Resource Community Series: Newer Camp Directors
2023-10-10 10:00 - 2023-11-14 11:30 (America/New_York) | ACA, New England/Zoom (depending on session)
Resource Community Series:
Newer Camp Directors (200-Level)
**While the first session has passed, we still welcome new registrations to begin with the group in November.**
For camp professionals with 1-4 summers of camp director experience
(Both day and resident camp directors are welcome! As space is limited to around 20 participants, we can only accommodate one director per camp at this time.)
We know that building community with colleagues from a variety of camps throughout New England will help you feel supported as you move forward in your camping career. Join us for a series of monthly facilitated discussions (October to May) where you’ll have the opportunity to share ideas and resources, get feedback, troubleshoot challenges, and explore opportunities in a safe and professional space.
Topics will be flexible based on the group’s needs/interests, but discussions in prior years have included:

Building & supporting your team: recruiting, hiring, compensation & benefits, retention, training, evaluation
Behind-the-scenes: risk management, budgeting, technology, marketing
Being a leader: time management, hard decisions
Mental, emotional, and social health (MESH): policies, best practices, resources, self-care
Camp culture and tradition: exploring the “why,” innovating
Parent engagement: handbooks, communication, recruitment

Emily Golinsky, Founder of Bright Moose Training, Consulting & Advocacy, former Executive Director at Camp Starfish and a member of ACA, New England’s New Camp Director Workshop faculty, will facilitate the sessions. Her role will be to encourage participant-led discussions, provide resources, offer observations and insights, all while keeping the conversation and session flow going!
This series is not designed to be a how-to, but an interactive discussion-based opportunity for directors looking to build their professional network and resource sharing as leaders. Sessions will not be recorded. For 2023-2024, there will be two sessions in-person (one local to Lexington, MA and one at the New England Camp Conference in Manchester, NH) and six Zoom sessions. Exact session dates will be confirmed soon:

October 10, 2023, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – In-person, ACA, New England offices, 80 Westview Street, Lexington, MA
November 14, 2023, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Zoom
December 12, 2023, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Zoom
January 9, 2024, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Zoom
February 13, 2024, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Zoom
March 21/22/23, 2024, In-person during ACANE conference in Manchester, NH (90 minutes, exact day & time TBD)
April 9, 2024, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Zoom
May 7, 2024, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Zoom

Trying to decide if this is a good fit for you? We’d say yes if you can prioritize and commit to attending the full series of sessions, have been in a director-level role for 1-4 summers, and your job responsibilities include at least a few of the following: overseeing staff teams, including HR functions and training; establishing policies for your camp/organization; setting and managing a budget; creating parent handbooks; and being involved with strategic business decisions for your camp/organization.
If you are looking for more skill-based sessions or other resource communities, please look at ACA, New England’s event calendar or reach out to ACA, New England for help identifying other opportunities to meet these needs.
Cost: $269/ACA members; $319/Non-members. (Registration is for the duration of the series – eight sessions in total.)
REGISTER HERE!

About the Facilitator
Emily Golinsky is the Founder of Bright Moose, LLC, which provides training, coaching, consultation and professional development to camps, organizations and individuals guided by the motto “Help Others Shine Bright!” Her professional background includes over two decades of year-round and summer camp leadership in both day and residential environments for children in crisis, special needs youth, and traditional campers, including 15 years as Executive Director at Camp Starfish (NH). Emily is a regular presenter at conferences and is active in ACA, New England, where she is a Lead Visitor, conference committee member, and member of the Faculty for the New Camp Directors Workshop. Emily is on the Board of Directors for NHCamps and is a contributor to Camping Magazine, ParentingNH, the Project Real Job Blog, and the Day Camp Pod. She holds a BS in Health Psychology and an MS in Camp Administration and Leadership. She is also an education advocate for youth with special needs and a certified Adult Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Emily’s sense of humor and genuine warm connection to individuals comes through in her facilitation style. Fair warning: she is an avid collector of terribly awesome puns.

Resource Community Series: MESH Systems and Supports at Camp
2023-10-19 09:00 - 2023-11-16 10:30
Resource Community Series:
MESH Systems and Supports at Camp (200-Level)
Have you/your camp been setting up mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) supports for your staff and campers or are you ready to take the next steps to do so? This series of monthly facilitated discussions (October to May) is designed to give camp leaders with decision-making responsibilities the space and support to dive deep into examining what your camp is already doing, identifying gaps, and setting intentions for future actions. For example:

Do you have staff dedicated to social/emotional support of campers/staff and if so, what is their role and how is it going? If not, what would it take to get you there?
What resources are in place in case of a mental health emergency or a crisis requiring urgent emotional/mental health support for your staff/campers?
What kind of MESH training does/should your leadership staff get each year? Counselors?
Have your staff expressed the need for more breaks or time off? What actions can you take?
How are your health forms/intake systems providing you with the information you need to best support campers and staff (or what needs to change)?
What innovative things do you want to try and how can colleagues help you workshop ideas?

Nick Teich, PhD, LCSW, founder and former CEO of Harbor Camps and owner of Fairwinds Consulting, LLC, will moderate the group. His role will be to encourage participant-led discussions, provide resources, offer observations and insights, all while keeping the conversation and session flow going!
Resource community participants should be in a role where they are responsible for making decisions about MESH programming and policy at their camp or have direct influence/input into that process.
This series is not designed to be a how-to, but an interactive, live, discussion-based opportunity for participants to have meaningful conversations about the MESH systems and supports at their camp. Sessions will not be recorded. There will be two sessions in-person (one local to Lexington, MA and one at the New England Camp Conference in Manchester, NH), one hybrid opportunity, and five Zoom sessions. The schedule is as follows:

October 19, 2023, 10 am – 1 pm, In-person, ACA, New England offices, 80 Westview Street, Lexington, MA
November 16, 2023, Zoom, 10 am – 11:30 am
December 14, 2023, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom
January18, 2024, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom
February 15, 2024, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom
March 21/22/23, 2024, In-person at ACANE conference in Manchester, NH, 90 minutes (day/time TBD)
April 18, 2024, 10 am – 1 pm, Hybrid (in-person attendance at ACA, New England, Lexington, MA highly recommended)
May 9, 2024, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom

Trying to decide if this is a good fit for you? We’d say yes if 1) your job includes leadership responsibilities related to decision-making around mental, emotional, and social health supports to your camp community; 2) you have started this work or plan to take action by summer 2024; 3) you are excited to openly and honestly share your knowledge and perspectives with other camp in the resource community; 4) you can prioritize and commit to attending the full series of sessions.
As space is limited to around 20 participants to ensure meaningful interactions, we can accommodate one staff member per camp at this time. Participants will receive 14 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for their full participation.
Cost: $269/ACA members; $319/Non-members. (Registration is for the duration of the series – eight sessions in total.)
REGISTER HERE!
If you are looking for more skill-based sessions or other resource communities, please look at ACA, New England’s event calendar or reach out to ACA, New England for help identifying other opportunities to meet these needs.
About the Facilitator
Nick Teich, PhD, LCSW, runs Fairwinds Camp Consulting, where he trains and consults with camps on a myriad of issues. In 2009 Nick started Harbor Camps, and, over the next 13 years, oversaw the purchase and renovation of its own lakefront property and grew it to more than 800 campers each summer. Nick has a master’s degree in social work from Boston College and a doctorate in social policy from Brandeis University.
Nick began his overnight camping career in Maine at the age of 10, where he subsequently became a CIT, counselor, and a member of the camp leadership. Prior to overnight camp, he was a day camper in NY. Nick is a member of the ACA-New England Board of Directors and Maine Summer Camps. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two daughters.
