Mike has been a member of the Birch Rock community since he was 12 in 1983. As a camper, his highest honor was getting the 15th Archery badge, an accomplishment that has only been achieved around ten times in the history of Birch Rock. Once on staff, Mike taught many seasons on the field before moving to the waterfront and teaching swimming for many more. He moved up the ranks to Waterfront Director and then Head Counselor, joined Rich Deering as Associate Director for 6 years, and finally became Camp Director in 2002. Mike attended Towson State University in Maryland but feels his primary education in camping comes from a lifetime of leadership in a place he loves and calls home. Mike lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Becca and their newborn Simon James! He is a long-time member of the American Camping Association and his dogs, Oliver and Perseus, are camp staples.

Rich started attending Birch Rock at the age of 9. His mother was sure that he would come running home; instead, he signed up for more, and was a camper for 6 summers before matriculating into the staff ranks. He worked his way up from teaching Swimming to Waterfront Director to Head Counselor, and then, after a few summers off, he returned as the Assistant Director for Brad Smith before taking over as the camp’s Director in 1995. He held this position until 2001, during which time he used his business acumen to reorganize BRC’s structure, and, thanks to him, the camp has never been so strong. A Maine native, he is a graduate of Colby College and the University of Southern Maine, where he earned a Masters in Adult Education and Counseling. In his current role Rich is responsible for marketing, alumni development, and external affairs, and helps facilitate the Birch Rock community. A long-time member of the American Camping Association and past President of Maine Youth Camping, he is currently a realtor with the Buckspan Deering Group at ReMax Shoreline in Portland.

Celebrating 20 seasons at Birch Rock, Erik has it all: a love for our traditions and values, a keen sense of fun, and a quiet charisma that gets kids psyched! After several years of teaching sailing Erik became the Waterfront Director in 2007, thus earning the radio handle “Captain Nemo,” as he is affectionately called. A native of Sweden, Erik grew up in Philadelphia and attended Penn State. In 2013, Erik transitioned onto land to become our full-time Program Director, orchestrating staff and camper programs and specialty events of the day – while continuing to lead our American Red Cross Lifeguard program and First Aid Certification. An active member of the American Camp Association, Erik is a Standards Visitor for Accreditation of other camps. He champions Birch Rock’s brand new Outing Club (visit the Club page on our website!). When not skiing or conquering crossword puzzles, Erik serves as part of the camp management team during the off-season.

Nicholas “The Italian Stallion” Musciano originally hails from Falmouth, Maine. Nick received his Masters in Teaching from the University of South Carolina in 2016 and currently lives in Columbia, SC where he teaches 4th grade math and science. He has been a diehard Birch Rocker since he arrived at camp at 9 years old in 1998, and loved basketball, tennis, and campcraft. Musc has truly done it all at camp; he spent many summers on the hill as the Field Director, teaching basketball and baseball, he has been an enthusiastic instructor down at Nature, and Nick has even been a trip leader on our 3-week Maine Wilderness Adventure program. To top it all off, Nick will be joining us for 2018 as the Head Counselor, a position held by only the most trustworthy and dedicated members of our staff. We are excited to have him back!

Andrew Hilty is “so stoked” to return to BRC as our nurse after working here for a summer in 2013. Originally hailing from Orinda, CA, Andrew now calls Old Orchard Beach his home. He received a BA in English from UC Santa Barbara, and MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner degree from the University of Southern Maine. He is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. Andrew loves spending time in the outdoors with his camp friends, and while ensuring we all have an injury and sunburn-free summer, he can’t wait to spend some time down at campcraft and performing at Saturday night Camp Fire! Andrew is also known by his radio handle, “Clark Kent.”

Curtis first came to Birch Rock in 2004 as a nine-year-old in Hilton A. He is originally from New York, but is currently living in Rumford, Maine and works at Sunday River. As a camper he loved signing up for nature and always had a blast teaching it as a staff member. However, his true passion is swimming; he spends ten months of the year waiting for the first day in June he can get out on the catwalks and help our boys become confident and capable swimmers! He's looking forward to maintaining a fun and safe waterfront and helping Erik Joelsson teach our next batch of lifeguards. Curtis is a certified American Red Cross Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor (WSI).

Jon hails from Sarasota, FL where he has been cooking and baking for years. With family in Poland, ME, Jon decided to come to Birch Rock a few summers ago and help us out by cooking many of our dinner meals. After two summers in the kitchen, he is now the Head Cook, and the community is looking forward to whipping up some new food and old favorite this summer.

We are pleased to welcome back Pam to the Allen Kearns Library and BRC. Pam has worked with us for over 20 seasons and is carrying on the longstanding tradition of tutoring those who need a little extra help with math, reading, English as a second language, and study skills. She is a special education teacher with a wealth of experience, certified in elementary education and as a reading specialist. She has taught in the Australian outback, a one room school house in Vermont, a special education school for the learning disabled in Virginia and a grade 4-6 resource setting in Maine. She is now retired and recently went on an epic road trip to numerous National Parks throughout the west.

We are so glad that Logan will be returning this summer as our office manager! Logan lives in Poland, Maine where he is a 7th grade Social Studies teacher at Bruce M. Whittier Middle School. He graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2010 for Elementary Education, and graduated with his Master's Degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Southern Maine in 2019. Logan looks forward to another great summer at camp!

Elizabeth is thrilled to be back on the Birch Rock medical team this summer! She is originally from Bangor, Maine and now lives in Norway where she works at Stephens Memorial Hospital as a Certified Nursing Assistant and EMT-A. She is excited to bring her medical and outdoor experience to BRC this summer, and to meet all the campers and families!

Andy Ussher is back for another summer! All the way from Dublin, Ireland, Andy studies International Relations at Dublin City University, and is set to graduate in 2019. He loves teaching football (soccer) up on the hill, but is hoping to get some more time on the lake this summer. When he’s not at camp, Andy most misses the outdoors and the energy that everyone brings to BRC.

Jack Culver is from Bellevue, Washington and has been traveling across the country each year since 2010. He is pumped to be back and will actually be staying in Maine after camp when he begins his studies at Bates this fall! Jack is a certified lifeguard and loves teaching campcraft. His favorite memory of camp was the summer that Gabe Dreyer’s was his counselor, and he also enjoyed going on MWA.

John was in Cabin 2 (now Hornet’s Nest) as an eleven-year-old in 2010. Now he is proud to be in our staff ranks, teaching swimming and windsurfing. John is a talented swimmer both at camp and at home in Waterville, Maine. He will be attending Bard College this fall. When not at camp, John most misses seeing everyone with tucked in shirts, and his best memory of camp was swimming his Whale.

Jack Duggan was eight years old when he first came to camp in 2008. Jack is from Weston, CT and will be attending Colby College this fall. He is an ARC certified lifeguard, and can’t wait to spend some time down in the hatchery teaching nature! Jack’s favorite memory of Birch Rock is when he first stayed at camp for a full seven weeks. He also LOVES evening activity (who doesn’t?).

Matt Rotman was 10 years old in 2010 when he first came to Birch Rock. He is from Westborough, Massachusetts, and will be attending Worcester Polytechnic this fall where he hopes to double major in mechanical and industrial engineering. Matt is a certified lifeguard, and loves teaching swimming at BRC. He is also a master in the woodshop and is one of the select few Birch Rockers to have worked on the plaques in the lodge.

Cole’s first summer at the Rock was 2012 when he was an 11-year-old in Chipmunk Hole. He’s from St. Petersburg, Florida where he attends St. Petersburg High School IB. Cole loves boating, sailing and swimming at BRC and is a certified ARC Lifeguard. He can’t wait to join the staff this summer and help raise a new crop of Birch Rock gentlemen. Cole is looking forward to being on the hill since Florida is so flat. He would also like to add that he left his PFD in the boathouse all year and can’t wait to have it back.