NE Newer Camp Director Resource Community, October 2023 – May 2024
ACA New England Office, Lexington, MA Visit Website
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
- Tuesday, May 07, 2024
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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
- 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 (90 minutes, exact day & time TBD)
- April 9, 2024, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Zoom
- May 7, 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.
Registration is for the duration of the series – eight sessions in total.