ABOUT MAINE TEEN CAMP
Meet the Directors
Monique Rafuse-Pines (M Ed., M Sc., LCPC, CADC) and Matt Pines (M Ed.) – (mtc@teencamp.com & matt@teencamp.com) are both educators; both have a Master’s Degree in Education, and Monique, a native of Nova Scotia, Canada, also has her Masters of Science in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling and is a licensed clinical professional mental health counselor (LCPC, CADC). She currently works part time in private practice and in local school districts in Maine to provide services to young adults during the school year.
Matt, from New South Wales, Australia, is a PhD candidate in Public Policy & Educational Leadership at USM, (with a research interest in the benefits of tech-free outdoor experiences), serves as President of Maine Summer Camps (www.mainecamps.org), and recently served a three-year term on the Falmouth School Board. He has also served on the Education Investment Committee at the United Way of Greater Portland, and has co-authored papers for the Maine Education Policy Research Institute.
Matt & Monique are on site at camp from May to September, and Matt is in the camp office full time in the off season.
Matt & Monique wholeheartedly understand camp to be an essential part of every child’s education – the lessons learned within camp are powerful compliments to the formal classroom environment. More importantly, they believe teens need a space apart – to grow and develop their identity as individuals, to break from the pervasive impact of technology, to meet & know new friends & mentors. Monique & Matt work year-round at building Maine Teen Camp into the best summer option for teens.
“M&M” met at camp in 1997 and were married on a nearby mountain top in 2003. Both are fully on site at camp during the summer season, along with their curious-clever- mischievous-little-adventurer-child-of-the-woods-oh-my-goodness-now-he's-a-teen-and-will-be-a-camper son Tanner.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Nicky Martin
Nicky Martin (nicky@teencamp.com ), has a background in early childhood education, and has been Maine Teen Camp’s longest running Assistant Director. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Nicky is known for her unflappable capabilities as a leader and an administrator, has been with camp since 2002. Nicky is an experienced outdoor educator and waterfront manager, and when not in the office creating order out of the chaos of several hundred camper and staff paperwork requirements, can be found by the lake or teaching lifeguarding and CPR skills to campers. Nicky brings tremendous camp knowledge, dedication to her work, and expertise and her belief that every teenager deserves a chance to experience a life changing summer at camp.
OFFICE MANAGER
Wendy Urquhart
Wendy is very proudly a “Mainer” and has enjoyed many years in the camp world and in recreation, moving from her early years starting in 2000 at MTC, to then shifting back to MTC in 2018 as our Program Director and most recently to her current role as our Office Manager. Wendy is a special educator, working in behavioral health for youth with cognitive disabilities in a local Maine school district, and pursuing her Masters degree in Psychology. Wendy is our daily coordinator of office dynamics, problem solving, chief communicator, and so much more!
Wendy resides in coastal southern Maine with her partner and son, and enjoys the simple joys of living on a small farm.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Hal Halper
Hal is an experienced theatre and ESL educator, director, and North American Birthright staff member originally from Brooklyn, NY. Hal has a Bachelor's in Performing Arts (acting and directing) and a Master's in Theatre Education. Driven by purpose, Hal is a humanitarian who has volunteered and lived in Thailand, Israel, and Rwanda. Hal is well known for his boundless enthusiasm and energy, his positive spirit, and kindness. He’s an avid runner, having completed several half-marathons and races, enjoys meditation and mindfulness, hiking, yoga, climbing, rollerblading and spending time with loved ones.
FACILITY DIRECTOR
Jake Henry-Hill
Jake has a background in theater and lighting and has worked as a lighting specialist in New York City. An accomplished self-taught builder, Jake has been at camp since the summer of 2016 and since that time, Jake has taken on different roles at camp, most recently as year round Facility Director. Jake spends each summer maintaining our beautiful camp grounds, overseeing his maintenance and house keeping department of staff, and collaborating on essential functions of our 55 acre facility.
Jake has his Masters degree in Environmental Education. Jake is an avid outdoorsman and yoga enthusiast originally from Connecticut, whom met his husband, Ajay (our Staff Director), at MTC and the couple married at camp in 2022.
An avid outdoorsman, Jake believes in spending as much time in nature and community as possible. Jake loves to explore and travel the world.
STAFF DIRECTOR
Ajay Henry-Hill
Ajay, originally from the UK, met his husband at camp, where they married in 2022. Ajay is a passionate educator and accomplished musician, teaches music and vocals at the college level and holds a Masters degree in Professional Practice Vocal Pedagogy. He’s run our music program at camp for years, has been one of our head counselors at camp, and is an active part in just about anything that involves music and song! Ajay is an accomplished singer/songwriter in the UK, and you can check out his music on Spotify! Ajay loves to travel the world and loves being an uncle to niece, Lottie. As Staff Director, Ajay guides the staff experience at camp so that staff can be better counselors and instructors to our campers!
DIRECTORS OF JOY AND HAPPINESS
Paddy & Oakley
Our two resident Golden Retrievers, Paddington Pines and Oakley Martin deliver daily doses of “joy and happiness” to our camp community (as well as regular deliveries of socks from the lost and found to our desks). Paddy recently became certified as an ATD (Alliance of Therapy Dogs) therapy dog whose skills are beneficial to the entire camp community.
Both Paddy and Oakley are happy to see visitors in the office, play endless games of fetch/chase/keep-away, or to just be there for a soft and patient hug when someone is having a moment...
Animals play an important role at camp- either our domestic animals like our dogs, chickens and goats; or the year round residents of our property - barred owls, loons, bald-eagles, deer, woodchucks, fishers and foxes; they all help remind us on a daily basis that we share our space (camp, our home communities, our planet) with many other individuals, all deserving of respect. We observe campers bonding over the camp animals every summer, see them develop empathy and responsibility, and hope that we all leave camp with an expanded idea of who dwells in our community.
ABOUT MAINE TEEN CAMP
Our Directors
Founded in 1984 by Jay Stager, Maine Teen Camp has been owned and operated by the Pines’ family since 2006. Monique and Matt Pines started their “camp lives” working for Maine Teen Camp’s prior owner/Director, Bob Briskin, in the late 1990’s.