discovered a flier announcing an opportunity to live and work at Rowe.  Working at Rowe combines her interests in working for what she believes in, living in community and having the opportunity to learn from many different teachers.  Nurturing the “Rowe Spirit” lets her minister to all those around her, campers, staff, and workshop presenters alike.

Linda’s dog, Maggie is the office dog, a position she fulfills with great affection and grace. 

Office Manager job description

Joan Lager
Finance Coordinator/ Development Assistant

Joan found her way to Rowe by way of other UU camps. Joan attended AMUUSE, a Unitarian Universalist camp for singles in 1992. She became secretary of the organization and directed several camps for AMUUSE. She also became the administrative assistant for the Council of Unitarian Camps and Conferences (of which Rowe is a member) and held this position for three years.

When Joan married, she and her husband Jon wanted to continue their wonderful camp experiences, so they created a camp for both single and married adults. Thus, in 1999, Saug-for-All (www.saugforall.org) was born. Sadly, Jon passed away in the spring of 2002. With her daughter Megan in college, Joan found herself at a turning point in her life.

Being in line with Rowe’s mission and wanting to experience life living in an intentional community, Joan moved to Rowe from Indianapolis in February, 2005. Joan has the dual position of finance coordinator and development assistant. When she’s not busy writing checks and making deposits, she is sending out thank you gifts to our donors.

Finance Coordinator job description

Deb Lively
Head of Maintenance

Deb, who joined the maintenance/facility team in December of 2004, is no stranger to the area. She has lived in the western part of Franklin County, where Rowe is situated, all of her life. She and her husband Jim have three children. Joe is a 2004 graduate of UMass-Amherst and is now living and working in Madison, Wisconsin. Abby will graduate from UMass in 2006. She has her eye on medical school and is hoping to specialize in endocrinology. Andrew is a junior at Franklin County Technical High School.

Deb is a master wood-carver. Her bowls and other artifacts are works of art. Among her other jobs, she was an instructional aide at the elementary school in our neighboring town of Heath. Her skills came in handy when the kids built a Longhouse as part of a curriculum unit on Native Americans from this region.

“Working at Rowe Camp has provided me with a tremendous amount of variety and challenges to see who I am and what my worth is and to assist people in their like endeavors even if it’s simply to add a little humor to a situation. Working with volunteers, particularly work week volunteers is always inspiring. I love seeing someone try something they have never done before and feeling that sense of accomplishment at moving beyond what they thought they were capable of doing. And that’s what it’s about for me.”

Head of Maintenance Job Description

Abby Lively
Associate Chef

Abby Lively doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up.  In the mean-time, she figured that working in the kitchen at the Rowe Camp and Conference Center was a pretty good deal.  She is also taking classes at the Greenfield Community College, majoring in Fine Art.  Mind you, she already has a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from UMass Amherst.  Her cooking skills she initially picked up at home, when she was a wee tot, “helping” her mother (Deb Lively, current head of maintenance for Rowe C&CC) to bake cookies or cakes or rhubarb-strawberry pie.  Then, the “cooking for lots of people” skills were gleaned from working as a contract cook for the Rowe C&CC fairly regularly for about a year after she graduated from UMass Amherst.  During the summer of 2009, she decided to bicycle across North America to raise money and awareness for affordable housing.  This was probably one of the best experiences of her life.  She hopes to do it again in the near future. 

Associate Chef job description

Azrael Wilson

Marketing Coordinator

Marketing Coordinator

Like a stray dog, Azrael followed his nose and unexpectedly found his way back to Rowe after five months of working on an Adirondack trail crew in the summer and fall of 2009. Prior to that he spent a year in work study here at Rowe, a year at Marlboro College working in ceramics, and a year in Boston finishing high school by homeschooling.

Since returning to Rowe in late November as staff, Azrael has amused himself with movie nights, music, playing videogames, hiking, sledding, spending time with friends, and most thrilling – his two pet rats, Jesus and Hobo.

Marketing Coordinator Job Description

Employment Letter

Dear potential colleague and friend,

            Greetings. Thank you for contacting us. We write this letter to share more about the place, ourselves, and the work here. There is also considerable information about the spirit of Rowe Camp & Conference Center in the other material that is enclosed. We're aware that working at Rowe is not for everyone. It's more than a job. It is a commitment to the vision to create a better world through the programs we offer and a commitment to the work that we do to support that vision. Rowe is a service driven organization and we are looking for people who are interested in leading a life of service. 

            We operate a summer camp that has been here since 1924, and a conference center that has been here since 1974. We are affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association, a liberal Protestant church, though we don't push our religion in any way, nor is it necessary to be Unitarian Universalist to work here. It is essential that you be open minded and tolerant of a wide variety of different approaches to life and to realize that we are a non-profit organization performing an important service. We expect our staff to be committed to that work and to be gracious and helpful with our guests, as their happiness and willingness to return assures our survival.

            People come to our center to learn something, to share an experience, to grow and develop themselves. We don't sell a product; we share an experience with people who come here. In the summertime we operate as a summer camp and have 64-80 young people here at a time for one-to-three week periods. The ages span from nine through nineteen, so it's necessary to have an interest in and respect for teenagers and the challenges they have growing up. Our camps and conferences attempt to develop community while respecting the rights of each individual. This dual approach is critical to understand. We expect and respect differences in our guests and our staff. We are idealists seeking to manifest a vision and a dream, with considerable success.

            Working at Rowe is a lot like working at a farm, but the chores are different. Some of us live and work in the same place, the work is never ending, and you can get called on to do an endless variety of tasks. We have ten full time staff here and up to seven work-study interns. Besides our regular jobs, we occasionally do group work projects like moving the kitchen twice a year, doing flyer and Centerpost mailing parties, supervising KP after meals, helping with food deliveries, cleaning out the barn, or other work as needed, so it is important to be in good physical condition. The magic of Rowe happens because we all pull together to make it happen.

            All staff participate in regular staff meetings and process meetings and we are committed to honest, open, and direct communication. Our intention is to live in a co-operative manner with respect for one another. Some of us see this as a religious or spiritual way of life, in a Gandhian mode, where politics and religion merge into one. It is not a requirement to hold such beliefs, but it is fair that you understand more of the rationale behind things like our modest pay scale, our work ethic, and our process work. We’re not a collective and don't make decisions by consensus. We follow more a partnership model of working  together and do have a hierarchy around decision making. We respect, encourage and value input from staff.

            We work because we believe in the work we’re doing rather than for the money. We expect a lot from those who work here, and are not interested in people who might say "That is not in my job description" or "I've worked enough for the money I get." We seek to provide for basic needs.

Some of us live here on the grounds and others receive a housing allowance and live elsewhere.  We pay a base salary plus room and board or a housing allowance, paid vacation time, dental and health insurance, and the opportunity to attend many of our programs. Our room and board is comfortable, but we don't aspire to meet contemporary American standards of affluence. Indeed, in our more grandiose moments we fancy ourselves as pioneers of an alternative economic system. Our housing allowances are based on what it would cost to live in a similar style as our housing that we offer. Housing allowances will be discussed during the interviewing process. After you have been here one year, you will be eligible for our pension plan.

            We offer vegetarian food prepared by our cooking staff on the weekends, and occasionally during the week we buy fish or poultry. That is to say we are not rigid about our vegetarianism, but most of the food here is vegetarian and is also uncommonly delicious. For those who live on the grounds, meals are a part of your compensation. If you don't like what we serve or have particular dietary needs that are not part of what we regularly procure, you'll be required to pay for them yourself. During the week breakfast and lunch is catch-as-catch-can (i.e. you make your own). Each staff person takes a turn at cooking dinner for everyone during the week and we eat together. You generally are expected to cook once every two weeks for a group of 6 to 12 people.

            We live well, do not act or think poor, but also do not act or think rich.  We all work hard, and always have more that needs to be done than there is time in which to do it. If you don't keep up a relatively decent work pace, it is possible to fall hopelessly behind, with the attendant anxieties and frustrations. That is why we need mature, skilled, and experienced people to fill our positions. If one of us doesn’t have good work habits and doesn’t keep on the job in a reasonable way, it soon becomes obvious to everyone. That’s the way it is in a small  group like ours. We don't have time sheets. Everyone routinely gets two days a week off, but occasionally there are times when that doesn't happen.

            We live close to the center of a small New England town a few miles from Vermont. It is quite beautiful here, and our property is next to a fourteen hundred acre town forest held in trust forever wild. Our lives are an odd mix of rural and urban, in that each weekend we play host to 20-120 people from all over New England, New York, and New Jersey. Our workshops are quite stimulating and attendance at some of them is a primary perk of the job here. It is important that you read over the enclosed brochure and newspaper, as well as the mission statement, vision statement, pet policy, and interactional agreement. They will give you a good idea of what we are about and whether you are enough in harmony with what we’re about to want to be here. If you don't feel inspired by what we are doing, it makes little sense to move out here and take on the responsibilities of working here.

            This is more than a job, it is a way of life, or as some of us would say, a means for right livelihood. Living and working with the same people  calls for a high degree of maturity, acceptance, and tolerance. Without that it can be a very difficult place to be. We ask that you carefully consider whether this is the place for you before agreeing to come here. All of this should give you a taste of what it might be like.

            We are united by the shared interest of making Rowe Camp & Conference Center the best it can possibly be. Our vision is to live what we teach. We see ourselves as part of the personal and planetary transformation that is taking place in our society and the center is the vehicle through which we do that work. We are a group of  service minded individuals, united by our shared commitment to the work that we do.  

            We need staff who are willing to share in the vision and the responsibility of holding this magical place in trust. To live and work here is intense. It calls for a full commitment to the work. When it works for you, the rewards are rich and deep. If  you share our values and you’re interested in being considered for a position on staff, please send us a resume and a letter telling us about yourself and why you feel called to be here.

Respectfully and in peace, 

                                                                                    Felicity Pickett                                   

                                                                                    Director

Click to print or download this letter as a PDF file.

Click to print or download Interactional Agreement