Camp People

We'll be adjusting the format slightly as we work through the actual camp season. Stay tuned for more details.

Join E. Bell as he outlines his thoughts about what makes for the best possible creativity based learning in a camp (or really any) setting. Focusing on structure & safety; organization & a purposeful tone; and keeping things challenging & supported, this is the tested way to make sure kids can be their most creative in the camp setting.

This week we are joined by the very talented Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Jarrett is the writer and illustrator of award winning comics, books, and graphic novels for young readers. Jarrett is also a camp person, having served as a counselor at Camp Sunshine and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp! Jarrett's most recent book, Sunshine, is a graphic memoir documenting his time at Camp Sunshine, a wonderful organization in Maine that provides summer camp experiences for families affected by life-threatening childhood illness. To learn more about Jarrett's work, or grab links to one of his 3 TED TALKS, visit studiojjk.com. To learn more about, or contribute to, Camp Sunshine, visit campsunshine.org.

Today we are joined by some Camp People that are Camp Families - mothers and daughters with shared camp experiences. Though we're a little late for Mother's Day, these funny and heartfelt stories are the perfect example of how the camp connection is strong, especially when shared with family.

This week, we are thrilled to be joined by the Executive Director of American Camp Association, New England, Michele Rowcliffe. The ACA is a guiding force in the youth camping industry, "a community of camp professionals who, for over 100 years, have joined together to share our knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp program." A great conversation, and we're thrilled to talk with Michele.

Sorry everyone, but there's not a full episode in the can for this week. That end of semester crunch time has gotten the best of me. I've got some thoughts to share though, and a special request, so give today a quick listen, and we'll see you back here next week for more Camp People!

Today Eric is joined by author and camp person Rachel Bertsche. Rachel is the author of MWF Seeking BFF, and several other works of non-fiction that do something similar to what camp does - seek connection and explore the way we go about living and using the time we have.

For this week's episode, we side step the questions to do a deep dive on a singular topic: CREATIVITY. There is an abundance of creative problem solving in the summer camp setting and with my long term partner in crime, we explore what that means, what it does, and why we value it so much.

Today we are joined by two people who know first hand how important of an experience camp can be. From campers to camp counselors to counselors specializing in mental health for kids, we are pleased to welcome Megan (Watson) Clingerman and Taylor Mullen.

Well we finally did it. We made a Letter Day episode! Join us this week as we share listener mail and add in a fair amount of our trademark banter. We like us, and you should too.

Reminicing about camp, while catching up and learning about all the great things our old friends are doing now is a pretty great situation to be in. This week, E. Bell strolls down memory lane with Ellie Tepper Schulman, and learns about her new camp life, as Associate Director of URJ Camp Harlem. It's a good day when you get to pull some memory marbles out of that pit.

Emergency preparedness expert, camp dad, consultant, Head of Healthcare Product Management for the American Red Cross, and camp person to the core - all things that describe this week's special guest, Jonathan Epstein. Join us as we dive into his camp experiences, and explore the importance of safety at camp.

We've got a very special episode this week, and we are thrilled to slap some legit psychology on our love of camp. Expert guest Dr. Tracy Brenner joins us this week as we discuss why camp is so good for kids, counselors, and ultimately...THE WORLD.

This week we continue the deep dive into why we love camp with Katie Milne and Liz Kahn, Co-Directors at Tripp Lake Camp in Poland, Maine. Their heartfelt and authentic appreciation of camp is an inspiration.

We are so lucky to be joined by two lifelong camp enthusiasts, who are now the next generation of camp leadership. Katie Milne and Liz Kahn are the Co-Directors of Tripp Lake Camp, in Poland, Maine, and we are fortunate to have them with us to help spread the love of camp.

As we continue to broaden our understanding of camp and what it means to be a true Camp Person, we are so pleased to welcome Nick Bernstein, Senior Vice President of Late Night Programming for CBS, and a Camp Person to the core!

This week we are pleased to be joined by youth camping industry veteran Jeff Konigsberg. Jeff is the owner/director at Camp Takajo in Naples, Maine, and is owner of Tripp Lake Camp in Poland, Maine. With 55 years of camp under his belt, Jeff is a wealth of knowledge and experience - which he is eager to share with everyone else who loves summer camp.

Camp is camp is camp. Join E. Bell this week as he talks with his first non-Tripp Laker. Stacy Lotz is a Professor of Art at Monmouth College in Illinois, and was on the art staff at Belvoir Terrace in Lennox, Mass. for seven summers. In what Eric thought would be an interesting look into the differences of another camp, it was immediately clear that camp is camp is camp.

It's Millennial takeover week. E. Bell is joined by a group of women who have spanned the globe to maintain their friendships and share their love of camp. Jill Ouellette, Natalie Goodin, Zoe Dinerstein, and Ruby Hind join us from the East Coast, Midwest, West Coast, and the UK to answer the ever important question, "Who run this mutha?"

We know that our camp friendships are special, and there are no better examples of that than today's guests. These men and I have seen a lot, probably too much, together, and they have had a profound impact on my life. They approached camp, and life, with full and open hearts and they are the perfect example of Camp People.

For the inaugural episode E. Bell is joined by Stephanie Kupin Greenwald - educator, scientist, wife, mother, comedy connoisseur, foodie, and camp person. With 34 years of camp under her belt so far, Steph walks Eric through the different time that was the 1970s up to their meeting in 1999, at Tripp Lake Camp in Maine, and on to today. "Camp is camp is camp."

Camp People is a brand new podcast about a thing that is loved so deeply by the people who love it that it crawls into their very souls. It mutates their DNA. It changes the fiber of their being, almost always for the better. It's summer camp, and those of us who have been impacted are…Camp People.