Dr Adam Stetzer holds an advanced degree in Industrial Psychology from Purdue University. However, he has spent most of his professional career as an entrepreneur and IT professional. He has a deep love of technology and building. He has built software, organizations, management systems and machines. He is passionate about his work, hobbies, family and life in general. You can read Adam Stetzer’s full bio here.
After 15 years away from my home town of Rochester, NY – it was both thrilling and sad to come home. It’s thrilling to be in my home town, near to family. I love the notion that my kids will grow up with daily interaction with their elders. There are also many things about Rochester that I simply love, from the thrilling architecture to the Lake. But the city itself is in bad shape. Population and revenues are down, and morale is horrible. Rochester is not the proud city it was when I left. Renee and I are working hard to give back as much as possible to help rectify this situation.
Rocville.com is our primary Rochester project with a mission of advocating for the city, urban life and all that Rochester has to offer. With so much negativity online and the shadow of Kodak, the city has it’s challenges. But we have made outstanding friends here and know that the heart and soul of the city is strong.
I have had several serious hobbies throughout the years. I started playing guitar when I was young, but did not really become serious about it until Graduate School. When I first moved to the corn fields of Indiana (Purdue University) I found that my guitar was is only campanion. My father had shown me how to fingerpick as a young boy. Again, not a serious pursuit, but I stayed with it enough to learn Blackbird by The Beatles and those simple patterns carried me through. While in college at the University at Buffalo, I frequently went to Ani DiFranco concerts. Enamored by her aggressive slap – picking, I kept at it. Most recently, John Mayer’s accoustic work has interested me and I’ve been trying to emulate him to the greatest extent possible for the last few years.
From a very early age I spent a great deal of time outside. My family had a very small cabin in the hills near Naples, NY where I would spent time each summer with my Grandmother and sister. The house was situated on a hill with a small pound out front. There was a creek in the wood that provided hours of entertainment.
Later, we moved our family retreat time up to the Adirondack mountains. I spent time in the mountains in every season and became quite attached to the Upstate New York mountain range. Even in my 15 years in Washington, DC I would make the 10 hour trek at least twice per year to spend time at the family retreat in the Adirondacks. Some of my founded memories are playing guitar near our fireplace, surrounded by family. Renee and I were engaged, and then later married at Camp Uncas on the lawn by the lake.
As a young boy growing up in Rochester NY, sailing on Lake Ontario was a frequent past-time. A friend of the family had a sailboat and we were regulars among the crew. If you have spent any time on the water, then you know that it can get seriously under your skin. After moving away to goto college and then graduate school, I really wanted to get back to the water. Luckily, I met a fantastic woman who also loved the water. Renee and I bought our first boat shortly after I started at Verizon. We kept it on the Western Shore of the Cheasepeak Bay, driving out from our Washington, DC house most weekends to enjoy the water and wind.
A trip to the British Virgin Islands in December, 2000 convinced us that interest in our 5-year hobby was not fading. So we decided to upgrade to something more substantial.
