Hi Tamarack family! After nearly a four year hiatus from camp, I am overjoyed to be joining the Tamarack office as the new Development and Marketing Associate. My role will be primarily focused on alumni engagement. It is so exciting to be back at a place that has always felt like home to me.
Why “return” to Tamarack? This was an important question I had to ask myself when the opportunity presented itself. Answer: The intrigue of being a part of the team that shaped such a formative piece of my life was impossible to turn down.
I spent every summer with Tamarack from 2000 to 2015; from Maas, to both Outpost Camps, concluding with my final summer as a staff on the Appalachian Adventure trip. My experience as a camper, counselor, and supervisor at Kennedy and Agree taught me tangible skills that I didn’t even realize were so valuable until they came into play in a professional setting and propelled me toward starting my career in Jewish non-profit work.
After college (and choosing to move on from my summer life at Tamarack), I spent two years as a Repair the World fellow, followed by two and a half years of managing Repair the World’s teen program, PeerCorps. I found that some of the most valuable skills I brought to my time with Repair the World, were those taught to me at camp.
-The value of personal connection and relationship building
-Cooking tasty, healthy, kosher meals for 20+ people
-The importance of altruism and caring for others
-Driving teenagers safely in a 15 passenger van
-How Jewish values can shape your life
-How teens tick and tock
My growth at Repair the World gave me the opportunity to join the Tamarack team with a newly refined skillset building upon the points listed above through a new non-profit, professional lens.
I am returning (although in a very different capacity) to the place that made me who I am and taught me how to be the best version of myself. The place that taught me about community and connection. The place that I was lucky enough to be gifted a scholarship to attend.
What an opportunity it is to be part of the team behind the curtain and in turn be a part of creating the magic that Tamarack so fully embodies. Helping form those experiences for kids and teens who are just like I was is the best way to pay it forward.
I am eager to begin building relationships with alumni, campers, staff, parents, and donors and am thrilled to be back at the GREATEST PLACE ON EARTH!
Rachel Fine
Development and Marketing Associate
(Photo: Rachel and her sister Allie at Foxfire in 2001)