Year-Round Staff
Sam Arfer, Registrar
Sam has been with Farm & Wilderness since 1979, the year he first attended Timberlake. He was an F&W camper until 1983, and has been on staff since 1984, as a camp counselor, crew member, office staff member, and the cook at Saltash Mountain Camp. The summer of 2012 will be Sam's 23rd year as SAM cook. Sam grew up in Hastings NY, attended Oakwood School, and has a B.A. from Marlboro College. He calls his upbringing 'quasi Quaker.' When not at F&W over the past decades, Sam worked as Customer Service Lead at REI, and a cook at the Putney Coop in Putney, Vermont. He is an avid gender-role-free Contra and English Country dancer, and also enjoys Vermont history and architecture.
Chantal Deojay, Farm Manager
Chantal was the F&W Farmer from 2001-06, and we're glad to have her back. She grew up in Putnam, CT, where she showed sheep professionally, raised two teams of oxen, and took vocational ag classes. She has a BA in Sustainable Agriculture from Sterling College. Before rejoining F&W she worked at Upwey Farm in South Woodstock as the Animal Health/Care Coordinator. She runs Macora Farm in Woodstock, VT, with Mike Hewitt and their daughters Mackenzie and Cora (as well as dogs Sawyer and Sadie).
Melanie Gander, Assistant Program Director
MelanieREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@farmandwilderness.org
Melanie comes to us from Australia, where she received a BA in Economics and a BA in Asian Studies/ Japanese from Australian National University. Before coming to F&W, Melanie spent several years working in summer camp programs running archery and wilderness trips and seven years working at Kieve Affective Education's Leadership School, teaching experiential and adventure education to school students, teachers and school administrators. Melanie has tons of energy and a store of extraneous knowledge of 1980's pop-culture.
Jack Hunter, Volunteer Archivist
mailto:jackREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@farmandwilderness.org
Jack and his wife Ruth founded Saltash Mountain Camp in 1962. Jack directed SAM until 1968, next directed TF from 1969-71, and then was the first Executive Director of the Farm & Wilderness Foundation from 1973-77. He also served on the Board of Trustees for many years. Jack grew up in Hasings, PA, attending Lycoming College, and then the Boston University School of Theology for a Masters in Divinity and a PhD in Social Ethics. He worked in Quaker schools for many years, as Chair of the Religion Department at Westtown, as Dean of Faculty at Oakwood Friends, and as Head of School at John Woolman. Jack and his wife Ruth have retired to their home in Woodstock, VT. Jack volunteers as F&W archivist, and also as a tutor in the Woodstock schools, and with the Woostock Historical Society Oral History Project. The Hunters' children and grandchildren have all been (or will be!) F&W campers and staff. We are incredibly lucky to have Jack with us in the office every week.
Marianne McGee, Bookkeeper
Marianne attended SUNY at Farmingdale for her A.A. in
Administration and is currently pursuing her B.S. in Management Information
Systems at Marlboro College Graduate School. Marianne has a rich and varied career that started in Manhattan and
includes retail, self-employment, the ski industry and education. At Farm & Wilderness since 2007, Marianne lives in Belmont, VT with her husband, Dave, daughter, Anna Colleen, and
various residents of their Belmont zoo. Marianne enjoys sewing, crafts,
singing and volunteering in her community.
Pamela J. Podger, Communications Specialist
pamREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@farmandwilderness.org
Pam did her first journalism internship at the Townsman in her hometown of Wellesley, MA. For decades, she told stories as a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal, the Roanoke Times, the Associated Press and other news outlets. In 1989, she chronicled tales of entrepreneurs as a Fulbright scholar in Colombia, South America. She majored in English at Hobart & William Smith Colleges and received her master's degree from Northwestern University. She's taught journalism at Hollins University and at the University of Montana. She lives with her husband, John Cramer, and two young sons, Jack and Luke, in Thetford. She now tells stories that begin, "Once Upon A Time."
Courtney Porter, Human Resources Manager
courtneyREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@farmandwilderness.org
Courtney grew up in the Puget Sound area and attended Seattle University for a BA in Philosophy. She moved to Vermont from Seattle in the fall of 2008, and says she knew she wanted to be a part of F&W as soon as she saw Indian Brook campers circle up before lunch. Before joining us, Courtney worked as a Portfolio Adminstrator in the University of Washington Real Estate office, and as a contractor for Stewardship Special Projects at the Cascade Land Conservancy. Courtney and her husband, Matt, have a young son, Miles, who had a terrific time at the Barn Day Camp in 2011. She enjoys hiking, backpacking, snow shoeing, skiing, and back country camping.
Silos Roberts, Forester
Silos grew up in Vermont and graduated with a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Massachusetts. Silos was a dairy farmer in VT for 20 years before coming to F&W as staff in 1992. He and his wife, Camille, worked together at F&W for many years as the farmer team, and his two kids, Cody and Molly, were long-time F&W campers. Silos’ interests include alternative energy, backcountry skiing, sustainable forestry, and trail work.
Rachel Stievater, Garden Manager
rachelREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@farmandwilderness.org
Rachel returns as the gardener at Farm & Wilderness after an eight-year hiatus. She previously held this position from 2000-2004 and departed after her son, Finnegan, was born in one of the year-round staff houses! She has been living in Brookfield, VT since 2005. Rachel recently finished a B.S. in Plant Biology at the University of Vermont. Before going back to school, she had started a cut-flower business in Brookfield. She has worked on various farms in the northwest and in New England since her early 20s.
Kyle Watrous, Maintenance Coordinator
Kyle grew up in Niantic, CT, and graduated with a degree in Environmental Science from Southern Vermont College. He has extensive training in plumbing and mechanics. Kyle enjoys living in Vermont, where he can pursue all of his outdoor passions such as fishing, hunting and camping. He and his wife, Stephanie, have a son, Connor.