The heart of our Durham YMCA is our members, volunteers and staff. We're especially blessed to have special individuals who are all three at once and bring the richness of their talents and passions to the Y and the community we serve. Amy Rossi is one such superstar who contributes in a myriad of ways, and we're so excited to share her Y story!
My YMCA story started in 1978 at “Water Babies Class” at the Trumbull County Y in Warren, Ohio, where I learned to swim before I could walk. My mom had my three siblings and me in swim classes there for years, where we progressed from endless water treading, to side stroke, to making a flotation device out of jeans (true story). I came back to the Y as an adult, but was a “We Build People” campaigner here in Durham for years before I was even a member (shout-out to the persuasive powers of Josephe Featherstone for that!). I’ve been with the Annual Campaign for going a million years now, and served as Community Chair this past year. Community outreach, as well as the community we foster within the Y, is at the heart of my “Why the Y” story.
I have three kids, ages 19, 17 and 9, who are part of my Y story as well! My kids didn’t take a “Water Babies” class like I did, but they all started their aquatic careers around age 3 with the Hope Valley Farms swim team, which we’ve been a part of for 13 years now (Shout-out to Coach Stanley Bass!) In fact, a lot of folks at the Y recognize me as a swim team parent rep before they realize I’m also a teacher here. Watching them grow and change as part of a diverse team that feels like family has been amazing.
I’ve been a student of yoga for over 20 years, but teaching wasn’t even on my radar until Miss Shirley, who had seen me come to class a million times, asked me to fill in one day when the instructor didn’t show. And I liked it. In 2018 I fulfilled a promise to a good friend who passed away and finally enrolled to become a yoga instructor. The Y gave me a name tag soon after I graduated, and it has been my favorite place to teach ever since. I kept my classes going during the pandemic (and picked up a whole bunch more) by moving them outside. That first year of the pandemic really shaped who I am as a teacher today by challenging my idea of what yoga is and what it can do. I not only had to learn how to adapt my teaching to our ever-changing physical environment (from teaching outdoors in the middle of winter to the heat of summer and back again), I quickly saw the emotional need class was filling for the people who came. For many of them, it was the only face to face interaction they had with other people, especially during the late spring and summer of 2020, and isolation was obviously taking its toll on their nervous systems. People were showing up with a lot of physical and mental pain. So I went back to school again to figure out how to better help people deal with what they were going through within the context of yoga class. I spent the next few years working on my 500-hr certification (and graduated again this past spring!), with the bulk of my studies focusing on nervous system regulation and the mind-body connection. Whereas my teaching was once mostly about the physical aspects of the practice, my yoga classes now have a much stronger focus on nervous system regulation and mind-body-spirit health. The Y has been there for all of that, and gave me the space and encouragement I needed to grow as a practitioner and teacher. Somewhere along the way I also picked up a barre certification, which I now teach at the Lakewood and downtown branches. Barre is physically challenging, but we have a lot of fun, which is important to me.
What do I enjoy most about working at the Y? The sense of community, a million times over. Y people are my kind of people!
What do I do outside of the Y? I’m a professional photographer and preschool teacher. I also recently started a party business (Bull City Parties) with a friend--still waiting for that one to take off!
Fan Club Quotes
"Amy Rossi is one in a billion….actually no….there is only one Rossi! She cares so deeply about the Y, our members and the Durham Community and it shows in all that she does. And when you are around Rossi you are guaranteed a good belly laugh as she always puts a smile on so many faces. She has no idea the impact she has made on me and many many others. We love her!" -Laura Ferguson
"Amy lights up the room when she is in it! She is always a great time and brings so much joy and energy. It was an absolute pleasure to work alongside Amy as our Annual Campaign Community Gifts Chair the past two years." -Kelly Johnson
"Amy served a parent rep for the Hope Valley Farms Y swim team. She is very creative and artsy. There is nothing that she can’t do. She goes above and beyond to make everyone feel accepted." -Stanley Bass
