Keynote Speakers

Faith Evans, M.Ed. is the owner of Playfully, Inc., a nationally
recognized staff trainer, author, speaker and player. She is highly
acclaimed for her informative and interactive conference presentations
and for making action-learning FUN and applicable to camp! Faith’s
professional history in the world of camping spans 40 years. Faith is
co-author of 99 of the Best Corporate Experiential Games We Know
and a new book, soon to be published, The More the Merrier, Lead
Playful Activities with Large Groups, Why, What and How.

Peg Smith, Chief Executive Officer, American Camp Association
With twenty-six years experience working with children, youth, and families; Peg Smith is widely recognized for her entrepreneurial work style and organizational capacity—and her ability to move people, organizations, and government agencies through significant change. Born and raised in Indiana, Smith has a B.S. in early childhood
and family studies and a master’s degree in management. She began her career in 1974 as a Head Start teacher. During the summers of 1976 and 1977, Smith created a career program which was implemented in five counties and reached over four hundred young people. In 1977, Smith became the director of the Head Start program for Child Adult Resource Services. Smith served in this position until 1989 when she was asked to be the director of the Children’s Division for Child Adult Resource Services. In 1991, Smith joined the staff of the Office of the Governor of Indiana as the director of the Governor’s Step Ahead initiative. Smith managed a $43.3 million budget and created the first Bureau of Child Development in Indiana state government. In 1995, Smith became the executive director of the Indiana Youth Institute
(IYI) and in 1998, Smith became the chief executive officer of the American Camp Association® (ACA) in Martinsville, Indiana.

Chris Thurber, Ph.D. is a board-certified clinical psychologist,
author, father, and consultant. A graduate of Harvard University,
Chris co-authored the critically acclaimed Summer Camp Handbook,
and recently published a DVD/CD set for new camper families
entitled The Secret Ingredients of Summer Camp Success. With over
30 years of camping experience Chris has written for Camping
Magazine, and he has shared his youth development expertise on
the Today Show, CBS Morning News, NPR, and PBS.

Michael Wood is vice president and director of Syndicated Research
for TRU (Teenage Research Unlimited). He is responsible for the TRU
Subscription, the ongoing youth intelligence program relied on by
more than 150 of the world’s leading youth-oriented brands including:
Adidas, Coca-cola, Disney, ESPN, Frito-Lay, Gap, Hewlett Packard,
Microsoft, MTV, Neutrogena, Nike, Nokia, PacSun, and Pepsi. Michael
has been widely quoted on teen-marketing issues, appearing in USA
Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los
Angeles Times, Washington Post, Time, Business Week, Newsweek,
Forbes, Fortune, Advertising Age and on CBS, CNN, CNBC, NPR,
and countless more publications and electronic media. Michael has a
Masters Degree in International Marketing from Boston University.

Featured Speakers

Mike Anderson, M.Ed. is the owner of The Petra Cliffs Group, a Vermont based adventure learning provider, as well as director of training & certification for Challenge Works, a California based ropes course company. Mike has a Masters in Education and a K-8 teaching certification. Mike co-authored Teambuilding Puzzles and is working on a new text with Michelle Cumming...due out someday. Mike's specialty areas are new staff development and integration, core staff invigoration and technical ropes course staff training. Over the last few years, Mike has been a featured speaker at national and international conferences on subjects ranging from game and initiative play to understanding Herrmann's Brain Dominance Profile.

Scott Arizala, B.A. has been involved in camping as a camper,
counselor, administrator and consultant for over 20 years. Scott is a
double major in Sociology & Psychology with a concentration in
Gender Studies. Professionally, he has worked with kids of all ages
and stages as a preschool teacher, social worker, camp director, and
consultant with his own company, The Camp Counselor. He has
spoken at numerous ACA conferences and other professional events.

Mike Ashcraft is co-founder and CEO of Children’s Choice, holds
a Master of Arts Degree in Education with an Emphasis in School-
Age Care from Concordia University. He has more than 18 years of
experience in child care and education. He is an accreditation
endorser for the National Afterschool Association. He served as a
training and technical service contractor and a professional writing
contractor for the New Mexico State Department of Education. Mike
is the current president of the New Mexico School-Age Care
Alliance and the president-elect of the New Mexico Association for
the Education of Young Children. He is the author of Best Practices:
Guidelines for School-Age Programs, and the Best Practices
Workbook, published by Sparrow Media Group.

Jim Cain, Ph.D. is the owner of Teamwork & Teamplay and a
former executive director for the Association for Challenge Course
Technology (ACCT). He is the author of five adventure-based
teambuilding texts: Teamwork & Teamplay, The Book on Raccoon
Circles; A Teachable Moment; Teambuilding Puzzles; and The Value
of Connection - In the Workplace. He holds four engineering degrees.
He frequently serves as a visiting professor and staff development
specialist on subjects ranging from teambuilding and experiential
education using adventure-based and active learning strategies to
corporate culture and leadership.

Kennerly de Forest entered the world of Outdoor and
Adventure Education in 1987 and since then has studied and worked
in all aspects of team-building, adventure based programming and
camp management. Seven years at Kennolyn Camps (in Soquel, CA)
founded his belief in the power of the camp experience. Kennerly
holds a Masters Degree in Outdoor Education. In 1997 he founded
Challenge Works Inc. and has since delivered custom challenge
course designs, installations, trainings and programming to a wide
variety of clients around the globe. Kennerly has presented
workshops and trainings on game and initiative play, processing
adventure experiences as well as technical challenge course issues
both nationally an internationally.

Jennifer Selke, Ph.D. is a University of California, Berkeley camp
director, professor, and school psychologist. She is in her 16th year
running summer recreation and after school programs. Currently the
director of a summer camp at U.C. Berkeley, Jennifer has also run
youth programs for the U.S. Air Force and was the director of
research and evaluation at the Positive Coaching Alliance at
Stanford University. Jennifer is a speaker at national conferences on
youth and training issues.

Tom Suddes, founder of The Suddes Group, is a coach, trainer,
consultant, speaker and writer with over 33 years of experience in
fund development and strategic visioning. He speaks and provides
training throughout the country for entrepreneurs, sales people and
other business leaders in both the nonprofit and for profit sectors. A
serial entrepreneur since age 16, Tom has founded 19 businesses and
has taught in the Masters Program at Notre Dame and the
Leadership Program at Franklin University. A two-time welterweight
boxing champion at Notre Dame, Tom has been the boxing coach at
Notre Dame for 35 years, returning every year for a six-week ‘minisabbatical’ to coach and referee the Bengal Bouts.

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