Head Counselor: Colette B.

Colette is excited to be returning to Mountain Camp this summer for her second year as the camp's head counselor and fourth year as an employee. Although she is originally from the farmlands of Pennsylvania, Colette has worked as an outdoor educator in Southern California for the past year teaching fifth and sixth grade students science while hiking them throughout the San Bernardino National Forest. In her spare time Colette enjoys rock climbing, hiking, crafting, cooking, and playing her beloved ukulele Felice. As a child, though, she could often be found writing poetry in her room, running outside with her dogs, and jamming on her xylophone. Currently, she often ponders how amazing it is that she gets paid throughout the year to hike and hang out with kids in nature. For now, though, she'll accept her fate and continue being extremely happy with her life.

Head Counselor: Ben E.

Asst. Waterfront Coordinator: Adam Y.

Adam first worked at mountain camp in 2010 and has been chasing the endless summer ever since! Hailing from little old Adelaide, South Australia, he has developed a love for his 2nd home in California as well as for the San Francisco Giants! Adam is an aquatics instructor for the South Australian education system. He teaches activities such as windsurfing, sailing, kayaking and surfing to school children at West Lakes Aquatic Centre. 

Cabin Counselor: Spencer H.

Spencer Hawley is a self-taught PB&J craftsman from the suburb of Belmont, CA. He currently attends UC Berkeley and intends to decide what to major in by the time he graduates. When he isn’t listening to music or watching movies, he is roaming the trails behind campus in his muddy-brown hiking boots. As a boy, Spencer climbed everything worth climbing and could often be found wasting the day on the sun-stained carpet with his cat, Teri. At mountain camp he was a sailing virtuoso, having capsized a catamaran twice and successfully initiated a friendly pirate battle with the age group above him. 

Cabin Counselor: Tom P.

Born and raised in the UK, Tom has been on an adventure since early 2012 working at camp and travelling the world. Although he does have a home in south-east England, Tom currently resides in Sydney as a temporary stop gap before venturing back to sunny California. Tom graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2010 with a degree in Audio Visual Production and followed on to work for VideoGamer.com as their video producer for a year and a half. Tom is a keen tennis player, having taught the sport at another camp last year, and has been playing from a young age, he also has many other skills and hobbies ONLY useful at camp. Many he thought would never be of any use, things such as juggling, knowing the words to Disney’s “A Whole New World”, and having a vast knowledge of circle games. As a kid he enjoyed hanging out with his siblings, cousins and friends, and has always enjoyed being a part of a community. Although this is Tom’s 1st time at mountain camp, he has been fortunate enough to work at another camp and can’t wait to get back to California to rename well established stars and craft the best smores known to man.

Cabin Counselor: Anna P.

Anna is from the Land of 10,000 lakes, growing up in Minnetonka, MN and currently going to college in Minneapolis, MN. Anna is a Junior at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities where she is a Recreation, Park and Leisure Studies major and a Youth Studies minor. Anna is a HUGE Gopher fan, especially Gopher Men’s Hockey. She also enjoys going to concerts, riding her bike, alpine skiing, playing with her dog Oscar, and hanging out with friends. As a kid, Anna loved going up to her cabin to waterski and make s’mores. Anna has worked for 3 summers at a residential camp in rural Minnesota, and absolutely loves everything about camp! She can’t wait to come out to California for the first time and spend some serious time at the waterfront, whether that’s canoeing, kayaking, sailing or waterskiing! 

Cabin Counselor: Karen H.

Karen can’t wait to get back to camp to start making friends, improvising skits and most importantly, eating s’mores. A south bay area native, Karen has a love for all things outdoors, especially hiking and star gazing, even though her clumsiness sometimes gets the best of her. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Elementary Education and loves working with kids and everything a school day or neatly organized planner brings. 

Cabin Counselor: Jodie S.

Jodie comes from soggy land of Great Britain, and spent most of her early years waiting for an invite from Hogwarts! After accepting the fact that she never would be Hermione Granger, she later went on to study all things Drama.  While taking a year out before going to university in London next year, she’s incredibly excited to fly down on her Mary Popins umbrella and come be a counsellor for the summer at Mountain camp! Jodie can’t wait to live the American way of life, and feels she is more than equipped due to her slightly unhealthy obsession with American TV, her newest being New Girl. If she was an animal her natural habitat would be the forest, she may dress like a lady, but this girls got a love for nature that would give Bear Grylls  a run for his money. When she’s not trying to make friends with racoons you’ll most likely find Jodie doing something arty around camp, or trying to make people laugh.

Cabin Counselor: Elle Z.

Elle is a native of the southwest, with roots in California and Nevada. She's spent the last year as a graduate student in a Deaf education program in Rochester, NY, and is anxious to get back to her native mountain landscape! In addition to studying hard, she's an avid rock climber. She also enjoys biking, and trail running, and is currently making plans to begin training for her first marathon. She's been a lover of the outdoors since she first saw the California sky, and can't wait to spend the summer playing outside. If you're ever wondering where to find her, just listen for the camp songs - she's always the loudest singer in the group!

Cabin Counselor: William K.

William is 19 years old and from a small town in England called Blandford. It is his first time working at Mountain Camp and cannot wait for the summer of his life time! Will has just finished studying Psychology, Science and Media at school and is now ready to leave his small, quiet town in England and explore the rest of the world! He has been volunteering at his local Youth Centre for several years teaching sports and activities to kids, he has also coached and played Rugby and Football (or Soccer!) for his local teams from the age of 12. He enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music, going on road trips and playing sports. He has visited countries all over Europe such as Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium. Will is so excited to visit the states for the first time and start his time as a counsellor at Mountain Camp in California!

Cabin Counselor: Nick P.

Nick, known at camp as “Nick Pirate” is from the well known metropolis of Moraga, California in the Bay Area, home of the Saint Mary's Gaels (his favorite college basketball team) and not much else. Nick is majoring in Recreation, Parks and Tourism and believes his great experiences at Mountain Camp influenced this decision. In his free time Nick stays active by enjoying anything and everything outdoors, hanging out with friends, making people laugh, creative writing, acting, watching movies, camping/backpacking in the Sierras, and numerous sports. As a child, Nick believed that he could be whoever he wanted to be, putting on ridiculous costumes, running around the house like a wild man. If he wasn't inside being a goofball, he was outdoors exploring the backyard. For seven years, Nick was a camper at Mt. Camp, his home away from home, and still considers it to be so. Nick is very excited to return for his fourth consecutive year doing what he loves: being a camp counselor at Mountain Camp, and creating a fun camp experience for each and every camper!

Cabin Counselor: Kito P.

This is going to be Kito's second year as a counselor at Mountain Camp! He is from Pasadena which is in the LA area of Southern California. During the rest of the year he is a full time student and works at two different schools, one as an after care provider, the other as a teacher in a theater program that he helped start. Aside from that he loves to play all kinds of sports. He enjoys swimming and hanging out at the beach! He just recently started up taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu which has been tons of fun. His favorite childhood pastime had to have been playing with Kinex/ Legos, "I was definitely one of those kids who was constantly creating walking hazards all through the house!" One of the things that Kito missed right away about Mountain Camp was just being in that outdoors environment. The contrast from being in LA his whole life to then spending every waking moment in this beautiful site right next to a lake, it was just unbelievable. As soon as he got back home all he could do was look back at his pictures and wait to get back to that place that he fell in love with.

Cabin Counselor: Erin D.

Erin was raised in Cupertino, California and as much as she loves the Bay Area, she is attending Chico State in Northern California.  She recently graduated with her bachelors in liberal studies and is now working towards her teaching credentials!  She loves Chico because the small town has so much to offer.  When Erin isn't working at the preschool, she may be walking around the park, hiking, or checking out the farmer's market.  Although it will be hard for Erin to break away from her knitting and scrapbooking, she is very excited to share her first Mountain Camp experience with all of the campers!

Cabin Counselor: Montana M.

Born and raised in the small coastal town of Montara in the beautiful Bay Area, Montana is 19 and currently finishing up her first year at Willamette University in Salem, OR where she is double majoring in Environmental Science and History. Montana can usually be found working at her job as a pre-school teacher, exploring Portland, hiking, attending every music festival she possibly can, or petting any dog she can find. When when she isn't out  and about she is usually curled up with a good book about one of her two favorite presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln or practicing yoga on her balcony. Growing up she spent lots of time cuddling with her dogs, frolicking outside in the fog, and visiting coffee shops and libraries with her idol, her father. As a Mountain Camp alum and an enthusiastic swimmer, Montana is greatly looking forward to participating in her favorite activity-- the Polar Bear swim, and is counting down the days until she is out of rainy Oregon and back at camp for her first time as a counselor!

Cabin Counselor: Jamie F.

Jamie is from Edinburgh, Scotland. He has lived and studied in Edinburgh all his life and has recently graduated from The University of Edinburgh having studied an Honours course in Applied Sports Science (don’t worry, after 4 years he still doesn’t know what it means either…). His main sport/hobby is playing Rugby but is also a keen golfer (of course, being from Scotland). If you can’t find him on the field or on the golf course Jamie will sure to be hanging out with friends and family, generally having a right old giggle. As a kid it was much the same for Jamie. However, playing rugby could really be called jumping around in the mud (Mum always loved the washing...) and golf was just a chance to ride around in a “go kart thingy”. His favourite part about Mountain camp is that special moment when a kid achieves something for the first time! The smile and infectious joy which radiates from campers during this moment is just an incredible thing to witness and say you were a part of it!

Cabin Counselor: Brandon O.

Brandon was born and raised in the live music capital of the world Austin, Texas. He graduated with a BS in Biology from Southwestern University and is currently applying to medical schools around the nation. When he isn’t catching a concert or theater performance, Brandon can usually be found on a basketball court either playing in different leagues or coaching his nephew's team. When he was younger Brandon spent most of his time training to be a ninja and recreating scenes from his favorite movies, Surf Ninjas, Ninja Turtles and 3 Ninjas. His favorite part of Mountain Camp is seeing campers attempt new activities, even though they are nervous, and seeing the excitement and confidence they get when they complete the activity. He can’t wait to get back to California  and spend his summer having fun with the campers and fellow counselors!

Cabin Counselor: Megan G.

Megan is a 19 year old originally from the Bay Area town of Moraga, California.  She just finished her first year of college at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennesee, where she plans to major in Mechanical Engineering.  In her free time, she likes to play lacrosse, along with most other sports, and hang out with her friends and family. She was a camper at Mountain Camp for four years and is very excited to be returning to be a counselor for the first time this summer. When she was younger, her favorite things to do were play sports and go crawdad fishing in Lake Tahoe.  Her favorite memories from Mountain Camp include the campfires every night and her adventures on the ropes course.

Cabin Counselor: Gina F.

Gina first came to Mountain Camp when she was eleven years old and she's delighted to return to camp's majestic scenery again this summer. In the fall, she will be transferring from beautiful Marin county to study at Sonoma State University. When she's not in class, Gina can be found working at a children's arts and crafts studio where she helps kids have awesome arty birthday parties. Outside of school and work, Gina enjoys playing guitar and making jokes. As a kid, she enjoyed listening exclusively to the Backstreet Boys and choreographing dance routines with her friends. Gina's favorite things about Mountain Camp are the warm and welcoming sense of community and enchilada night. Gina is glad to be back on staff and is hoping to help kids have the same amazing experiences she had as a camper.

Cabin Counselor: Xiomara G.

Xiomara, pronounced Zee-oh-mara also goes by Xio (Zee-oh), grew up in sunny Pasadena, CA. She recently graduated from FIDM- The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles and received a degree in Merchandise Product Development. When she’s not doing freelance design work, She loves playing outdoor sports and activities including Flag Football, Tennis, Swimming, Camping and Hiking. She also loves being involved within her community, weather it be attending and moderating her community garden co-op or working with inner city kids through a non profit organization.  She cannot wait to head up to the mountain this summer since the last time she was up there was when she was a camper herself! Some of her favorite memories of Mt. Camp are jumping all day on the water trampoline, zipping around the lake tubing, conquering her fear of heights at the ropes course, and joining the entire camp for campfire each night. She is looking forward to a great summer ahead doing what she loves most of all, HAVING FUN !

Cabin Counselor: Natalie S.

Natalie, born and raised in San Francisco, CA, is a lover of the outdoors and anything artistic. Studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA has been incredible so far, but she can’t wait to get back to the fresh air of the mountains on the West Coast. Being a camper at Mountain Camp for five years has definitely impacted her fun loving spirit and endless love for arts and crafts as well as the special Mountaineer bond. Art and music usually fill up most of her time, so she can’t wait to share her love for arts and crafts, singing, and guitar with you! Growing up she always loved playing music and going on long bike rides with her dad and making all kinds of funky, cool collages and paintings with her mom. Home has always been a remarkable place, but Mountain Camp has always been her home away from home. Natalie couldn’t be more excited and thrilled for camp this summer!!

Cabin Counselor: Christina M.

Christina, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, enjoys spending her free time exploring all of the beaches, mountain ranges, and cityscapes that California has to offer. Christina worked at a baby shoe store for three years and at the San Francisco Airport for one. She volunteered as a camp counselor for The Mosaic Project which is where she discovered that she loved to work with children. When she is not busy studying Anthropology at the College of San Mateo, Christina loves to paint, read, and spend time with good company. As a first timer at Mountain Camp, Christina cannot wait to play basketball, make friendship bracelets, point out the satellites in the night sky, and act in silly skits around the campfire. She is excited to bring all of her experiences from the countless camps she has been to as a child and share them with everybody at Mountain Camp this year!

Cabin Counselor: Beth S.

Beth is a 20 year old student at Royal Holloway, University of London in the UK studying drama and creative writing. Originally from Sussex, England, Beth is a huge animal lover, particularly beloved  are  her two pet cats Buffy and Alf! She also adores singing and has a lifelong passion for musicals with her favourite being Grease. Beth has Grade 8 Guildhall exam in singing and has been a member of the professional Brighton Festival Youth Choir. She can’t wait to hear everyone at camp sing a bit (even some Bieber!) She will be taking her toy goat named Rark, a gift from kids in a University Youth Club, along for the ride as he is known to be very wise! Beth is very excited to be joining the staff for her first time as a counsellor having previously worked in the UK and Romania with children. She is looking forward to meeting many new, smiling faces this summer and spending time in the beautiful US of A!

Cabin Counselor: Winston Y.

Winston is 20 years old from Menlo Park CA. He is currently studying Business Administration at Foothill College, but when he has free time he loves being outside, enjoying the beautiful California sun. He loves the Bay Area because of its close proximity to so many outdoor activities, especially it's many beaches, where he sometimes attempts to surf. You may find him snowboarding, hiking through the wilderness, swimming, or walking one of his three dogs. He believes that everybody should get the opportunity to experience nature, and his childhood of hiking, camping, and going to the beach with his family have made an important impact on who he is today. Winston has attended Mountain Camp as a camper for four years, his favorite parts of camp being sailing, biking, and the Little Cabin in the Woods song at campfire. Returning for his second year as a counselor, Winston is excited about helping make each camper's experience as memorable and fun as his was.

Cabin Counselor: Kira C.

Kira was born and raised in the sunny metropolis of Phoenix, AZ. She currently lives in the beautiful mountain town of Flagstaff where she studies philosophy and literature at Northern Arizona University. When not studying or enjoying the outdoors, she loves to travel, dance, write poetry, and cook Thai food! Her favorite place on Earth is India, where she spent four months backpacking before moving to Flagstaff. As a child she enjoyed making up her own languages and reciting every line from the movie The Emperor's New Groove with her brother. After finishing school, Kira plans on becoming a nomad and traveling the world while teaching English. Kira couldn't be more excited to spend her first summer at Mountain Camp!

Cabin Counselor: Andrew O.

Andrew is native to the land down under, making his way to Mountain Camp from Australia. As a lover of nature, he spends his time hiking and camping out in the bush in an attempt to convince the wildlife to do his bidding, so far unsuccessfully. When he's not riding his Kangaroo to work as a swimming instructor, he's playing Basketball with his friends, frequenting the take-away shop, or arguing about whether or not Star Wars is better than Star Trek. An Astronomer at heart, his love for the stars finds him waiting for the sun to go down so he can pick out the constellations in his clear southern skies. As a kid, he loved to play every sport he could get his parents to sign him up for, And when he wasn't playing a sport, he could be found in a dark room playing video-games with his friends. Andrew can't wait to get to Mountain Camp so he can explore, laugh, and teach

Cabin Counselor: Brett E.

Brett lived in the same house in Moraga, CA her whole life until she relocated to SoCal to attend Pomona College in Claremont. She graduated last year with a degree in psychology. She will be moving yet again in the fall, this time across the country to attend Boston University to get her masters degree in occupational therapy. She spent four summers at Mountain Camp as a camper and is so thrilled to return for a second summer as a counselor! Her favorite camp activities were sailing and the ropes course, the same activities she’ll be teaching this summer at camp! As a child, she liked to read, play with roly polies, chase her dogs, and play every sport imaginable. She was a competitive swimmer and lifeguard for many years and so was always sporting awesome tan lines. Her favorite sport is lacrosse, which she played for a year in college. Other than sports, she loves to travel, bake (and eat!) cookies, take photographs, and spend time in nature.

Cabin Counselor: Charlie K.

Charlie is a 22 year old education student at Central Michigan University from Midland Michigan, where it’s sunny and warm one day and snowing the next! Charlie has played hockey and baseball his entire life including two years of college hockey in the MCHC conference and a trip to the Little League World Series Regional Final. Charlie has been a camp counselor since he was sixteen and the only thing he loves more than camp is rooting for the soon to be 2013 World Series champion Detroit Tigers. This is Charlie's 2nd summer at Mountain Camp and he is very excited to get back to camp and spend some time catching fish and hanging out with the trees.

Cabin Counselor: Coca O.

Coca spent most of her childhood in Menlo Park, CA, playing dodgeball, drawing, and waiting for summer so she could go to Mountain Camp. She is studying sociology at the University of Arizona, where she does a lot of longboarding, intramural kickball, and works at the University's ropes course with the Outdoor Adventures program (because playing in the trees only during the summer isn't enough!). She got bit by the travel bug after visiting her other counselor friends in England in 2011, and just returned from a grand Italian study abroad adventure in the fall of 2012 that also took her to France, Monaco, Germany, the Czech Republic, the entire United Kingdom, Austria, and Switzerland. Coca's biggest passions are sports, art and travel, and she is already planning her next big adventure abroad, though she is just as happy revisiting her childhood at Camp by stargazing, teaching campers to make friendship bracelets and challenging everyone to Harry Potter trivia. She is very excited to return for her 3rd year as a counselor (8th total, having been a camper for 5 years!) to teach stand-up paddleboarding, ninja training, mountain biking and climbing trees at the ropes course.

Cabin Counselor: James R.

James is from the Northern “sunny” well, rainy parts of England near Sunderland! He has recently returned from a ski season which was a mind blowing and stunning experience in the French Alps, Chamonix. He has an ample interest in technology and the great outdoors which sometimes doesn’t go hand in hand! His real passions are travel, comedy and socializing. Exploring new areas, cities and learning their culture, it’s always fascinating. The comedy part has been with him for a long time. He loves watching stand up and sitcoms, laughing or even been laughed at! They say laughter is the best medicine. James involves himself in sporting activates such as football, snowboarding, basketball and hiking. It will be his first time in America and his eyes will be wide open ready to dive into any challenge thrown at him! He can’t wait.

Cabin Counselor: Joe L.

Joe is your typical happy, talkative, smiley and all round lovable Irish lad from the fantastic county Down in Ireland. He currently attends the University of Ulster in the north of Ireland where he is studying management and leadership development. As it is his first summer at camp he cannot wait to jump head first into camp life and undertaking the duties that come along with it. Joe has a passion for music (especially the guitar) and stage where he loves to show his ability to not only entertain a crowd but to also get them involved with the fun!!! Joe also undertakes any sports and physical activities available to him ensuring that no opportunity to have fun is missed! As a child Joe loved being with his friends playing sports such as football, hurling and basketball, exploring his surrounding country side and practicing his instruments. Although Joe has gotten older, as is obvious with his passions from a young age right up to today, some things never change!

Cabin Counselor: Rachael M.

Rachael is 19 and comes all the way from Glasgow, Scotland.  She is coming to Mountain Camp with her identical twin sister Emma, they both have been known for swapping places/playing pranks on other people - so watch out! Rachael spent her last summer working as a lifeguard and swimming instructor in a summer camp in Texas, where she mastered the art of making the perfect s'more for the very first time!  Back in Scotland, Rachael studies Mathematics with Teaching and hopes one day to teach Maths in the same school as her twin just to confuse the kids even more! Rachael is also a self-taught haggis hunter, one of only 12 in Scotland! Having won many gold medals for catching the biggest haggis with her bare hands, Rachael also enjoys running, yoga and going for a swim with Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. Only on Saturday mornings though.

Cabin Counselor: Alex T.

From foggy San Francisco CA, Alex is excited for his first summer at Mountain Camp. Alex is currently a graduate student at San Francisco State University, pursuing a Master’s degree in Special Education. If he has a few hours to spare, it’s likely you’ll find Alex soaking up the sun, running around beached algae, watching seagulls fight for food, or just listening to the waves crashing on the beach.  Alex loves the beach and goes as often as he can. If it’s too cold to go swimming, you may find him exploring San Francisco, eating sweets and candies, or sitting at home reading.  As a kid Alex’s favorite hobby was always going outside and running around. Having been a swimmer, a basketball player, and a short lived soccer player, Alex has always been active. Whether it was throwing a ball, hiking, swimming, running, biking, crawling, or laying, he likes to think he has spent more hours outdoors than indoors.  Alex looks forward to this summer, making new friends, trying new things, and spending time with awesome campers and staff! Keep it real.

Ropes Coordinator/Cabin Counselor: Ian K.

Ian is originally from Seattle, Washington. For the past couple years Ian has spent much of his time teaching science at an outdoor science school in Southern California and traveling through South America. In addition to traveling and teaching Ian enjoys rock climbing, mountain climbing, juggling, ultimate frisbee, backpacking, and anything outdoor related. As a child Ian could be found juggling fire, riding his bicycle, or hanging out with friends in his neighborhood. This will be his first year at mountain camp, but his fourth year working at a summer camp. Ian has over five years of experience working with ropes and three years of experience working on various high ropes elements. He is an avid rock climber and mountaineer. As a first year ropes coordinator he hopes to make the ropes course as fun and as safe as possible for each camper this year. 

Cabin Counselor: Michael S.

Michael is a 20 year old from a small suburb of San Francisco called Walnut Creek. From there he left to go explore the wilderness of the beautiful Northwest, where he is studying at the University of Oregon. As a kid Michael loved playing any kind of sport, but soon realized that soccer was the worlds best sport, and has been playing it ever since. Being a Mt. Camp camper as a child, Michael is very excited to be returning for his third summer as Counselor!  Some of his favorite memories include campfires on the beach, and most importantly riding the mountain bike trails around camp. After attending camp for five summers as a camper, his love for cycling could barely separate him from using it every day. Now it is his main form of transportation and entertainment!!! When not on the bike or playing the worlds best sport… he is probably thinking about what’s for dinner. 

Cabin Counselor: Eisa E.

Eisa is a ten-year mountain camp attendee from the Bay Area. She currently lives in Eugene, Oregon studying human physiology and music at the University of Oregon. Sko Ducks! While she is an active and studious student she part takes in the university’s marching band, drum-line, and co-ed music fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, to enhance her performance and leadership skills. She loves being in the outdoors and traveling around the world to enhance her knowledge of the world. Playing sports is something she loves to do because it involves her being outside and making new friends. Not only does she love to teach people how to play different sports and live in the outdoors, but also she loves to learn new ways to stay active. As a child she loved to go on adventures in the backyard and make up her own safari game to allow her imagination to grow. She loves hanging out by the water front and camp fire playing the guitar and ukulele with campers and counselors but she never gives up a chance to act out a silly skit on stage with her fellow counselors. 

Cabin Counselor: Carmen C.

Carmen is a 20-year-old iCarly lover, daisy headband creator, 90’s pop fanatic originally from Fremont, California. She currently resides in San Francisco where she just finished her sophomore year as a Recreation, Parks and Tourism major at San Francisco State University. When she is not being studious or working at the front desk of SFSU dorms, she enjoys lying out and soaking up the rare SF sun, singing in the shower, taking funny pictures with her friends and eating toaster scrambles while watching Law and Order: SVU. She LOVES working with kids and is actually the oldest of 6 siblings. She knows how to make a mean green bean casserole and is always willing to be a cookie/cupcake taster! Carmen is most excited to play in the water and let loose and be silly all summer long!

Cabin Counselor: Hannah R.

Hannah, from Walnut Creek, California attends Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she is majoring in Graphic Communication. Hannah enjoys doing outdoor activities with her friends such as backpacking, hiking, sports, and geocaching. When she is not covered in dirt, sand, and bruises, she likes sewing and exploring the online crafting world of Pinterest. With the money she can scrap together, Hannah spends all of her money on ice cream, cheese, and attending as many music festivals/concerts she can. Hannah's favorite part of her childhood was during her 9 years as a camper at Mountain Camp, being one of the smallest kids and literally FLYING when being launched off the blob on the water trampoline. Her favorite part about camp is that all the worries and problems that exist in the outside world (real world) do not exist. It's so much fun to journey into the mountains every year and completely escape reality, and relax with some of the coolest people you will ever meet in the beauty of our earth. Hannah feels she's never been anywhere where the stars are so bright, the weather is so perfect, and the biggest worry on her mind is trying to keep track of the last time she took a shower. 

Cabin Counselor: Dijay D.

Dijay has spent all of his life in the concrete jungle of London, England and so is looking forwards to spending time in the glorious sunny green El Dorado National Forest across the lake! Having completed school, he has spent the last year working as a healthcare assistant in a hospital, continued volunteering at activity clubs for children with special needs, taught science to kids in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas and ran a small health project in a rural Indian village. Dijay enjoys volunteering and helping run small community projects. He loves meeting new people and learning from new experiences whilst giving something back. He has tried his hand at every pastime, hobby and sport under the sun and so understands the worries about being a newbie very well! Enjoying challenges is a principle he lives by and he hopes to put it into practice when he starts his university course to read Medicine at Oxford this October. He finds the most rewarding aspect of working with kids is watching their confidence increase; something each child can take away with them. He hopes that he’ll be able to do the same this summer at Mountain Camp!

Cabin Counselor: Natalie M.

Natalie grew up and currently lives in Melbourne, Australia the city known for having all four season in one day. And yes, she rode a Kangaroo to school! Natalie has worked in the Sport Industry since graduating High School, specifically Aussie Rules Football which she can't wait to teach to everyone at Mountain Camp. Natalie is obsessed with her 2 pet dogs and cat Ginny (Yes she is a ginger and named after a Harry Potter character) and loves more than anything spending time with close knit family and friends. In-between studying a Bachelor of Business Natalie loves to travel. Having been to Europe a couple of times she decided to give a different continent a go and cannot wait to get to know everyone at Mountain Camp, explore the mountains and swim in the lake. Having such fond memories of spending childhood summers by the beach exploring and participating in all kinds of sports she can't wait to ensure all the kids make the most of their time at Mountain Camp.

Cabin Counselor: Mason B.

Mason Beyer is excited to be coming to Mountain Camp for the first time this year. He completed his high school education last year at Sacred Heart College in Adelaide, South Australia. He is looking at pursuing a career in the South Australian Police Force but is eager to spend this summer at Camp sharing his experience on the water. Mason is one of our water ski instructors. He has been around the water for his entire life and has been skiing since he was four years of age. When Mason is not on the water he enjoys catching up with his mates, riding his bike and playing team sports. He has a keen interest in Aussie Rules Football, not only has he played for several years, but he also is a field umpire for the game. In his spare time, he enjoys working on his car, listening to music and playing Xbox. Mason can’t wait to be a part of the 2013 Mountain Camp experience. 

Cabin Counselor: Jen Q.

Jen is a primary (elementary) school teacher from Melbourne, Australia whose favorite time of each school year is camp time! She will put her hand up to attend any and every camp and so had to return for another summer at Mountain Camp after having such an amazing time as a counselor last year! With all the lovely school holidays that come with being a teacher, Jen loves to travel, experiencing new places and meeting new people. She does not love winter and so is very much looking forward to skipping it again this year while in sunny California! Jen also enjoys camping, playing netball, going to the footy (Australian rules of course!), listening to music, getting lost in an awesome book, yoga, taking photos and pretty much just getting out and about and trying new things, no matter how rubbish she may potentially be at them! If you can’t do something well, doesn’t mean you can’t have a laugh doing it terribly, right? Jen’s very favourite part of last summer was getting out on the lake and driving one of the tube boats every morning – she now firmly believes that there is no better way on Earth to start your day!
 

Cabin Counselor: Maddie J.

Born and raised in the honey hills of the North Bay, Maddie is proud to call Petaluma her hometown. This is not only because Petaluma was once the dairy capital of the world (what up), instead because she feels so very lucky to have grown up in a town sandwiched between the coast, San Francisco and wine country. At age 17, Maddie decided to spend a summer studying abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico and became fascinated by travel and language. And at 21, Maddie still can’t stop moving around the globe. She currently resides in Angers, France, where she just finished a year studying at the Université Catholique de l’Ouest. When not being nostalgic for the Californian sun, Maddie loves nothing more than eating delicious food, bike riding, hiking, swimming, paddle boarding, speaking foreign languages and travel! She can’t wait to spend yet another summer in the beautiful El Dorado forest. The things she looks most forward to? Singing around a campfire, looking up at the star-filled sky, overnights, waterfront activities, meeting new campers and counselors and finally, watching the sunset from the beautiful Ice House Lake!

Cabin Counselor: Danny M.

Danny is a 19 year old originally from the great and diverse city of Manchester, England. He currently works as a Lifeguard in a gym Located in the Lovely village of Rishworth, Yorkshire. Growing up Danny spent most of his time going paddling, sailing or windsurfing with friends and family. He was lucky enough to train and compete with members of the GB squad in kayaking and sailing, some of whom went on to medal at the recent UK Olympics. Along with watersports Danny also enjoys climbing and snowboarding. When he isn’t busy working or enjoying the outdoors you can often find him listening to music at home or out and about making way to much noise. This will be Danny’s first year at camp and he cannot wait to get in the mountains, on the lake and most of all meet some awesome people. 

Cabin Counselor: Izzy C.

Hailing from the foggy beach town of Pacifica, just a few miles outside San Francisco, Izzy cannot wait to spend another sunny summer up on the Mountain. She is excited to return home to California  after spending the majority of her past year at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina where she studies economic history. At school, most people on campus will find Izzy teaching yoga, playing ultimate frisbee, enjoying the great outdoors or cheering on the Blue Devil's basketball team in Cameron Stadium. As a child, Izzy could be found dressing up as the Spice Girls with her closest friends in preparation for the "shows" they would produce for their parents. Although she never quite got over her love for the Spice Girls, she now enjoys singing and jamming to different types of music with friends. As a true summer camp junky, Izzy is most thrilled to laugh uncontrollably and sing loudly upon her return to the blue-skied El Dorado National forest for another incredible summer at Mountain Camp. 

Cabin Counselor: Dan C.

Dan is from sunny NSW Australia. Not far south of Sydney is where he happily grew up in the small costal town of Kiama. He is the middle child of seven to parents who each are part of eight and seven child families themselves. Having just become an uncle for the third time he's not sure if his family will ever stop growing. Kiama being surrounded by beaches, rivers and rain forests he is never out of options for adventure and will play any and every sport on offer. While its a certainty to find him at his local beach swimming, surfing, diving, fishing or walking with his dogs his first swim (ever!) and his first memory of his beach are of his fathers literal sink or swim method of swim teaching. Fortunately for Dan he didn't sink and grew up to patrol the local beaches and pools as a lifeguard , with a specialized eye on Fathers taking their children for their first swim and a keen passion for water based activity and safety. Dan will pick up and play any instrument with enthusiasm, the problem with this scenario being his inability to actually play anything well and his willingness to unintentionally sing as far off key as possible. Traveling with a few harmonicas and a ukelele you're sure to hear him before you see him. Taking a break from studying English Literature and Education at home, Dan just spent the coldest winter of his life in British Columbia, Canada, where he worked as a lift operator and just generally ripped up the mountain on his now broken snowboards, he couldn't be more excited to drop down to California for some sun, his first time in the U.S.A!! And most importantly his first time at Mountain Camp!!!

Cabin Counselor: Rain L.

As a child, Rain moved around a lot in the UK, but spent most of her childhood on the Southern coast of Wales in the city of Swansea. Her parents’ love of anything water related was definitely passed on to her, and Rain spent most of her time outside of school on the beaches – she loves to sail, swim, and spend time in the water! Despite being determined to never live more than 5 minutes away from the ocean, Rain has spent the last two years living in Alberta, Canada, where she is studying International Relations at the University of Calgary. She is quickly learning how to act like a local, cheering on the hockey teams and planning weekend ski trips around her school schedule! Rain has been practicing her cheers and campfire songs, and is counting down the days till she is back in the mountains for her third summer at camp! 

Cabin Counselor: Lindsay L.

Born and raised in southern California, Lindsay is excited to be spending her first summer as a counselor at Mt. Camp. A second year marine biology student at Humboldt State University in northern California, the outdoors has always been a huge part of her life and continues to be. Free time is always spent doing something, whether it's swimming, hanging out with friends or just reading a book in the backyard. In high school, she played varsity water polo and swam for her high school swim team.  A former camper for many years, she cannot wait to return and help others have the same experience she did.

Cabin Counselor: Emma M.

As you are looking through the staff bios, you will probably think you are seeing double!  Emma Moran has an identical twin sister, (emphasis on the identical!), and they will both be coming to Mountain Camp for their first year here.  Emma is a 19 year old student from bonnie Glasgow, Scotland. She studies at Strathclyde University doing Mathematics and Teaching, she loves to keep 'pi' in her life.  Last year Emma worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at a camp deep in the heart of Texas.  After this, herself and her twin sister travelled the east coast of USA, from Texas all the way up to New York.  She is looking forward to venturing into the west coast this year with new adventures along the way and meeting a lot of new people! Yoga, running and swimming are what Emma loves to do. She also loves to pretend she is Rachael to trick people, so you better watch out!  

Cabin Counselor: Mim M.

Mim M is coming to camp all the way from Wales in the UK and already cannot wait to be in the beautiful mountains. When she isn't at camp she spends her time singing songs, dancing around the classroom, and making her pupils laugh at the primary school where she works as a teacher. Mim still loves cartoons, especially Tom and Jerry and anything Disney. She absolutely loves the outdoors and adventure sports. In 2010 she was lucky enough to spend a snowboard season in Whistler during the winter Olympics where she worked at ski school making sure all the children were having fun, and looking after them if they were upset or injured. Mim has a list as long as her arm of all the things she wants to do in the next year, but her biggest wish is to volunteer in an orphanage in Cambodia. Mim is obsessed with flowers, tea and nutella on toast, and is counting down the days until Mountain Camp time.

Cabin Counselor: Tommy Z.

Tommy is a twenty-one year old college senior pursuing a Biology degree far, far away at Texas A&M University.  Born and raised in the technological hub of Palo Alto, Tommy spent six summers escaping the hustle and bustle of city life at Mountain Camp.  For the last three years, Tommy has been a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Corp of Cadets.  This means he wakes up every morning at five to work out, teaches leadership, and marches around in circles for hours (which he promptly follows with taking a solid nap).  Also, in his free time, Tommy loves going out to the dance halls to enjoy some good ol’ fashion country music and two stepping (a Texan dance style).  He spent his childhood playing lacrosse, soccer, and studying taekwondo (he’s a black belt).  More importantly, he would spend his free time getting stuck in tree trunks in the middle of the woods and waiting to be rescued.  At camp, his favorite activities were archery, sailing, arts and crafts, and outdoor living skills.  Tommy is sincerely looking forward to spending a fun filled summer away from school and having the time of his life. 

Cabin Counselor: Andrew L.

Andrew is a 19-year-old person from Lafayette, California. As a child, Andrew loved to play with any type of building blocks, although his career in architecture did not really pan out since then. Instead, he now attends Seattle University, where he is studying to become a social studies teacher and hopefully an all around smart person. This will be his first year at Mountain Camp, and he is visibly excited to meet everyone and be a part of the experience. Outside of school, Andrew finds leisure in listening to records, going on hikes, reading, appreciating scenic mountains, camping with friends, and playing Settlers of Catan, his favorite board game.  Andrew is ready to have an awesome summer with all the campers at Mountain Camp!