American Camp Association New England

Taking Your Camp Virtual - Learnings from the Field
2020-05-22 11:00 - 12:15 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Taking Your Camp Virtual – Learnings from the Field

Are you taking your camp virtual this summer?
Or considering a hybrid of in-person and virtual programming?
Or still exploring options and want to learn more?
If so, join us to hear from three camp pros who have been providing a variety of virtual programming this spring (from enrichment to vacation camps) and are working through their camps’ plans for the summer.
The following panelists will share what they have been doing and there will be time for Q&A too:

Meghan Gardner, Founder and CEO of Guard Up and Guardian Adventures
Lauren Hoops-Schmieg, Executive Director of Hill House
Kara Larochelle, Camp Director and Youth Development Director at Camp Ketcha

About the panelists:
Meghan Gardner is the CEO of Guard Up, Inc’s Guardian Adventures, which owns and operates Wizards & Warriors and Zombie Summer Camps, programs and events. These informal educational camps and events are STEM and story-based experiences where all ages play a character of their own design, battling monsters with physics, biology, chemistry, and more. Meghan is the Lead STEM Curriculum Designer for the parent company of The Princeton Review in the development of their Mission to Mars STEM Adventures in east Asia and in the USA. She is also a guest lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education and other major universities, and an international speaker on the topic of Informal Education and Learning for all ages. In her free time, Meghan volunteers for hospice and works with terminally ill patients of all ages as well as their families.
Lauren Hoops-Schmieg is the Executive Director at Hill House, an independent, nonprofit community center whose mission is to provide programs, services and activities to meet the diverse social, educational, cultural and recreational needs of individuals and families residing in Boston’s downtown neighborhoods. Prior to Hill House, Lauren served as the VP of Communications and County-Wide Services at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County as well as the organization’s Camp Director for Camp Grosvenor. Lauren earned her MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management and her B.A. in English from UMass, Amherst. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, traveling, camping, and collecting rare books.
Kara Larochelle is the Director of Youth Development at Camp Ketcha in Scarborough, Maine. In this position she runs summer camp, school year programming, and adventure challenge programming. Along with these youth programs Camp Ketcha has a pre-school, event rentals, therapeutic programs, and operates the Portland Gear Hub and The Portland Gear Hub Bike School. Kara has worked in camping at Ketcha for 7 years and was previously a music teacher in the Portland Public Schools. In her free time Kara enjoys hiking, climbing, reading, and playing with her dog, Casco.

Event Organizer/Sponsor: ACA, New England
When: May 22, 2020 from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm ET (RSVP required)
Where: Via Zoom
Cost: FREE, but registration is required
Website
Registration Information
Register here.
Make sure to share any burning topics or questions you have about virtual camp – we will do our best to address them!
If you are unable to join us live, this session will be recorded. A recording will be posted here on ACA’s COVID-19 resource page, https://www.acacamps.org/resource-library/coronavirus/online-learning-events-covid-19, some time during the week of May 26, so be sure to check back!
