Board of Directors

Steve Baskin

Steve Baskin

Board Chair – Executive Committee (2027)

Steve Baskin has been a camp professional since 1993. Along with his wife Susie, Steve is Co-Director of Camp Champions (TX), owner of Camp Pinnacle (NC), and partner at Everwood Day Camp (MA). A former Goldman Sachs and BCG professional, he’s a Harvard Business School and Davidson College grad. He chaired ACA’s Tri-State Conference, National Board, and American Camping Foundation (ACF). Steve blogs for Psychology Today and speaks globally on youth development. Steve and Susie have four children: twin sons Wiley and Liam, and daughters Terrill and Virginia. He currently serves as the board chair of American Camp Association.

Patrick D’Amelio

Patrick D’Amelio

Vice Chair – Executive Committee (2029)

Patrick D’Amelio, Board Chair of Camp Gallagher (WA), has 30+ years in youth and education nonprofits. He was CEO of WA STEM, WA Charter School Assoc., Big Brothers Big Sisters Seattle, and Alliance for Education. Over his career, Patrick has led efforts to raise over 100 million dollars in support of young peopleboth in the classroom and in critical out-of-school enrichment programs – including camp. He now serves as the CEO at FareStart in Seattle. Patrick began in camp and holds deep roots in the field. Patrick lives in Seattle with his husband, Jeff, and their children, Etta, and Dylan. He is serving his first term as Vice Chair of the ACA National Board. 

Will Pierce

Will Pierce

Treasurer — Executive Committee (2029)

Will Pierce is a fourth-generation camp owner and director. Along with his wife Kristie, he is Co-Director of Pierce Camp Birchmont (NH), and owner of Pierce Country Day Camp & School (NY) and Pierce Coach Line (NY). He is the board Vice President of the New York State Camp Director’s Association (NYSCDA) and serves on the board of the American Camping Foundation (ACF). He is also a past President of the Long Island Association of Camps and Private Schools (LICAPS). Formerly in private equity, he oversaw a national real estate portfolio across 26 states and directed 400+ employees. Will holds a degree from Dartmouth and lives on-site at camp with his wife Kristie, and their 2 children, Brooke and Ben. He is serving his first term on the ACA National Board.

Betsy Kelder

Betsy Kelder

Member-at-Large – Executive Committee (2029)

Betsy Kelder is Chief People & Operations Officer at JF&CS and former Executive Director of Invest in Girls, leading its national expansion. She held roles at Belmont Day School, Hidden Valley Camp, and Microsoft. Betsy holds degrees from Cornell and Syracuse (MPA). A 17-year Hidden Valley Camps veteran, she also served as ACA New England President (2020–2023). Betsy has 2 girls who are following in their mother’s shoes attending overnight camp at Hidden Valley. Betsy is serving her first term as Member-at-Large. 

Andy Shlensky

Andy Shlensky

Member-at-Large – Executive Committee (2027)

Andy Shlensky owns and directs North Star Camp (WI) and co-owns The Road Less Traveled and Bubbles Academy. A Northwestern grad, he has held various camp leadership roles since 2010. He serves on the ACA National Government Relations Committee and Midwest AIC board, and works closely with several non-profit organizations including the Camp for All Kids Foundation, 4-Star Fellowship, Geography of Hope, and Whole Child Arts. When not at camp or traveling, Andy lives in Chicago with his daughter Laney. Andy is serving his second term as member-at-large of the ACA National Board.

Henry DeHart

Henry DeHart

CEO – Executive Committee (Nonvoting Member)

Henry DeHart became chief executive officer of the American Camp Association (ACA) in September 2025, after serving as interim CEO since October 2024 and as chief operating officer for the previous six years, where he supported ACA’s programs and services for the public, the camp field, and ACA members. His responsibilities have included membership, accreditation, professional development, research, business development, and marketing to support day and overnight camps and camp professionals across the country.

Rafael Alvarado

Rafael Alvarado

Board Member (2028)

Rafael Alvarado is an educator, human resources, and summer camp professional experienced in leading and supporting organizations in the US and LATAM on Strategic Talent Management & Development initiatives. Rafael serves as Camp Director at Keybees Camp (FL), serving Hispanic and Spanish-speaking communities. He previously held leadership roles with the Venezuelan Camping Association, co-authoring operational standards and training programs. Rafael holds degrees in Education, Management, and Business. He is serving his second term on the ACA National Board.

Adam Boyd

Adam Boyd

Board Member (2028)

Adam Boyd was born into a camping family, with his father starting Atlanta’s Keywayden Day Camp in the mid-1950s before purchasing Merri-Mac for Girls in 1977. Adam and his wife Ann owned and directed Merri-Mac and Timberlake and in 2008, they added Black Mountain Expeditions (BME). In 2024, Adam and Ann sold Merri-Mac and BME to their daughter and son-in-law, and Timberlake to their long-time Timberlake directors. They currently remain on the director staff at Merri-Mac and BME where they manage the barn and work in staff development and adventure program training. Adam holds an MDiv and DM from Reformed Theological Seminary. Adam is serving his first term on the ACA National Board. 

Deborah Clair

Deborah Clair

Board Member (2028)

Deborah Clair is the Founder and Executive Director of CAMP 1302 in Chicago, serving youth with academic and creative programming. With 20 years in nonprofit management, she’s raised over $10M for organizations across education, food security, and camps. She holds degrees from Columbia College Chicago and Spertus College and is a doctoral candidate at Governors State. Deborah was born and raised on Chicago's South side. She is an advocate for and product of the Chicago Public Schools. She has been married for a long time to her soulmate and has three adult children who were all campers at various residential summer camps. Deborah is serving her second term on the ACA National Board.

Dawn Ewing

Dawn Ewing

Board Member (2029)

Dawn Ewing serves as executive director of Project Morry and has dedicated 40 years to the camp profession. She began her camping career at Camp Echo Lake as tripping director and has since become a respected leader in camp safety and governance. Dawn currently serves on the board of American Camp Association, New York and New Jersey and chairs the New York State Camp Safety Advisory Council. She also sits on the Founders Advisory Council of Soul Ryeders. A former Tri-State Camping Conference Chair, Dawn earned her AAS from SUNY Morrisville and her BS from the University of Maine in Orono.

Amy Gutschenritter

Amy Gutschenritter

Board Member (2029)

Amy Hurwitz Gutschenritter is chief executive officer of Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA (BCCYMCA), a 120+-year-old camping organization in Massachusetts. In 2019, she became the first woman to lead BCCYMCA. A lifelong member of the community — alumna, former summer staff member, and longtime trustee including board chair — Amy brings both deep institutional knowledge and broad executive experience from more than 25 years in global financial services leadership roles, including senior positions at SIX Securities Services and State Street Corporation. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and an MBA from Bentley University and has served on multiple nonprofit boards supporting governance, fundraising, and strategic planning.

Dayna Hardin

Dayna Hardin

Board Member (2027)

Dayna Hardin is President of CampGroup LLC, guiding 15 camps nationwide serving 7,400+ campers annually. She previously owned and directed Lake of the Woods and Greenwoods Camps in Michigan and co-founded SCOPE Midwest, providing scholarships to underserved youth. Dayna is a frequent camp conference speaker and past chair of the ACA National Conference. Dana has received numerous awards for her dedication to youth development and leadership within the camp industry. She is serving her second term on the ACA National Board.

Brian Levy

Brian Levy

Board Member (2028)

Brian Levy, Of Counsel with Katten & Temple LLP, povides compliance, governance, transactional, and regulatory guidance for banks and mortgage providers. For over 15 years, Mr. Levy has also represented purchasers and sellers of summer camps and provided camp owners with ongoing counsel. Brian has served in leadership roles with RESPRO, national banking committees, and youth-serving nonprofits. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Harvard Law School. Brian is serving his first term on the ACA National Board. 

Dan Mathews

Dan Mathews, MEd, CTRS

Board Member (2028)

Dan Mathews, M.Ed., CTRS, is Chief Experience Officer at Camp Twin Lakes, partnering with 60+ nonprofits to serve youth with serious illnesses and challenges in Georgia. A certified Recreation Therapist and former university faculty, Dan is active in ACA and Rotary and was named the 2017 Youth Development Practitioner of the Year. He lives in Rutledge, Georgia with his wife Heather and daughters Mary-Katherine and Hannah. He is serving his second term on the ACA National Board. 

Sheely Mauck

Sheely Mauck

Board Member (2027)

Sheely Mauck is a facilitator, educator, and leader who works at the intersection of organizational leadership, accessibility, and inclusion. Sheely began her career in youth development at the same Boys & Girls Club and YMCA programs she attended throughout childhood. Prior to co-founding KBD Collaborative, Sheely served as the Director of Equitable Quality Improvement Systems at the Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality at the Forum for Youth Investment where she oversaw a portfolio of local, regional, and national organizations engaged in building and implementing systems to support high quality, impactful out-of-school time programs. Through technical assistance, executive coaching, experiential learning, and consultation, Sheely now supports systems analysis, design, and planning as well as tailored professional learning opportunities for youth, practitioners and local leaders to implement their collective vision and goals.

John Miller

John Miller

Board Member (2028)

John Miller recently retired after 37 years with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, where he served as SVP of Affiliate Relations and CEO Search. He began his career as a camp director and held numerous leadership roles nationally. A co-founder of the Society of African American Professionals, he has served on several nonprofit boards. John and his wife Maria have two adult children; one granddaughter and they reside in Atlanta. John is serving his first term on the ACA National Board. 

Alex Mircheff

Alex Mircheff

Board Member (2028)

Alex Mircheff recently retired as a litigation partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he advised boards and executives on investor and fiduciary disputes. He is a past chair of California YMCA Youth & Government and a former assistant director, counselor, and camper at Tom Sawyer Camps. Alex coaches little league baseball and youth basketball in Southern California, where he lives with his wife (a U.S. magistrate judge) and two sons. He is serving his first term on the ACA National Board. 

Ginger Naylor

Ginger Naylor

Board Member (2029)

Ginger Naylor serves as chief executive officer of Outward Bound USA. Previously, she led the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School for more than 12 years, helping establish it as a leader in experiential character education and launching a new Outward Bound program in Washington, DC. With over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience, Ginger is known for aligning philanthropy, public-private partnerships, and community access initiatives to expand equitable opportunities in outdoor education.

Shawna Rosenzweig

Shawna Rosenzweig

Board Member (2029)

Shawna Rosenzweig is chief executive officer of Camp Fire, a national youth development organization founded in 1910. Since assuming leadership, she has spearheaded culture change initiatives, strengthened equity efforts across the network, and built strategic national partnerships. A Certified Nonprofit Professional, Shawna was recognized in 2024 as one of The Worthy 100’s impactful changemakers and in 2025 as a “Legend” by Seattle Reign FC and Starbucks for her extraordinary community contributions. She also serves as vice chair of the National AfterSchool Association board and advises several national youth-serving initiatives.

LeeKeshia Williams

LeeKeshia Williams

Board Member (2027)

LeeKeshia Williams directs the Youth Protection Program at The University of Texas at Austin, where she established the first ACA-accredited college campus. She is Vice Chair of the Higher Education Protection Network (HEPNet) and a national leader in youth safety and compliance systems. Keshia is passionate about youth development, streamlining regulatory systems, and implementing e-processes within youth programming. She is serving her second term on the ACA National Board.

Kurt Podeszwa

Kurt Podeszwa

Ex-Officio Voting Member (2029)

Kurt Podeszwa is president of Camp Aranzazu in Rockport, Texas, an accessible camp serving campers of all ages and abilities. With more than 30 years of experience in youth development and nonprofit management, Kurt is also the founder of Journey Consulting and a faculty member at Expert Online Training. A respected presenter and author, he has contributed extensively to staff development, adaptive programming, and professional standards. Kurt has previously served on the ACA National Board and currently serves on the National Standards Commission.

Resolutions on the Camp Clock

Deep in the woods on the other side of the lake, on a remote path known almost exclusively by our campers, rests the Manning plaque on a solid stone foundation. The honorarium was dedicated in 1924 to the memory of Mr. Robert L. Manning:

“E’EN AS HE TROD THAT DAY TO GOD
SO WALKED HE FROM HIS BIRTH
IN SIMPLENESS AND GENTLENESS
AND HONOR AND CLEAN MIRTH”

We know little about Mr. Manning, but imagine he would have been a good role model. For people in camping, Opening Day is New Year’s Day. Let’s take a closer look at the words used to commemorate Robert Manning and see how they might apply to some early-session camp community discussions.

SIMPLENESS: Make life simpler. Unpretentious pleasures trump material things: the beauty of one’s surroundings, the company of friends, a chance to grow -- both physically and emotionally. These examples are not only simple, they are free! At camp, we strive to make everything as uncomplicated as possible. “The fun is in the doing,” is our mantra, and there is little need to complicate things by assigning a grade, rank, or level to everything a camper does. Children get enough of that at school.

This is not to suggest that brave or persistent effort shouldn’t be publicly recognized. Recently, when a boy was praised at a camp meeting for making it all the way around the lake on skis during his first effort, a director made it a point to cross the room to shake his hand. “No trophy, no ribbon, not even a patch for you,” teased the director, with confidence the camper comprehended fully where this camp value lay. When a humble and sincere “Thanks!” is a youngster’s heartfelt response to a compliment, rather than a “What do I get?” then we are witnessing some solid character growth- one where simple pleasures have trumped material things.

GENTLENESS: Be a gentle soul. The gentleness of Robert L. Manning must have been of a kind and tender sort. We urge boys to do much more than merely control their emotions. One Sunday per session, at camp meeting, we discuss the phrase “To make a friend, you have to be a friend.” Veteran campers offer sage advice and then practice what they preach. Gentleness, while not necessarily defined as such, is a prime ingredient in the friendship recipe. “Be sort of quiet at first and do more listening than talking” is one thought likely to be voiced at this gathering. “Laugh at the other guy’s jokes, even if they are not that funny” is another suggestion.

With good advice like this, campers learn that they can be tough competitor’s on the ball field or clever wits in conversation while also evoking kindheartedness in their actions. What a deal it is for a youngster to learn he can gain the understanding and acceptance of his peers without first needing to throw his weight around to get their attention.

HONOR: Conduct yourself with honor. We tell boys to do the right thing regardless of the consequences. Many of our games are self-refereed. If a boy is tagged, he removes himself from that round of the game. “I did not catch the pass in bounds,” or “I trapped the ball,” or “Yes, I fouled him under the basket” are all honorable actions that become camp imperatives over time. Time is the operative word where honor is concerned. While the human survival instinct calls for self-preservation, the discipline of personal accountability – taking of responsibility for one’s actions – is a learned trait.

Anything that needs to be taught must be repeated over and over again. Even at the lowest end of the acceptable behavioral spectrum (horsing around) we ask kids to think through each action from the other person’s point of view. The “tradition of expectation” is that no one gets hurt, physically or emotionally and that whatever is done is easily undone. We expect to see good attitudes on the sports field, to hear about hikes completed without complaint, and to observe children praising the accomplishments of others rather than demanding attention for themselves. Out of many such episodes comes a life of honor.

CLEAN MIRTH: Celebrate good clean fun. Mirth is defined as “amusement, especially when expressed with laughter.” Clean means “morally uncontaminated, pure, innocent, and not sexually offensive or obscene.”

Clearly, the fun of camp should be of the clean mirth sort. There is a fine line between laughing with and laughing at, between exuberance and trash-talk, and between aggressive play and unsportsmanlike conduct on the sports field. Events conspire to bring young people to the brink of these distinctions every day of their lives. At summer camp, children are both taught and find out for themselves the important differences between clean and not-so-clean mirth. Camp is a great place to work with kids privately when they misbehave and acknowledge more publicly when a group of them has a spot-on joyous happenstance. Camp is one of the great laboratories for sorting out these distinctions.

Everyone at camp lives for those deliriously happy occasions where the fun has been in the doing and that’s all there is to it. On one occasion, near dusk, shouts of unrestrained glee came echoing across the calm waters of the lake. Some lifeguards and campers had taken the 20 foot square fishing dock, and had paddled it, Huck Finn style, into open water. Now, they were almost home and the rafters wanted everyone along the shore to greet their return. “Right paddle,” “left reverse,” were orders shouted above the din as the make-shift raft slowly and gracefully glided back to the exact spot of departure. That is a moment that Robert L. Manning would have loved. Simple. Gentle. Honorable. Clean Mirth. We could all do well to cling to such simple virtues as these every day of our lives.

“Camp 101” is a blog co-authored by the father/son team of Bob and Rob Wipfler, co-directors of Kingswood Camp for Boys in Piermont, NH. Together they have over 101 years of experience at residential summer camps. www.kingswoodcamp.com

The views and opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Camp Association or ACA employees.

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