Cathy Bruemmer

Retreat Manager

(AKA Caretaker of the Mothership)

For more than twenty years Cathy has been caring for the land, buildings and writers at Hedgebrook. She has grown vegetables, cleared trails, split and stacked endless cords of fire wood while always paying attention, looking for rot or rodents, opportunities to creatively work with the space we have or, when necessary, build something new. Cathy is committed to the sometimes-messy work of cultivating equitable, respectful work teams and is a fearless advocate for the staff. She dreams about houses and in her spare time, builds whenever she can.

Being alone in a cottage in the woods can be restorative and it can be scary. Cathy will continue to welcome our residents, helping ensure a comfortable and safe space particularly for those from urban areas and women of color. A lifelong reader, she is grateful to play a role in supporting the writers who come to Hedgebrook.