Building Character Through Cultural Responsiveness at Camp

This webinar explores how camps can create transformative character development experiences by embracing culturally responsive-sustaining approaches. Participants will discover how character formation happens most effectively when camp environments affirm diverse cultural identities while fostering growth across lines of difference. 

The session examines character as a dynamic dialogue between self and world. Rather than viewing character as a fixed set of universal virtues, we'll explore how camps can honor the cultural assets campers bring while developing critical thinking skills, empathy, and social consciousness. Participants will learn practical strategies for building inclusive communities that sustain rather than diminish cultural identities and developing programming that empowers campers as agents of positive social change.

Why You Should Attend

Participants will be able to articulate how character formation is influenced by cultural context and explain why sustaining (rather than assimilating) diverse cultural identities strengthens rather than weakens character development outcomes. 

Learn to design culturally responsive character-building activities - Participants will develop specific program strategies that honor campers' diverse backgrounds while building cross-cultural empathy, critical thinking skills, and social awareness through authentic camp experiences. 

Participants will explore principles to create mentoring relationships that invite consciousness and self-reflection while avoiding deficit-based assumptions about campers from different cultural backgrounds.

Stay Engaged

We look forward to seeing you at our live event on March 5, 2026! While you wait, check out these ACA resources to dive into key insights, explore the trends shaping today’s camp challenges, and get a head start on the conversation.

ACA Character Grant Program 
ACA Character Academy 
Recorded Webinar - Race Conversations Continued: Tools & Activities for Engagement at Camp

Meet the Presenters

Lance W. Ozier, EdD
Lance has been on the faculty of The City University of New York since 2009, having also taught courses at Teachers College, Columbia University. Born and raised on a Georgia farm, he now lives in New York, and has taught and worked in Atlanta and NYC classrooms for over 20 years. Lance also spent 15 seasons in the Catskill Mountains at Morry’s Camp, and serves on the American Camp Association’s research advisory committee. 

Dr. Chanika Perry 
Chanika currently serves as Director of Impact Programs at Hands On Atlanta and an adjunct professor in the Summer Principals Academy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Raised on a dirt road in rural Georgia, she now lives in Atlanta after calling New York City home for 11 years. She has been in the fields of youth development and education for over 25 years, with most of those years spent in New York City and Atlanta.