Camp Directors

Camp Directors, 2011, from left to right, Jen Schneider,Hope Swank, Riley Lark, Jane Megginson, Tasha Walsh, Elaine Brigham, Linda Garrettson, and Jesse Austell.

Director Bios

Elaine Brigham started her BYM Camping Program career in 1980, as a staff child. She has been a camper, counselor and Assistant Director at Catoctin. Elaine started directing Opequon Quaker Camp in 2000. Elaine studied history, Women Studies, education, and African-American Studies at Guilford College. After teaching middle and high school social studies in public schools she entered the Social Justice Education (SJE) Program, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she received her M.Ed. Elaine served as Coordinator of LGBTQA Student Support and Services, Area Coordinator for Residential Life and Diversity Educator at Amherst College for four years, and left to pursue her current fulltime studies as a doctoral candidate in the SJE Program. Currently she co-coordinates the Intergroup Dialogue Program in Race, Ethnicity and Class at Mount Holyoke College and teaches an undergraduate diversity education course at UMass Amherst. She is finishing her second year in the Institute for Engaging Leadership in Friends Schools. For the ten months she is not at Opequon in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, she lives in Northampton, MA with her partner, the camp dog, Highland and their cat. She loves taking pictures, singing with camp folks, and canoeing. 

Dyresha Harris first joined the BYM camping community as a staff child in 1988.  She was a camper for 8 years, and worked as counselor and assistant director for 11 years.  In 2010 she started the Working Group on Diversity at Catoctin.  Outside of the camping program Dyresha has worked with young people of all different backgrounds and ages for over 10 years.  Originally hailing from the heart of Washington DC, she now works in a community center in her West Philadelphia neighborhood.  She has been studying and practicing diversity education for seven years and facilitates professional development trainings throughout Philadelphia.  Dyresha earned her BA with a double major in Sociology & Political Science and a Master’s in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.  In her free time, Dyresha enjoys travel, crafts, dance, creative writing and spending time with her partner, camp alum, Eo Trueblood.

 

Jesse Austell, co-director of Teen Adventure, began working for the camping program in 2003. He has worked as a counselor, trip leader, trip manager and starting in 2010 as TA director. When not at camp, Jesse is a research and financial consultant for nonprofit organizations. He has an MA in Applied Sociology and Nonprofit Management and a BA in Nonprofit Finance. Jesse enjoys biking and urban agriculture and recently completed a cross-country bike trip from Florida to San Francisco. In the past Jesse has also helped lead an outdoor adventure and experiential learning program for inner city youth in DC.

Jane Megginson, the Camping Program Secretary, started working at BYM Camps in 1985, as a scullery maid at the old Opequon. In addition, she has worked at Shiloh as an assistant director, at old Opequon on the staff, and at Catoctin and Teen Adventure in the kitchen. In addition, Jane has served on the Camping Program Committee. She has worked at Baltimore Yearly Meeting full time since 2002 and as the Camp Administrative Secretary since January 2005. Jane has a BA from Earlham College in Sport and Movement Studies and an MA from the University of Maryland in Sports Management. The most ridiculous job Jane has ever had is selling frozen meat door-to-door in central Ohio.

Jen Schneider, co-director of Teen Adventure Quaker Camp, has had a wide variety of experiences in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camping Program over the past twenty-one years. Jen began her camper career at Opequon and subsequently attended Teen Adventure for two summers. She was a counselor at Teen Adventure, Shiloh, and Opequon and an assistant director at Shiloh. After graduating from Oberlin College with a BA in Psychology, Jen taught preschool at D.C.’s School for Friends, worked at Friends Community School in Maryland, and was a volunteer facilitator for Alternatives to Violence workshops in a Maryland prison. For the past three years, Jen was an environmental educator in California’s Bay Area. There she taught an experiential curriculum focused on the local redwood forest and coastal ecosystems. Jen is currently pursuing a Masters in Education at Antioch University New England.

Hope Swank, Director of Shiloh Quaker Camp, was born and raised outside of Washington D.C.  and grew up attending Shiloh and Teen Adventure as a camper. She later worked at Shiloh as a counselor, and then Teen Adventure as a Trip Leader and Trip Manager.  Hope  studied Spanish Literature and Anthropology at St. Mary's College of Maryland.  She moved to California in 2006 for an internship in teaching for San Mateo County Outdoor Education.  Since then she has worked for a number of local outdoor education and nature awareness programs including Vide Verde Nature Education, Pigeon Point Environmental Education Program, and Riekes Center Nature Awareness.  She has taught about redwood ecology, goat milking and cheesemaking, and the life and times of the Northern Elephant Seal. Hope is happy to be spending her summers in Virginia, and thrilled to be returning to Shiloh as a co-director!  She is happiest when outside.

Tasha Walsh, Director of Teen Adventure -Bike, has been around the camping program since 2000 as a parent, volunteer, and program committee member. She is passionate about cycling and camping and has lead bike tours for the Adventure Cycling Association. Her professional background includes running counseling programs for teenagers, coaching young leaders, and facilitating outdoor adventure groups. Tasha is
a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Professional Coach who runs a national leadership development program and also has her own virtual company - www.corehappinesscoach.com