MEET THE STAFF

Alessandra Batson was born in Wilmington, Delaware. From there she followed her clothes-designing mother to all corners of the United States. She decided to go to school in Maine, where she could wear Carharts and t-shirts with impunity, and she hasn’t left. Since college, she has spent her growing seasons gardening and farming. Her winters have been filled with odd jobs and lots of reading and writing. Although her job with Rock City might be one of the odder jobs she’s had, she enjoys it very much, dividing her time between the roasterie and the bookstore. In her off time, she plays Frisbee with her dog Roscoe and partner Big Tom.

After Meara Cafferata's crew failed to rebuild the severely damaged o-zone layer during their year long mission in space, Meara returned, defeated, to earth.  She decided to lay low for a while, and attend the year of school she missed due to being in space.  She decided to try for a job at the Rock City coffee shop to take her mind off of her failure.  Now that she is pretty much back into the swing of things on earth she devotes much time to learning about the ways of coffee, even spending nights tossing and turning, worrying about over charging, pouring the wrong coffee, and disappointing the costumer.  She plans to go away to Germany in the next year to get advise from the top German scientists for her next trip into space, but plans on returning after words to her lovely job at Rock City.

Geri Coughlin has worked at Rock City Books & Coffee long enough to have thought up the name. She began her book career in 1995 and has been the Book Manager for most of those years. She's been with us so long and does her job so well, everyone thinks she's the owner. Which she practically is.

People know about Geri's shirt collection, but very few know about her sock collection.

Victoria Covill is Rock City's numera una baker, coming to work at 3 am to make sure the pastry case is well stocked when we open at 7 am. She is passionate about gardening and has created an incredible series of whimiscal gardens on her two acres. She has a great weakness for cats as well and could easily become the quintessential "cat lady." She is also mad for theater and has appeared in many local plays.

When she's not baking or gardening, she hires out for parties as a gorilla.

kt crossman has found her dream job as a bookseller. free coffee and more books than she could ever hope to read (but she's trying!). she's also an aspiring architect and an avid knitter. and yes, that's her car with all the bumper stickers.

Rhiannon Dorin (known affectionately as The Sword of Rhiannon) is the Assistant Manager at Rock City Books & Coffee. When she's not working, which is not often, she likes to drink Mocha Java coffee at home, read, sew and play video games. Her favorite book series are Harry Potter (JK Rowling) and Disworld (Terry Pratchett). Her favorite band is the Beatles. She lives with her favorite Rockland man (Kevin) and Boston terrier (Robot).

Livka Farrell came to work at Rock City Books & Coffee in the autumn of 2006 after having made pots & pots  & pots of percolator coffee - aka "cowboy coffee." Amazingly, she lived to tell the tale. In addition to Irish Breakfast tea, a few of her favorite things are folk music, her orange & white cat Bert, living near the ocean (she hails from Monhegan) and writing letters. She may be an old-fashioned girl in some ways, but she's become a hot modern barista, delivering great cappuccinos, mochas and lattes.

After living on an island for 19 years, Eva Hopkins has packed up and moved to Rockland. A quiet little diva, she has a strong interest in theatre, travel and photography, and can be found in California or London when not behind the counter at Rock City Books & Coffee. When she grows up, she’d like to be a 1950’s movie star, playing the greatest baristas of our time.

Jesse Fowler spent the last few years in Germany attending high school and exploring Europe. After graduating in 2006, she moved back to the US and began working towards her dental hygenist certification. She  loves to shop, listen to music and visit with friends. But most of all, she loves her job at Rock City and can't decide whether she'd rather clean teeth or make fabulous espresso drinks in her own coffeehouse someday.

Robin Hamann is a busy mom of one (two if you count her husband). Weekday mornings, you can catch her on air at the local radio station, WRFR. On the weekends, you can find her at Rock City Books & Coffee, pulling shots along side with Rockland's best baristas. As a college student, she really doesn't have much free time. But, if she did, she'd spend it knitting.

Sues Hunt has been one of our mainstays for many years, even returning to help out after the birth ofher first child, Harry. We've tried to get her to bring him to work in a backpack. We're sure he'll pick up her coffee and customer service skills quickly!

Although she grew up in Rhode Island, Sues spent several years in the Pacific Northwest and enjoys reading about the native people of that region. She and Harry keep each other company while Harry's

father fishes off the coast of Alaska, sometimes for months at a time!

Katie McCormick has recently joined the Rockland community and is pleased to feel at home here. When she isn’t behind the counter serving coffee and yummy goodies, Katie enjoys traveling, hiking, designing websites, reading and sipping hot tea. She would like to send a warm thanks to all the regulars who have made her job so fun!

Erica Sanchez is the resident "tourie." Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, she came to Rockland, Maine for the people and the cool weather. When she's not brewing coffee or shining shoes (a former incarnation), she is teaching young ones in the area of Montessori. Teaching is definitely her life'spassion. Her other interests include people watching, camping and crafting.     

Lee Smith is from Damariscotta, Maine and originally came to Rock City as a dishwasher many many years ago. He slyly made himself so valuable in the kitchen, he now runs it! His great passion (besides work) is baseball. He played baseball all during school and has since played Adult Coed Softball in the Camden league. He also umpires school baseball. When he's not cooking, stacking wood, mowing lawns or some playing ball, you'll find him in Fenway Park rooting for the Red Sox.

Eileen Worthley joined our kitchen staff in the autumn of 2007, after having cooked on the schooner Isaac Evans for four years. Before her oceanic career,  she worked as a baker and sous chef in a number of restaurants on the East Coast. For 16 years, Eileen called the shots in her own Massachusetts bakery and has the distinction of having baked Rose Kennedy's 100th birthday cake!