Each year, hundreds of volunteers and staff from all over the country and around the world come to work at YMCA Camp Hi-Rock. Many of the staff and volunteers are returners, and often will go to great lengths just to come back to camp. In addition to the summer camp staff and seasonal volunteers, there is a core group of staff who work here year-round.

 

Board of Managers

YMCA Camp Hi-Rock is governed by our board of managers that consists of volunteers from throughout the northeast.  Board members are focused on creating lasting personal and social change for our community and our world.

• Susan Buckwalter, Board Chairperson
• Marc Romanow, Finance Committee Chairperson
• Emily Tice, Immediate past chair
• Rick Bailer
• Timothy Cha
• Michele Hendricks
• Charles Hirsch
• Merritt Hopper
• Holly Johnson
• Marcus Mardirosian
• Anna Marsland
• Caitlyn McNerney
• Henry Mitchell
• Maureen O’Brien
• Kelly O’Grady Ross
• Meghan O’Hara
• Jake Pinkston
• David Sanford
• Rick Shorin
• Jonathon Smith
• Marla Strickland
• Tulika Verma
• JoAnn Ward
• Kyle Worell
• Timothy Young
• Chris Rowmanello

 

Year-round directors

Executive Director – Jessica Speer-Holmes

Jessica Speer-Holmes attended Camp Hi-Rock as a youth and served in Counselor,  Unit Director, and Program Director positions and, for a short time, as the interim  Executive Director in 1997. She received a Bachelor’s degree from Brown  University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of  Melbourne, Australia. Prior to her role as the Executive Director at Camp Hi-Rock,  Jessica worked with the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA serving as the Associate  Executive Director of the Lakewood-Trumbull YMCA and the Bridgeport YMCA.  Jessica lives at Camp Hi-Rock in the summer months and in the local town of Great Barrington for the rest of the year with her husband Alistair and three daughters.  She serves on the boards of directors of the Great Barrington Rotary Club, the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, and the Crocus Fund.

 

 

 

 

Facilities Director – Paul Duffy 

Paul Duffy was originally an art student from Birmingham England who thought a summer in America would be fun. Twenty-plus years later, Paul is the Facilities Director at camp and has been for many years. He met his wife Rochelle while working at Camp Hi-Rock. He enjoys playing golf with his brother, riding his 4×4 ATV around camp addressing maintenance problems, and sharing his Hi-Rock stories with all who will listen. Best of all, he loves Camp Hi-Rock because “there’s not a nicer place in the world”.

 

 

 

 

Assistant Facilities Director – Hayden Sosa

Sosa grew up in south Louisiana, where he was an avid soccer, football, and beach volleyball player. He worked as an operator and maintenance for a wastewater treatment plant in Lafayette Parish. After his first summer at YMCA Camp Hi-Rock on the maintenance team, he is very excited to try his luck at surviving a true New England winter with his beloved Cat and pup Argos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Camp Director- Alison Irwin

Alison joined the Camp Hi-Rock team full-time in April 2023. Having grown up in the YMCA, she fell in love with overnight camp in 2006, and has not missed a summer since. In her time in seasonal overnight camping, Alison has been a camper, counselor in training, counselor, trip leader, and unit director. Prior to her move to Hi-Rock, Alison served full-time as the Assistant Camp Director at YMCA Camp Mohawk for 5 years. She holds a degree in Literacy, Learning and Leadership, with a Community Education emphasis, from the University of Arizona. Alison, and her rescue dog Basil, are thrilled to be a part of this community, and can’t wait to connect with all of you!

 

 

Camper Services Director- Gillian Orlando-Milbauer

Gillian started as a camper at Hi-Rock in 2011 and did her very best to never leave. She spent many summers as a counselor, unit director, and so on as well as many pre- and post-season weekends coming up from college to volunteer. She officially moved to the Berkshires in 2020, being fortunate enough to live on-site at camp from 2020 to 2021. She graduated from Lesley University with a degree in Child, Youth, and Family studies as well as a Special Education teaching license. Gillian taught Pre-K Special education for the last two years before joining the Hi-Rock team full-time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Camp Director- Cathryn “Cat” Coulter 

Cat came to Hi-Rock for the first time in 2022, when she made the spontaneous decision to work in a state she had never visited after studying abroad in the Galápagos Islands. She had the unique opportunity to become a Unit Director in her first year as a staff member, and she returned in 2023 as the Wildcats Unit Director, which earned her the name “Wildcat Cat!” With another great summer as Program Director behind her, Cat is thrilled to join the year-round staff as Summer Camp Director this year. Having earned her Bachelor’s degrees in Marine Biology and Wildlife Ecology from LSU, she brings her insight of all things wild to camp. In her free time, she loves birding, thrifting, playing volleyball, and snowboarding.

 

 

Wilderness and Group Camping Director – Joe Stryjewski

Joe Stryjewski grew up in Iowa and started his YMCA camp life attending his local YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln as a day camper, resident camper and later as a staff member. He first came to Camp Hi-Rock in 1995 and spent two summers as the ropes course director and one as a summer program director. After finishing his BS in Recreation at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale he moved to Missouri to the YMCA of the Ozarks and spent a summer at YMCA Camp Lakewood and became a program director at YMCA Trout Lodge. In 2000 he moved to the Buffalo New York area to be the Outdoor Education Director for YMCA Camp Weona. Both of Joe’s kids have come to Camp Hi-Rock first as campers and now as staff. 30 years after first stepping foot on Camp Hi-Rock he’s come back to join the team full time. In his free time he enjoys hiking and all types of biking.

 

 

Pest Control Specialist – Otis the Cat

Otis the Cat joined the Camp Hi-Rock maintenance team in May of 2024 after a short stint in a local shelter! While this may be his first job in professional pest control, he is by no means a beginner.

When not working, you can find Otis strolling through camp, most often found near the Bullfrog unit or under the office porch. His hobbies include hiding in bushes, playing with spray foam insulation, and climbing onto top bunks.