Escape the gravitational pull of the status quo.

Escape Velocity launched in the fall of 2025 with Camp CEOs and other industry leaders to help answer the question: How should the value proposition of overnight camping be redefined for a modern context? Now in its second year, this event continues as a rapid-build methodology for senior overnight camp leaders.

This year, our big questions center around the Staffing Precipice, The Parent Anxiety Loop and The Digital Detox Paradox. From Tuesday afternoon to Thursday midday, small teams take on a big challenge facing the overnight camping industry, build a concept to address it, and defend it before a panel of judges from inside and outside the camp world.

Teams work through structured innovation sprints, moving from big questions to prototypes with rapid feedback along the way. At the 2025 launch, five teams spent thirty hours redefining the value proposition of overnight camp. Their concepts ranged from a state tax-credit model to a distributed microcamp movement.

Participants will:

1. Apply a structured rapid-build process to a complex, high-stakes challenge facing overnight camp.
2. Develop and defend a concept with feedback from peers and judges from inside and outside the camp world.
3. Leave with a test-ready prototype, sharper strategic thinking, and a network of peers in senior leadership to carry the work forward.

This is an advanced (300-level) offering best suited for Executive Directors, CEOs, and senior leaders of overnight camps and camp-serving organizations, including nonprofit and private camps, who are serious about escaping the status quo. 

This program is being offered in partnership with ACA, New England, but is open to participants from other regions. Camp professionals from around the country are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Dates & Registration Details

• Tuesday, March 16: Arrival from 2:00 pm, program 4:00 to 9:00 pm
• Wednesday, March 17: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm
• Thursday, March 18: 8:30 am to 1:00 pm

Location: Manchester, NH (exact meeting locations TBD)

Cost: $500 (price is fixed for all participants) – participants registering for both Escape Velocity and the New England Camp Conference will receive $100 off the total price of registration. To take advantage of this package, please email gillian@acanewengland.org before registering.

*Note: registration transfers are not available for this program. A $50 cancellation fee will be in effect until Feb. 1, 2027. After Feb. 1, no refunds will be issued, but payment may be applied to registration for the New England Camp Conference. Enrollment is limited to 40 participants.

Participants should expect a short pre-read to be completed prior to the start of the program. If time allows, a virtual orientation may be scheduled. More details to come.

Click here to register!

About the Facilitators

Aaron Proietti

Aaron Proietti is the Founder of Today’s Innovator, which helps organizations make sense of change. A former Chief Innovation Officer, he is a keynote speaker, strategic facilitator, and author of Today’s Innovator, and consults with camps through Shout.Camp. Aaron chairs the YMCA Camp Cory Advisory Board.

Mark Dibble

Mark Dibble has led YMCA of the Pines since 2015, a 120 year old association operating a full membership YMCA, a conference and retreat center, two overnight camps, three day camps, and more than 20 childcare sites across southern New Jersey, where he has doubled revenue and rebuilt the boys’ overnight camp program into a nationally recognized, SEL based model. He is a former member of the YMCA of the USA National Board of Directors, past chair and current trustee of the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance, and chair of the Burlington County Regional Chamber of Commerce. Before the Y he was a business strategy consultant with Accenture Federal Services.

Dave Ghidiu

Dave Ghidiu builds camp programs kids talk about all year! Co-founder of 2K Summer and a Camp Cory alum, he is a frequent ACA conference presenter and camp consultant who brings more than 20 years as an educator, now as an Associate Professor at Finger Lakes Community College, to every session.

Sallie Ransom

Sallie Ransom is a career camping professional of 32 years. Overseeing camping operations that exceed $32M, she excels in vision planning, strategic development, operational planning, and leading change. She has served as vice-chair of the Camp Cabinet and has led several sessions at ACA and NAYDO conferences.

Mick Weeks

Mick Weeks is a former VP of the YMCA of the Pines board, serving for 12 years. Following nearly two decades in K-12 Education at Apple, he has pivoted to working with organizations that share his passions. He currently serves as the BOE President in his hometown of Moorestown, NJ, is chair of the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the College of Arts & Sciences at his undergraduate alma mater Seton Hall University, and is an at-large board member for the US Soccer Federation Development Council.

Suzanne Williams is the Vice President of Development and Governance at YMCA of the Pines.

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For questions about this program and its content, reach out to Aaron Proietti at aaron@todaysinnovator.com or 410-926-6183.

For questions about registration, reach out to Gillian Gold, Events & Logistics Manager at gillian@acanewengland.org or 781-541-6080 ext. 106.

Use of Images and Audio by ACA, New England: Through my registration, I give American Camp Association, New England (ACANE) full rights and permissions with respect to any photographs, video, and audio recordings taken during the ACANE event. These images and recordings may be used by ACANE and its agents in any format or medium and for any lawful purpose.