ACA, Ohio Camp Conference

Register by December 15, 2026 to get the early bird rate!

• Registration includes full day of professional development, networking and luncheon.
• Not an ACA Member? Join today for FREE and get the best rates for this event!

Consultants may not self-promote at the conference and must register under the consultant rate unless they are a confirmed speaker at the conference.

 Registration Pricing:

We encourage you to register early—not just to save money, but to help us plan the best possible event!

Early Bird: Lock in the best rate by registering early—you’ll get the lowest price and the best deal!

Regular: Our standard registration rate, available after the Early Bird period ends.

Final Wave: Begins two weeks before the event and includes onsite registration. 

As the conference gets closer our team is preparing and planning details, included meal numbers and room setups and materials. Our site needs final numbers in advance. We are always happy to welcome last minute registrants when possible!

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
Safety That Spreads: Building a Culture Your Whole Camp Can Carry
Presented by The Safety Navigator
12:30–5:30 PM | Cost: FREE

This event is free, but please use this link to  Register. Space is limited!

Location: Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center

Overview

Great safety culture doesn’t live in the camp director’s head. It lives in the language staff use at morning meeting, the way a camper describes a lockdown without freezing, and the shared vocabulary that holds from orientation all the way through closing day.

This pre-conference workshop gives you two proven frameworks: the National Safety League and the Standard Response Protocol. You’ll gain the why and the motivation to bring these into your own program, and you’ll also leave with the training slides, facilitator guides, posters, and reference cards to deploy them the moment you return to camp. Every piece of content in this workshop is designed to be used directly with your team: leadership, front-line staff, counselors, volunteers, day participants, overnight campers, and site guests.

Each segment is two hours and built for engagement, not just listening

Segment 1: The National Safety League | 12: 30 pm to 2:30 pm
Safety is a team sport!

Safety culture doesn’t have to be a lecture. The National Safety League gives camps a five-pillar framework that puts safety in the language every camp already speaks: team, season, and sport. This segment walks you through the NSL Play Pillars, shows what each one looks like across leadership, staff, and campers, and helps you find the integration approach that fits your program. From light-touch to fully gamified, you choose the level.

Participants leave with:

• Staff training slides, ready to run at orientation
• Camper-facing posters for each Play Pillar
• Facilitator guides for introducing NSL throughout the season

Segment 2: The Standard Response Protocol | 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
One language. Five actions. Every person on your team.

When an emergency unfolds at camp, your staff need one thing above all else: clarity. The Standard Response Protocol gives every person on your team, from staff, campers, volunteers, and site guests alike, a shared language and five clear actions for any situation. This segment teaches the protocol deeply enough that you can go home and train your whole community yourself.

Participants leave with:

• A complete SRP training script to run with staff
• Staff and camper reference cards
• A rollout plan for integrating SRP into orientation

Schedule

12:30 PM — Welcome and introduction to The Safety Navigator
12:45 PM — Segment 1: The National Safety League
2:15 PM — Q&A and workshop time
2:30 PM — Afternoon break
3:30 PM — Segment 2: The Standard Response Protocol
5:00 PM — Resource review and Q&A
5:30 PM — Close

Note: Q&A and workshop time may be woven throughout each segment rather than held only at the end.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for anyone responsible for safety culture at camp: camp directors, program directors, operations staff, and senior leadership. No prior safety training is required.

About The Safety Navigator

The Safety Navigator is a free, comprehensive safety platform built specifically for the camp industry. Drawing on expertise from high-risk industries and translating it into practical tools any camp can use, TSN serves more than 800 camp professionals across all 50 states, reaching an estimated 400,000 children. Learn more at thesafetynavigator.org.

Bios: 

Tori Barnes is a risk consultant and trainer dedicated to raising the standard of safety in camp and outdoor recreation. She brings a rare combination of deep industry experience and independent outside perspective, helping organizations build stronger cultures of safety through risk assessment, abuse prevention strategies, emergency planning, and insurance.

Tori's career spans more than two decades in the camp world, from day camps to overnight programs. Before launching her consulting practice, she served as a risk control specialist at a leading insurance carrier focused on camps, sports, and outdoor recreation, and as Assistant Director of Accreditation at the American Camp Association. She has been an accreditation visitor and instructor for more than 15 years.

Tori is a native Californian, and if she isn’t home on the coast, she is sure to be found on the coast of Maine in the summers. 

Charlee Johnson is Co-Founder of The Safety Navigator (TSN), a free national platform that translates leading safety systems into practical tools and training so every camp can protect the magic of summer. Charlee co-founded TSN with Marley Palin and Ted Jarrett, launching the organization in February 2026. Today TSN supports hundreds of camps nationwide.

Before TSN, Charlee spent her career in energy and mining, most recently as Head of Commercial at BHP, before leaving corporate life to build TSN full-time. She holds an MBA from the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business and a BA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Oklahoma.

Charlee is based in Houston, Texas.

Coach BE (Bryan E. Stephens) is a Human Development Strategist, keynote speaker, facilitator, and cultural architect who helps organizations build stronger cultures by developing stronger humans. With more than 25 years of experience in special education, juvenile probation, expanded learning, parks and recreation, athletics, and community leadership, he brings practical insight and authentic connection to every audience. As the creator of the PLAY More™ Human Development Framework, Coach BE designs interactive experiences that move people from awareness to action. Through signature presentations including Truth & Trust, The Calluses of Caring, Wounds to Wisdom, Get In The Game, and Beyond the Playbook, he equips leaders, educators, coaches, youth professionals, and organizations with practical tools to strengthen leadership, communication, trust, human sustainability, and team culture. His mission is simple: build stronger people, stronger teams, and stronger cultures.

Tracey Gaslin  PhD, CPNP, FNP-BC, CRNI, RN-BC

CEO, Alliance for Camp Health

Dr. Gaslin completed her PhD in Educational and Organizational Leadership and taught for 10 years specializing in pediatric development, service leadership, and research on gratitude. Dr. Gaslin publishes the majority of her work in the areas of pediatrics, camp nursing, behavioral health, and service leadership and has co-authored several texts. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Alliance for Camp Health where she travels and trains individuals regarding health services and well-being of youth and young adults. She continues to be an active speaker, writer, and publisher representing the Leading Voice in Camp Health to promote hope and healing in youth serving programs.  

Dr. Jim Cain

Teambuilding Guru Dr. Jim Cain has been working and playing with groups for more than fifty years. His work has taken him to all fifty states, eight Canadian provinces and thirty-seven countries to date.  He is the author of thirty-three well-loved books filled with team and community building activities from around the world, including such classics as Teamwork & Teamplay, A Teachable Moment, The Book of Raccoon Circles and Find Something to Do.  His real-world in-person train-the-trainer events are legendary in the adventure-based learning community and his virtual activities are used around the world.  Jim’s most recent books include: Extraordinary Facilitation, The Adventure Trail, Print & Play and Building Character at Camp.

Chris Rehs-Dupin (he/him) is a nationally recognized camp theorist, speaker, author, and consultant whose work explores belonging, leadership, identity, and what it means to stay human in complicated times. He is the founder of TQAMP and has spent more than two decades helping camps and youth-serving organizations build communities where young people and staff can more fully belong. Chris is a leading voice on transgender inclusion in the camp industry and the recipient of the American Camp Association’s Hedley S. Dimock Award, a national honor recognizing significant contributions to the field of organized camping. His writing has appeared in "Camping Magazine", and in October 2026, Chris published his first book, "Impounded: Real Lessons in Leadership, Humanity, and Holding the Line", a funny and deeply human exploration of the lessons he learned after trading summer camp leadership for a job at a city impound lot.

Thursday, January 14, 2027

* Our exhibit hall will be open at 9am and open throughout our conference! Feel free to visit in-between sessions and during unopposed exhibit hall time.

* We are excited to once again offer headshots this year! They will be happening throughout the day. These are complimentary and the photo will be emailed to you.

9:00a.m.-9:30a.m.- Registration and Continental Breakfast & Exhibit Hall

9:30a.m.-10:45a.m.- Welcome and Opening Session

10:45a.m.-11:00a.m.- Unopposed Exhibit Hall Time

11:00-12:00- Educational Breakout Session I

12:15 p.m.-1:30p.m.- Luncheon and Awards 

1:30p.m.-1:45p.m.- Unopposed Exhibit Hall Time

1:45p.m.-2:45p.m.-Educational Breakout Session II

2:45-3:00 p.m.- Unopposed Exhibit Hall Time

3:00p.m.-4:00p.m.-Educational Breakout Session III

4:00p.m.- Safe Travels!

1. It’s professional development with a return on investment (ROI). Attendees gain practical tools, strategic insights, and peer-driven solutions they can bring directly back to camp operations, staffing, risk management, programming, and more.
2. It’s affordable. High-Value, budget-friendly professional growth. Access to expert-led sessions make it one of the most affordable ways to build staff capacity and bring fresh, actionable ideas back to your camp.
3. It helps retain great staff. Want to keep passionate, talented team members? Invest in their professional development. Giving your staff space to connect, learn, and be inspired increases loyalty, motivation, and creativity.
4. Bring back ideas, tools, and renewed vision. You’ll return not only with new strategies, vendors, and best practices—but also with renewed clarity about why we do this work and how to do it better. Your team benefits from that kind of energy and direction.
5. It’s time to debrief and grow after the busiest season of the year. Let’s be real—summer at camp is nonstop. This conference offers a much-needed chance to pause, reflect, and regroup alongside people who truly get it. That time to process, share lessons, and reset leads to clearer strategy, renewed energy, and smarter planning for the season ahead.

SITE INFORMATION

Our event will be taking place at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center is a facility for youth, adult volunteers, community organizations, and Ohio State University partners.

Our pre-conference and conference events will be taking place at the center.

Click Here For Parking Information

HOTEL INFORMATION

If you plan on spending the night in Columbus, check out the Hyatt Place Columbus/OSU, We have secured a block of rooms at  reduced rate. Please use Booking Link to get the best deal!

Book

The exhibit hall date is January 14, 2027

Exhibit:

Booth cost:  Member $450 

Register to Exhibit

A Quick Note About Registration: ACA has launched a new exhibitor registration platform! When you click the link, you'll see the ACA National Conference floor plan in the background.

Registering for a Regional Event only? No need to select a booth on the map! Simply choose your registration type below the map, then click “Skip Map” to continue to checkout.

Sponsorship Opportunities:

• $3,000 Title Sponsor*
• Mobile app sponsor - $2,750*
• $2,000 Keynote sponsor*
• $1,500 Meal sponsor*
• $1,000 Session sponsor
• $500 Snack/Break sponsor

Thursday-January 14, 2027

^{* The exhibit hall will be open at 9am and open throughout our conference! participants will be able to visit in-between sessions and during unopposed exhibit hall time.}

• 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.- Exhibitor Setup
• 9:00 a.m. -9:30 a.m. - Unopposed Exhibit Hall Time and Continental Breakfast
• 10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. -  Unopposed Exhibit Hall Time 
• 1:30p.m.-1:45p.m.- Unopposed Exhibit Hall Time
• 2:45-3:00 p.m.- Unopposed Exhibit Hall Time 
• 3:00 p.m. - Exhibit Hall Closed

All sponsorships come with logo recognition on signage at the event, and on the events web page.

Sponsorships with an (*) also include a booth and two- minutes to address the participants.

For questions regarding sponsorship opportunities, contact Kim Fitzgerald [email protected]