Dr. Zach Mural is a professional educator, trainer, and consultant with more than twenty years of youth development experience. Zach has worked as a camp director, after-school supervisor and YMCA branch and program director. He has held senior staff positions in numerous after-school programs, teen centers and camps.

Zach has a master’s degree in Youth Development and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology. In addition to training and consulting, Zach serves as a visiting faculty member at Illinois College and a volunteer after-school endorser for the Council on Accreditation. His education, experiences, and passion for helping everyone who works with youth are the foundation of each of his workshops.

Zach has presented at numerous state and national conferences including the National AfterSchool Association Annual Conference, the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, the Society for Research on Adolescence Bi-Annual Meeting and the annual meeting of the Best-of-Out-of-School-Time Conference (BOOST). Zach is the founder of Youth Development Consulting LLC, which is committed to helping youth development providers create exceptional experiences for kids based on current research, theory and real life experiences working with kids.

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www.youthdevelopmentconsulting.com

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Dave “Professor Dave” Malter, MA, is the Director of the Touro University Masters in Camp Administration and Leadership and a frequent speaker at camp conferences around the United States. He earned his BA in Communication from James Madison University and his MA in English/Writing Studies from Montclair State University. Dave has been involved with camps and youth development for over twenty years as a camper, counselor, administrator, teacher, and consultant.

Dave grew up at Camp Discovery in New York where he spent eight summers as a camper and seven summers working with special needs campers. He went on to become the Director of Fun at Meadowbrook Country Day Camp and after several years joined the American Camp Association’s New York professional office working on educational initiatives. During his time at ACA-NY, Dave was an integral part of designing the program of the Tri-State Camp Conference which is the largest gathering of its kind in the world. When he graduated from his Tri-State position, Dave joined Pine Grove Day Camp in New Jersey as the Assistant Director.

In addition to his work with camps, Dave is a professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. His passions are deeply rooted in providing innovative educational content and opportunities for youth leaders at all levels.

Dave has published articles in trade journals and on industry websites. Among his many contributions to Expert Online Training are his Press Play lesson plans that integrate EOT videos with in-person, director-led training sessions. He now serves as the Conference Chair for ACA-Keystone Fall Retreat and the Professional Development Chair of the ACA-Keystone Local Council of Leaders.

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Steve Maguire has tremendous expertise in the fields of education and children’s camps. He earned his BS in Education from Plymouth State College with a concentration in special education. Steve has been involved with camps for over twenty years as a camper, staff member, and now consultant and staff trainer.

Steve grew in Burlington, Massachusetts and attended day camp there as a child. He went on to direct traditional resident camps and day camps and is currently a full time public school teacher in Scituate, Massachusetts, where he teaches physics and astronomy.

When he’s not spending time at home with his wife Jessica and their new baby, Steve travels the globe as a professional speaker. He has been invited to deliver numerous keynotes and educational sessions at professional conferences, training events, and independent schools. Steve has also presented educational workshops to thousands of camp staff across the US since he began his business in 2004.

Steve is a member of the American Camp Association and a member in good standing of the National Speaker’s Association; one of only four thousand people in the world who hold this distinction. He is currently writing his first book due out in the spring of 2010.

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goturnstone.com

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Niambi Jaha-Echols is a Cultural Agility Strategist, Inspirational Speaker, Thought Leader, Author, Visionary, Professional Educator and nationally recognized Life Empowerment and Transformation Advocate with over 30 years of experience working with various modalities of creativity.  She enjoys traveling, inspiring creativity in others and uncovering solutions to challenges that beseech the human spirit.

Wherever she goes, audiences love her humorous, light-hearted approach. As Niambi says, “While making sure that everyone is included in the conversation is critical, I keep it fun and engaging so that people can increase their intellectual and emotional nimbleness and agility without feeling alienated and judged.”

As a Cultural Agility Strategist, Niambi serves as a subject matter expert and consultant to organizations, working with both leadership and staff.  She provides creative strategic support, utilizing the Design Thinking methodology on matters of diversity management and inclusive practices in educational and workplace cultures.  She offers her advice and guidance to supervisors and managers on best practices associated with leading staff/employees from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, to align inclusion initiatives with the organizational mission, goals, strategies and metrics.

Niambi has been featured in Essence and Ebony Magazines, MSN.com and Oprah’s Angel Network.  Niambi has also been recognized by the State of Illinois and Essence Magazine as a woman who is “shaping the world.”  She is currently serving on American Camp Association’s National Board Development Committee and National Conference Program Planning Committee, is a faculty member of Expert Online Training, is a member of the National Diversity Council and serves as a Professional Advisor to graduate students at DePaul University’s School for New Learning.

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www.CrossCulturalAgility.com

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Dr. Joel Haber is a licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder ofwww.toolkitsforkids.com. Under his ‘RespectU’ banner, he has created and conducted bully training programs for camps, schools, athletic groups, and organizations nationwide. He earned His BA from Binghamton University (Harpur College) and PhD in Clinical Psychology/Behavioral Medicine from the University of Georgia. Throughout the academic year, Joel is consulting with schools and camps as well as working in his private practice in New York.

Nationally recognized as ‘The Bullycoach,’ Joel is one of the foremost experts in the prevention of bullying. A pioneer in the field, he has worked with thousands of children, parents, teachers, camp directors, counselors and others to understand the causes and effects of bullying. He has recently had his second book published by Penguin/Perigee entitled, Bullyproof Your Child for Life: Protect Your Child from Teasing, Taunting and Bullying for Good.”

Joel has consulted with schools and camps internationally and has helped the American Camp Association develop materials to help summer camps overcome bullying. He is a frequent keynote speaker and presenter at major conferences, and has appeared on CNN, CBS News, NPR and ESPN radio.

Joel is a dedicated father, husband, colleague, and friend. He has spent his life improving the quality of life for others.

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www.respectu.com

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Kevin is the owner/director, with his wife Natasha, of Camp Kupugani Multicultural Summer Camp, the only black-owned private residential camp in the U.S. Proud papa of a an adventurous son, he is also a published author, former attorney, former semi-professional tennis player and backpacker. Kevin has traveled to over 50 countries throughout the Caribbean, North and South America, Africa, and Europe.

A Harvard University graduate in psychology and the Canadian-born son of Jamaican immigrants, Kevin has worked with children for over thirty years. Before getting into camping, Kevin worked as a bartender, a furniture mover, a bus driver, a blackjack dealer, a garbage man, and a tennis pro. After college, he worked as an assistant camp director, traveled in Europe, traveled throughout Africa, and wrote a book chronicling his African adventures, titled Not Yet African. While gaining further valuable experience from camp programs from Pennsylvania to California, Kevin graduated from the University of California-Berkeley School of Law and worked for a top-100 law firm to further his organizational experience.

Kevin has served on the Board of Directors of the American Camp Association Illinois Section and regularly speaks at regional and national camp conferences and diversity conferences. Besides spending time with his wife Natasha and adventurous son Mico, Kevin enjoys playing goalie on his men’s ice hockey team.

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www.campkupugani.com

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Respected parenting and youth development expert, Deborah Gilboa, MD, is the founder of AskDoctorG.com. Dr. G’s passion for raising kids with character makes her a popular family physician, media personality, author, and speaker. A parent of four sons, she inspires audiences with her illuminating stories and actionable tools to develop crucial life skills in children ages 2-22.

Dr. G is a board certified family medicine attending physician at Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill Health Center, caring for religiously, culturally, and linguistically diverse patients from over 100 countries and 47 different languages. Her work with the Deaf community has received national recognition and was the focus of her research and service as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow.

She has received multiple awards for clinical excellence in teaching, including the Alpha Omega Alpha Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award as a Clinical Associate Professor for the University of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine.

Dr. G is on the advisory boards for Responsibility.org for promoting alcohol responsibility and Cybersmile Foundation to prevent cyber bullying.

A graduate of University of Pittsburgh’s SOM and Carnegie Melon University, as well as alumnus of Chicago’s Second City Improv Theater, Dr. G’s diverse background, interests and experiences add to her credibility and lively story-telling.

Dr. G is the author of multiple books including her latest, Get the Behavior You Want, Without Being the Parent You Hate! (Demos Publishing, 2014)

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www.AskDoctorG.com

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Thanks in part to his degree in Architecture and an MBA from Purdue, Gary has been a popular conference presenter for over 20 years, first gaining notoriety for his camp design and maintenance expertise and results-oriented marketing.

As executive director of Camp Jewell YMCA in Connecticut, Gary assembled and inspired a team that became an incubator for camp program, facility, marketing, and operation innovations that continues to draw visiting camp leaders to see what they have heard and read about in Gary’s countless presentations and magazine articles. More than 20 Jewell alumni are now year-round camp directors around the United States.

But it was the independent research Gary began while he was the YMCA’s National Camping Specialist and served on the American Camp Association National Board that his greatest contribution to youth development emerged. Visiting over 250 camps and annually surveying thousands of parents and campers, Gary began helping camps make dramatic enrollment improvements through a disciplined focus on fewer things rather than more.

Gary even met his wife Meg at summer camp 30 years ago when she was the camp nurse. Bradenton Florida is now their base-camp, from which he travels to 35 camps and a dozen conferences each year, consulting and presenting on operations and risk management, programming and marketing, staff selection and training, and of course, camp facility design!

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www.garyforster.com

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Faith Evans, who holds an MEd in Gifted Education, has worked with camp professionals for more than 45 years. Faith applauds Plato, who said, “You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than a lifetime of conversation.” She is a nationally acclaimed camp staff trainer, team builder, author, and speaker. Faith has received rave reviews for her interactive workshops that make action-learning fun and relevant. She is the CEO of PlayFully, Inc, and resides happily near Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

Faith specializes in experiential learning with small and large groups in the areas of relationship building, creativity, problem solving, leadership, communication, and play for a purpose…or for no purpose!

The American Camp Association twice honored Faith for her outstanding staff training and for excellence in writing for Camping Magazine. The Association for Experiential Education has also honored Faith for her innovative work with youth development professionals.

Faith has written numerous book chapters and articles about play and teambuilding and is a long-standing member of ACA. Her newest book, “The More The Merrier—Games for Large Groups” has received high praise and “99 of the Best Experiential Games We Know,” which Faith co-authored, is a perennial best-seller.

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Jack Erler is an attorney in Portland, Maine. Jack earned his BA in psychology from Grinnell College and his JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

For over 35 years Jack has been representing youth camps in all aspects of their operation including issues related to children, employment, health and safety, regulatory compliance, organizational structure, land use, environmental, tax, purchase and sale transactions and transition planning.

In addition, Jack represents and lobbies for youth camp organizations. Jack is the recipient of the Halsey Gulick Award for distinguished service to the organized camping movement in Maine.

Jack worked with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to draft the original youth camp rules in 1974 and assisted in each subsequent substantive revision. He is a member of the American Camp Association.

Jack is a speaker on legal issues affecting youth camping including the duty of care, risk management, child abuse, sexual harassment, laws regulating alcohol, drugs and tobacco and confidentiality.

For more than sixty years, Jack has been in camp as a camper, then counselor, activity director, unit director and assistant camp director. His wife, Ellen and his children, Mark, Todd and Anne also have extensive camp and youth development backgrounds.

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www.curtisthaxter.com/erler

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