Echo Hill Outdoor School’s new Executive Director, Peter “Petey” Rice III, is dedicated to the School’s mission of providing a visionary, back-to-basics environmental curriculum for over 6,700 students each year.
Echo Hill Outdoor School (EHOS), dedicated to fostering environmental stewardship and outdoor education, is proud to announce the appointment of Peter P. Rice III as its new Executive Director.
With a deep background in outdoor education, event management, and strategic planning, Rice brings a wealth of experience and a passion for environmental education to his new role. Rice has been an integral part of the Echo Hill Outdoor School team since 2014, serving in various capacities including Interim Executive Director, Assistant Director, Senior Naturalist, and USCG Captain.
During his tenure at EHOS, Rice has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills in overseeing day-to-day operations, employee relations, and program expansion. He has also been instrumental in building new avenues of fundraising to support the School's mission.
Echo Hill Outdoor School’s new Executive Director, Peter “Petey” Rice III, is dedicated to the School’s mission of providing a visionary, back-to-basics environmental curriculum for over 6,700 students each year.
"I am honored and excited to take on the role of Executive Director at Echo Hill Outdoor School," said Rice. "The School’s program is proven—it's been around for 50 years. Statistically, for a nonprofit, that’s an incredible feat. We have returning schools come year after year. But there is a lot of room to grow and reach further. I have big shoes to fill and I’m ready for the challenge."
Rice's dedication to outdoor education extends beyond his work at Echo Hill Outdoor School. He has previously served as Associate Director at Echo Hill Camp, where he played a key role in strategic planning, staff management, and safety oversight. Prior to joining Echo Hill Camp, Rice held positions at New York Road Runners and Tough Mudder, where he gained valuable experience in event management and logistics.
Rice will serve as only the second Executive Director in the School’s history. Since Echo Hill Outdoor School’s establishment in 1972, Rice’s father, Peter Rice, Jr., led the institution until his recent retirement. With a passionate board and a team of dedicated and talented staff, he developed its groundbreaking, back-to-basics environmental curriculum through educational programs that celebrated the transformative joy of nature. Under Rice’s 51-year span of leadership, EHOS grew into a year-round organization, adding full time staff and educators and embarking on major capital improvements like dorms, adventure courses, and a fleet of traditional Chesapeake workboats to provide on-the-water experiences.
Rice’s visionary leadership in outdoor education has provided countless students with transformative outdoor experiences, instilling a lifelong love for the natural world. His commitment to education, coupled with his innovative approach, established Echo Hill Outdoor School as a cornerstone of environmental education in the region.
Rice III continues this legacy with a steadfast commitment to the School’s mission—and a core belief that fun, hands-on experiences in the Chesapeake’s outdoors have the power to inspire and uplift children.
"We are thrilled to have Petey Rice as our new Executive Director," said Robert Creamer, President of the Board of Directors at Echo Hill Outdoor School. "He was selected unanimously by our search committee after a very extensive review process that drew 15 well-qualified applicants. Petey’s extensive supervisory experience, his fresh ideas, his approach to fundraising, and his commitment to our mission were what we were looking for. As an executive board, we had to find the leader of Echo Hill Outdoor School for the next 50 years—someone who could guide the organization through changes in education and schooling, and who could help create a culture for our staff where people feel appreciated and love to work. All of these factors made him the ideal candidate to lead our organization into the future."
As Executive Director, Rice will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of Echo Hill Outdoor School's operations, including staff administration, program design, fundraising, and community outreach.
About Echo Hill Outdoor School:
Echo Hill Outdoor School, located in Worton, MD, is an educational 501(c)3 non-profit institution, dedicated to providing transformative outdoor experiences for students of all ages. Through hands-on learning and exploration, Echo Hill inspires a lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship and outdoor adventure. Today, more than 6,700 students and teachers from public and private schools annually visit Echo Hill Outdoor School in our residential outdoor education programs, adventure programs, camps and day programs from March through mid-December. In 2023, Echo Hill Outdoor School received a citation from the Governor of Maryland in recognition of 50 years of nature-based education.
For more information about Echo Hill Outdoor School, visit www.ehos.org.
