Eric (he/him) grew up in southwest Michigan, connecting with nature through a trout stream at the back of his family’s land. After a “gap decade” spent working a variety of labor jobs and traveling by trains, planes, bicycle, thumb, and Volkswagen bus, he met his wife, Roshan, while teaching at Stone Environmental School in Massachusetts and Maine.
After a couple of years as a special education aide at Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, Eric attended Keene State College, earning a degree in Biology. Following Keene State, he worked short-term stints as a fisheries technician with NH Fish and Game and doing tree surveys with NH GRANIT out of UNH’s Complex Systems Research Center. He recently retired after nearly 21 years at the City of Keene’s Public Works Department, where he worked as Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. There, he regulated the wastewater discharges of businesses; sampled wastewater, groundwater, and surface water; and ran various public education initiatives, including 4th grade water science fairs and Trout-in-the-Classroom programs.
Since retiring from the City of Keene, Eric has greatly expanded the time he dedicates to volunteer work with several immigrant advocacy groups in the region, including Keene Immigrant and Refugee Partnership and Project Home, welcoming new arrivals and helping with their transitions into life in their new country.
In his “retirement gig” with the Harris Center, he helps keep our building and grounds in tip-top shape.
Eric lives in Harrisville with his wife Roshan and, when they can be enticed to visit, his adult daughters, Maya and Molly — who have a long history of camping together at Spoonwood Pond. The Swopes can be found outside wandering through trails, waters, and gardens as often as is humanly possible.
