Camp isn’t just what I do; it’s my passion

I have spent all of my professional life at summer camp: living it, leading it, solving the problems that come with it, and watching what happens when a camp community really works.

Over the years, I have been a counselor, educator, program leader, administrator, camp director, mentor, American Camp Association standards visitor, and the person people call when something unexpected happens and someone needs to figure out what to do next.

That experience has taught me that great camps are built on much more than beautiful facilities and exciting activities or the promises people make to get families in the door. They depend on strong relationships, good judgment, thoughtful systems, healthy staff cultures, clear communication, and leaders who can keep the big picture in mind while dealing with the thousand small things that happen every day.

I know camp from the inside

For decades, I helped lead a traditional residential summer camp in Maine, ultimately serving as its longtime director.

That meant responsibility for nearly every part of camp life: campers and families, staff hiring and development, programming, safety, accreditation, enrollment, operations, traditions, difficult conversations, strategic decisions and, of course, the countless situations that never appear in a camp director job description.

I know what it is like to be responsible for a community that matters enormously to the people in it.

I also know how lonely leadership can sometimes be. Even experienced directors benefit from having someone outside the immediate situation who understands camp, asks good questions, and can help separate the urgent from the important.

What I bring

I am practical by nature. I like solving problems, helping people work through complicated situations, and finding approaches that actually function in the real world.

Sometimes that means looking at the big picture: leadership structure, staff culture, program design, enrollment, communication, or the future direction of a camp.

Sometimes it is much more immediate: preparing for an ACA visit, thinking through a difficult staffing issue, reviewing policies, helping a new director find their footing, or figuring out why something that should be working simply isn’t.

I don’t believe every camp should operate the same way. In fact, much of what makes camps extraordinary comes from their individuality.

My job is not to turn your camp into someone else’s camp. It is to help you make your camp work better.

ACA standards and accreditation

I have extensive experience with American Camp Association standards, both as a camp director responsible for accreditation and as the longest tenured ACA visitor in New England.

I understand that the standards process can feel overwhelming, particularly for new directors or organizations preparing for a visit after leadership changes.

It doesn’t have to.

I can help camps with accreditation years and AARs, to understand what the standards are really asking, identify gaps before a visit, organize documentation, prepare staff, and approach accreditation as something more useful than a compliance exercise.

What matters to me

I believe camp should be joyful.

It should also be safe, intentional, inclusive, well run, and worthy of the enormous trust families place in us.

I believe children benefit from adults who know when to step in and when to step back. Staff members do their best work when expectations are clear and they feel supported. Traditions matter. Culture matters. Details matter.

And despite all the policies, schedules, spreadsheets and logistics required to operate a camp, we should never become so focused on the running of camp that we forget why camp exists in the first place.

Kids should leave with stories. They should have done something they didn't know they could do. They should have laughed until their stomachs hurt. They should have made a friend they might never have met anywhere else. They should feel a little more capable, a little more independent and a little more themselves.

That is the work I still care deeply about.

And yes, I still think camp should be fun.

I take the responsibility of camp leadership seriously.

I don't think we have to take ourselves seriously all the time.

If you are looking for someone with deep camp experience, practical judgment, a sense of humor, and a genuine affection for the wonderfully strange world of summer camp, I would be happy to talk.

Experienced. Practical. Camp-smart.