The Meeting Waters YMCA's programs and operations are led by a high-quality staff that includes three full-time, fifteen year-round part-time, and thirty full-time seasonal employees (camp staffs). Over 50% of these "Professional Role Models" are teens or young adults, making the Meeting Waters YMCA the largest employer of youth in the CT River Valley's social service sector. The staff is supported by policy volunteers who serve on the Board of Directors, dozens of program volunteers, and over 50 people who serve on volunteer committees.

If you would like to become a member of the Meeting Waters YMCA staff, please see our Employment page.

Current Meeting Waters YMCA Staff Members and their Role(s):

About Steve and Susan Fortier

Susan Fortier is the Senior Program Director of the Meeting Waters YMCA. Steve Fortier serves as the organization's Executive Director.

Each brings decades of YMCA and other relevant experience to their role as a leader of the Meeting Waters YMCA. The Alstead couple is not new to either the Connecticut River Valley area or to the YMCA movement. They met in the mid-80s when they worked at the Keene Family YMCA. While there Susan was Aquatic, Camp and Youth Director and Steve was Fitness Director. They both left the Keene Y to take positions in the Bellows Falls region. For three years Steve was the local coordinator during the creation phase of the nationally acclaimed community health promotion program, The Leadership Project. Susan taught the Jobs for Vermont Graduates Program at Bellows Falls Union High School for seven years. The two became active in the YMCA system again when they moved to western New Jersey in the mid-90s. Sue served in many capacities at the Hunterdon County YMCA-- After-School Program Director, fitness instructor, and progressive swim teacher. Steve served the same YMCA as part-time Teen Programs Coordinator.

Steve and Sue bring to their roles a great deal of experience in "building strong kids, strong families and strong communities."

Check out this great article from the Brattleboro Reformer on Sue and Steve's first ten years with Meeting Waters YMCA.

Susan:

• has "grown up with the Y." She has either been a program participant or employee at YMCAs since she was two years old.
• for many years was a synchronized swimmer at the Greater Burlington YMCA, competing throughout the country as well as in Denmark and England.
• as a teen, served as counselor-in-training, counselor and waterfront director of the Greater Burlington Y's Camp Greylock.
• has, within the YMCA movement, served in many capacities including Youth Director, Camp Director, Aquatic Director, Program Director, Child Care Program Director, and After-School Program Director. She is a unique "Jill of all Trades."
• has taught YMCA progressive swim lessons for more than twenty-five years.
• was one of the originators of Aquacize when she began teaching water aerobics at the age of 17.
• is on the faculty of YMCA University where she trains and certifies day camp directors from around the country.
• has a Bachelors Degree in Sports Medicine with a concentration in Physical Therapy from Keene State College.
• earned a Master's in Human Services with a concentration in Organizational Leadership from Springfield College. Read the press release here. Go here to check out her masters research project paper, "A Review of the Non-Profit Sector of Windham County: Opportunities for Strategic Restructuring."
• is President of the Keene State College Alumni Association.
• served on the board of the Great Falls Chamber of Commerce for a total of nine years; seven of which as a member of the Executive Committee.
• coordinated the Jobs for Vermont Graduates school-to-work transition program at Bellows Falls Union High School from 1988 through 1994.
• is active in several regional and state-wide coalitions including the Fit & Healthy Kids Coalition of Windham County and the Vermont School-Age Child Care Network.

Steve:

• is the editor and co-author (with 8 youths from Brattleboro) of Youth Leadership in Action, a book being used by over six thousand youth groups around the world.
• is a co-creator of Teen-Adult Dialogue Nights, now being used in thousands of communities world-wide to build inter-generational relationships, and a contributor to Please Talk With Me, the how-to guide for leading these activities.
• is a contributor to several other books on social change including: Bridging the Racial Divide; Children of 2010; Adventures in Peacemaking; and YMCA Service Learning Resource Guide.
• was a founding member of the National Advisory Board of the Community Tool Box, a University of Kansas-sponsored on-line resource center for community builders.
• has a Masters Degree from Antioch New England Graduate School in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Group and Organizational Behavior. He also has a BS in Fitness and Health Management, a program he created with his advisor at Keene State College in 1982.
• is the founder and President of CommuniTeam Training and Consulting which "develops community leaders and leaderful communities."
• is a nationally recognized trainer, consultant, author and speaker on community youth development and community building. He has worked with community coalitions in 38 states and 34 countries. He has also served as a leadership and community building consultant to corporations including AT&T, Bell Atlantic Mobile, Goldman Sachs, Bellcore, and the Mennen Company.
• facilitated the "Children of 2010 Dialogues" which in 1997 brought together national leaders from education, child development, race relations, business, media and government for nine days of planning and policy development aimed at creating a better future for children, youth and their families.
• has served as volunteer leader of several area groups including the Fit & Healthy Kids Coalition of Windham County, the Asset Development Initiative (also Windham County, VT) and the Fall Mountain Area Healthy Youth Initiative.
• is a Masters bicycle racer that competes for Team NH in road races throughout the North America.
• is a member of the Brattleboro Rotary Club.

Steve and Sue live in Alstead, NH with their children, Sean and Laryssa.

About Lisa Delmar

Lisa joined the staff of Meeting Waters YMCA in May of 2008. She came to the MWYMCA with a varied professional background--perfect for the many tasks she manages for the organization.

Lisa:

• was, just prior to joining MWYMCA, Logistics Manager for a local best-selling author, executive coach and teacher, coordinating his workshop schedule and life;
• was involved with several creative business ventures--designing and selling clothing, reupholstering furniture, and creating window treatments;
• has taught sewing and design at a private high school;
• has been a florist;
• still has an avid interest in fiber and textiles--knitting, sewing, dyeing, and silk screening in her free time;
• she also gardens and walks her dog, Katie;
• brings to MWYMCA a desire to help her local community and support efforts to provide children in the area with safe and fun places for their out-of-school hours, both during the school year and in the summer.