Stella Richards Departs Serenity Ridge

Operations Manager for Past Three Years Retires

If you have visited Serenity Ridge in the past three years, then you have met Stella Richards, the center’s operations manager. Stella has brought her many skills and gifts to the center in a way that has transformed both the center and all of those that have had the blessing to work with her. Stella is retiring from Serenity Ridge to enter a new slower and more spacious phase of life. She and her husband are building a new home, and in August they leave to spend several months traveling together in Italy. 

Stella’s emphasis on ensuring that every visitor is embraced by kindness and hospitality; her expansion of service retreats and the creation of personal retreat opportunities; the initiation of the residency program—these have brought a stronger sense of community to Serenity Ridge. They also have brought the center closer to being “a place of ceaseless activity,” Tenzin Rinpoche’s wish for Serenity Ridge. Stella has also been a major source in the improvement the center’s landscaping, cleaning up and replanting many flowerbeds with the help of Maria Quintana, Serenity Ridge’s facilities, grounds and housekeeping manager, and volunteers. 

Before her tenure as operation manager, she worked for years part-time in the Serenity Ridge kitchen, often bringing fresh produce from her biodynamic farm for inclusion in meals. Stella, who has a Ph.D., also maintained her ongoing part-time practice as a depth psychologist during her time at Serenity Ridge.

All of us at Serenity Ridge will miss Stella’s presence, and we know that she will be missed by retreatants who have come to anticipate seeing her at arrival and throughout retreat. But, we also look forward to seeing her at the center in new volunteer roles. You may see Stella continuing to work on maintaining and improving our grounds, helping coordinate occasional retreats, and more.

We wish Stella every happiness, and thank her for having done so much to support Serenity Ridge and all of those who come to visit. She will be very much missed!