By Sheila Buckmaster
Welcome to our newest newsletter offering! With each issue, we will present an engaging behind-the-scenes look at TIS by profiling one of the folks who make TIS tick–from staffers to guests, volunteers to donors.
We begin at the very beginning, with Executive Director Julie Lowe, someone who has been part of the team since 2008, when the first conversations were had with representatives from agencies who work with people in poverty, members of law enforcement, church leaders and concerned citizens. She’s been continuously at the helm of TIS in various positions—board president and other volunteer roles– until she was hired by TIS as the Executive Director in 2013, leading with smarts, grace, deep caring, humor, and a keen ability to juggle a slew of things at once.
On the morning of Indigenous Peoples Day, October 13, 2025, Julie had a make-my-day moment, when Melissa (name changed), exclaimed, with unbridled joy
“I got the job. I GOT THE JOB!”
Okay, here’s the story. As she left her room, TIS resident Melissa saw Julie walking down the hall and couldn’t wait to share the news. In a sweet, never-to-be-forgotten encounter, a heartwarming success was savored by two very special people: a TIS guest and the organization’s Executive Director.
Julie was met with open arms that quickly became a heartfelt hug–along with that gleeful announcement. Melissa would soon begin her job as a Nurse’s Assistant at Candlelight Cove, an assisted living and memory care community in Easton that perfectly suits her employment hopes—to help people.
“Melissa and her two school-age daughters had been at the Shelter for a little over three months when she landed the job,” explains Julie, who was at work that day, a national holiday when banks and many offices are closed–and there is no mail collected or delivered. Had she not been in the office that morning, she wouldn’t have received the news when emotions ran high!
With unmistakable pride, Julie notes, “Melissa had been seeking a job ever since she came to the shelter.” She left no stone unturned in her quest, looking to “land something that involved caring for others.” While at the shelter, she proves just how capable she is when it comes to caring for people.
“Melissa is wonderful with her two daughters and can always be counted on to meet her responsibilities—which she loves–helping to clean the Shelter’s public spaces, making them the perfect environment for guest growth and well-being. Each guest at the Shelter becomes part of the family, taking on chores, including cooking, setting the table (on this day a handsome Autumn-themed dining spot), doing the dishes, helping out with the laundry, keeping all the communal areas bright and clean and welcoming.
Though the roster of guests at the Shelter is constantly in flux, what remains a constant for Julie? “I am always reminded of just how resilient people are. No matter the level of loss and trauma, the people who stay at the Shelter crave success.”
Before she landed her job as full-time TIS Executive Director, Julie was splitting her time between helping to plot a course for a state-of-the-art Shelter and running her landscaping business. When Julie told her colleagues in 2021, as TIS purchased the house next door to Easton’s Promise, that things were at the point where a full-time ED was needed, her colleagues told her, “Well, that should be you.” Julie closed down her landscaping business and took hold of the reins. Julie has not regretted that decision for one moment in the 4 years that have transpired. (She still exercises her love of nature by gardening, hiking— “anything having to do with the outdoors,” she says.)
Which leads us to her college education. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Leisure Studies with a concentration in Outdoor Recreation, which prepared her for work in the therapeutic world—just right for her. Julie landed a full-time job in Norfolk, Virginia, working with juvenile delinquents in their quest to create better lives for themselves–“taking them into to the forest” and other activities designed to boost their self-esteem—”somewhat like Outward Bound.” But the time came when she wanted to be in Talbot County, to be closer to some of her closest relatives.
And, it turns out, close to the fortunate individuals who come to live at the Shelter for a time, before transitioning to one of 20 subsidized apartments/homes, on their way to self-sufficiency.
With dedication from TIS staff, volunteers, board members, and donors—not to mention a small amount of funding from local government—the organization remains poised to improve, to become an even stronger shelter in every way.
What tops Julie’s wish list these days? “Housing.” It is a problem—a challenge–given the critical apartment situation in Talbot County—low inventory at ever-spiraling rates.
“I only wish we could help more people.”
Summing things up, she says, “Unless you have a place to live, you can’t make things come together. Which brings us back to Melissa and her I GOT THE JOB success.
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