Staff Bios

We want you to meet our 2008 Camp Staff.

Linda Lamphier Office Manager

A graduate of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, Linda worked at Screamin' Eagle Outfitters in Flat Rock, NC and at YMCA Camp Greenville in Cedar Mountain, NC before finding a home here at the Green River Preserve. Linda holds the office together, managing camper registration, telephones, mail and radio traffic. Moving from Orangeburg, SC to Henderson County more than 25 years ago, Linda is developing her own small Certified Wildlife Habitat in nearby Zirconia, NC.

Pam Ritchie Summer Program Coordinator

Pam was born in Shelby, NC and grew up going to camp and playing in the woods. She spent many summers as a camp counselor and was the summer program director her last summer at Camp Grier. Pam graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Outdoor Experiential Education. She worked at a wilderness therapy program for at-risk youth in the Idaho desert after college. Pam was a mentor for the fall school programs before she became the Summer Program Coordinator for Green River Preserve. She is responsible for recruiting and hiring summer staff and coordinating summer programs. Pam enjoys backpacking, primitive skills, daisies, snails and getting mud in-between her toes!

Tyler Cooney Media Coordinator

Tyler will be a senior at the University of the South with a major in studio art concentration in photography. He is originally from Mount Dora, Florida, where he attended Christian Home and Bible High School. Aside from photography, he enjoys kayaking, rock climbing, and pole vaulting. Tyler is also the student director of the only volunteer emergency medical service in the state of Tennessee. After college, he plans to pursue a master of fine arts and hopes to eventually be a professor of photography.

Ben Wyrick Mentor

Ben is entering his seventh straight summer as a mentor. He enjoys backpacking, photography, running long distances through the mountains, and his dog,Dante. Ben's project this summer is to complete and paint the camp tipi, which is being created with everyone's help. When he's not tromping through the Preserve, Ben lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he teaches photography and graphic design at Blue Ridge Community College. Ben is also a professional photographer.

Michelle Grim Mentor

This will Michelle's second summer at GRP. As a child, she moved around a lot but is originally from Findlay, Ohio. She graduated from the University of Findlay in 2006 with a degree in Biology. Michelle's favorite things are early spring wildflowers, zero food waste, and giraffes!

Erik Stone, Reid Stone and Marlene Rye Mentors

Erik, Marlene and Reid live in Northampton MA, where Erik is a teacher, Marlene is a full time professional artist, and Reid is a pirate, Egyptian, knight, wizard or dragon respectively. This will make Erik and Marlene's 8th or 9th (they can't remember) summer at GRP, and Reid's 5th if you count the summer Marlene was pregnant. The whole family has a love for nature and seeking the joy. They look forward to a summer of laughing, learning, and fun. Erik and Marlene will be joining the GRP staff for Session 2.

Derrick Willard Mentor

Derrick Willard is currently a science teacher at Providence Day School, a K-12 independent school, in Charlotte, NC. While he is presently teaching Biology and AP Environmental Science to juniors and seniors, he has taught science at all grade levels from 6 through 12 over the last 12 years. Prior to his teaching career, Derrick served as an officer in the U.S. Army in armored cavalry and paratroop units. When not working, Derrick enjoys playing with his children, reading, hiking, and fly-fishing. Derrick will be joining the GRP staff as a mentor during Mini Camp and Session 1.

Courtney Brown Mentor

Courtney is originally from Naples, FL, but has lived in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, for 5 years now with her family, Sene, Piper (14 months), step son, Sam (age 7) and Border Collie, Sweep. Together they own and facilitate a Holistic Health Retreat in Opua, NZ. Courtney started at the GRP as staff the very first year! She returns after 10 years with Green River experience as a Counselor, Activity Director, and Assistant Director. Courtney is a trained family therapist specializing in outdoor adventure programs and play therapy. Her passions include organic gardening, sustainability consultation, international service work and travel, family, health and healing treatments, sports and spiritual development. Piper is excited to be a camp mascot for the summer. Sene is a naturopath, reiki master, multi-sport competor,and fantastic dad. He will join the GRP family for the later half of the summer

John Patton Mentor

John grew up in Marietta, GA where he began exploring in the woods at a very young age. He attended UGA in Athens, GA where he received a degree in psychology in 2006. He has been an environmental educator officially for 2 seasons at Camp Thunderbird where he guides hands-on, interactive learning with kids and has an unofficial store of seemingly useless ecological information that he has been spouting off to friends and family for years. In his spare time, he enjoys backpacking, attempting to play guitar, live music, honing survival skills, finding creative ways to get dirty, and trees.

Rachael Bergmann Counselor

Rachel is from Columbia, South Carolina. She is currently a freshman at Emory University in Atlanta. This will be her 10th summer with Green River: She spent 5 summers as a camper, 2 years on the Outer Banks Expeditions, and 1 year as a CIT. Rachel is really looking forward to another great summer with the Green River Preserve, it is sure to be unforgettable!

Rich Preyer Counselor

Rich is a rising senior at Wake Forest University, majoring in history and classical studies. He attended base camp at the GRP for five years and did BRX for two years in high school. He was also a CIT at the GRP in 2004. He loves backpacking and Ultimate Frisbee more than anything in the world and hopes to spread some of the passion to the kids this summer. Rich can't wait to get back to camp and knows that this summer is going to be magical!

Jeff Talbott Counselor

Jeff is finishing his Senior year at Florida Gulf Coast University located in Ft. Myers, Florida and is majoring in Environmental Studies with a minor in Biology. He loves the outdoors, photography, frisbee, is hopelessly addicted to music, and is an avid cross country runner. Jeff is really excited for all the experiences camp will bring with it, and he can't wait to have some adventures with the new staff and campers at Green River.

Evan Small Counselor

Evan is a rising junior at Elon University, majoring in History Education and Music Performance with a minor in Leadership Studies. He has attended GRP Base Camp for 5 years, the Wilderness Arts Expedition, the Outer Banks Expedition, and was a CIT for a summer. He loves to backpack, kayak, and do just about anything outside! He is really excited for this summer and can't wait for camp to start.

Catherine Schenck Counselor

Catherine is a rising sophomore at the University of North Carolina majoring in education. She was a camper at the GRP for 3 years, a CIT for 1, and a co-counselor in 2006. She is ready to play in the woods and cannot wait for another great summer at camp!

Becca Shareff Counselor

Becca is a former camper and Outer Banks expeditioner who is now a sophomore at Washington University in Saint Louis majoring in Philosophy Neuroscience-Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She absolutely loves dance parties, flowers, grand slams, stars, traveling, and making campers laugh, even if it means getting food all over her face. That being said, she can't wait for her second year as a counselor at the GRP and all of the fun times to come!

Matt Stauffer Counselor

Matt is a freshman engineering major at Virginia Tech, and this will be his second summer working for the preserve. He was a camper for four summers and did OBX twice. He enjoys music, guitar, Frisbee, and anything outdoors. Matt had a great experience last summer and can't wait to spend more time at GRP.

Caroline Ellerbe Counselor

Caroline Ellerbe is a rising Junior at Princeton University studying History and Creative Writing. She spent four years as a camper, two on Blue Ridge Expeditions, and worked last summer as a counselor. She enjoys writing, running, frisbee, rock climbing and playing outside. She had the time of her life working last summer and can't wait to be back!

Elan Solveson Counselor

Elan is a rising senior at Florida Gulf Coast University majoring in Environmental Studies with an emphasis on Environmental Education. Elan loves playing the guitar, watching sunsets, playing in the rain, and spending time in the woods. Elan is so excited to spend some time in the mountains and can’t think of a better place to spend her summer than Green River!

Joe Wadlington Counselor

Joe Wadlington is a rising sophomore at Butler University in Indianapolis where he is majoring in Creative Writing. He spent three unforgettable summers as a camper and has been away from the GRP for far too long. Joe loves writing, making art, and eating things covered in cheese and bacon. He is more than excited for this summer.

Samantha Pfeffer Counselor

Sami will be a sophmore at Mount Holyoke College in the Fall. While she loves school, she misses North Carolina constantly! Especially the mountains, so she's "wicked" excited for Green River (to use her newly acquired Western Massachusetts vocabulary).

Magie Lee Counselor

Maggie is from Charlotte, NC and will be a senior Business Management major at Appalachian State University. This will be her first summer at GRP; however, she has been a camper and staff at other camps for about 15 years. She enjoys being outdoors, having fun and can't wait to play at GRP this summer!

Julian Cockerham Counselor

Julian is a Senior at Appalachian State University in Boone NC, studying Commercial Recreation and Tourism Managment and Sociology, with a concentration in Race and Minority Relations. He has been cooking for the past two years in Blowing Rock, and is an avid snowboarder, swimmer, and people watcher. He was a camper at the GRP, and cannot wait to get back this summer and have some fun.

Genivieve Wood Co-Counselor

Genevieve is a graduating senior at Woodward Academy in Atlanta Georgia, she was a camper at GRP for 4 years and this is her second summer as a co-counselor. She loves swimming, frisbee and is excited to get back to nature. She can't wait for another amazing summer! Genivieve will be joining the GRP staff during Session 1 and 2.

Paul Eaton Co-Counselor

Paul Eaton was a camper for five years at the GRP and this will be his second summer as a co-counselor at GRP. He is also a self proclaimed southerner! He enjoys ultimate Frisbee, Polynesian fire dancing, hiking, camping, and Capture the flag is a biggie. He loves to have fun and can play both inside and outside with equal vigor, so good times don't stop just because he lost the game pieces or the Frisbee flew on the roof.

Brian Clark Co-Counselor

Brian a rising senior at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, NC. This will be his first year on the GRP staff, but he has gone through four summers of base camp and an expedition to the Outer Banks. I run cross country, play lacrosse and enjoy other activities like: hiking, kayaking, ultimate frisbee, capture the flag, climbing trees, hacky sack and reading a good book. He plays clarinet and guitar. This past year he did some work with the Student Conservation Association, preserving and creating trails in the California Redwood Forest. He can't wait to come back to the GRP!

Max Hamilton Co-Counselor

Max Hamilton is a rising Freshman at Washington University in St Louis, from Cary, North Carolina. Max has been coming to the GRP as a camper, expeditioner, and co-counselor since he was 12 years old, and this is now his 7th straight year at the Preserve. Max enjoys hiking, canoeing, sports, acting, dancing (in a non-formal manner), animals, and meeting new people. He is excited to be back at the GRP like it's his job (and, in fact, it now is)!

Frances Ellerbe Co-Counselor

Frances is a 17-year-old rising college freshman. She graduated from Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, SC. She attended GRP base camp for four years and then one session of Blue Ridge Expeditions. She loves dancing, running, and ultimate Frisbee. She is very excited to be returning to GRP as a co-counselor this year!

Theodore Barbour Co-Counselor

Theodore lives in Tennessee and is a rising freshman at Tennessee Tech University. He will be majoring in secondary education mathematics with a minor in coaching. He has been to base camp for five summers and OBX once. He has had so much fun with his time at base camp and OBX, that he decided to come and be a co-counselor and share all of his experiences with the GRP.

Michael Caffery Co-Counselor

Michael is a graduating senior at Catholic High School in New Iberia,Louisiana. He will be attending Tulane University in the fall, where he hopes to major in biochemistry with a minor in Spanish. This will be his first summer as a staff member, but he was a camper for five years and a Blue Ridge Expeditioner for three. He is extremely excited about the coming summer and loves nature, backpacking, math, and musical theater.

Jayme Watral Co-Counselor

Jayme is a rising senior at Sanderson High school in Raleigh, North Carolina. She's been attending the GRP for the past seven years as a camper and Blue Ridge expeditioner. She's thrilled to be spending her 8th year as a co-counselor. She enjoys camping, hiking, singing in her school choir, and teaching tap dancing at the local senior citizen center. She can't wait to spend another summer in paradise!

Kartik SethuramanCo-Counselor

Kartik is a rising senior at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, NC. He hasgone to the Preserve for 7 years, including both OBX and BRX but this will be his first year working here. He plays violin and guitar, and enjoys backpacking, hiking, Ultimate Frisbee, Capture the Flag, reading, Cross Country, Track, and just being out in nature. He has always looked forward to going to the Preserve every year and can't wait to get back!

Andrew Henderson Co-Counselor

Drew is a rising high school senior from Spartanburg, South Carolina. A former base camper and expeditioner, Drew is looking forward to spending this summer back at the Preserve. When he's not planning his next daring adventure, Drew enjoys spending time with his family, reading, and reclining in hammocks.

Geneva Preston Co-Counselor

Geneva is a seventeen-year-old Georgia native who enjoys backpacking, hiking, and camping almost as much as she enjoys breathing. She is a rising sophomore at Bard College at Simon’s Rock (an early college), and though she is very much undecided about her major, she is thinking about studying botany or plant ecology. Geneva loves to sing, laugh, play, and have fun. This summer, she is really hoping to learn how to juggle. She will be joining the GRP staff for sessions 3 and 4 and she can’t wait to go back down by the Green River where paradise lay!

Carson Ellis Co-Counselor

Carson is a rising senior at Asheville High School in Asheville, NC. She has spent five summers at the GRP as both a camper and an expeditioner, and can’t wait to be immersed in the sunshine, the rain, the laughter and the beauty of the GRP again this summer! Her two loves are art and nature; photography, fungi, ceramics, trees, music, salamanders, painting and the Preserve are only a few of her favorite things. When she’s not behind a desk in a classroom, she loves to get outside and hike, bike or garden (currently, she’s growing some lovely peas, potatoes, corn and watermelons!) and on weekends she volunteers as a tutor at a local elementary school."

Frank Castelblanco Camp Nurse

Frank was born In Colombia and grew up in NJ, where he attended Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Frank spent some time living in Colorado, was a school teacher for 3 years and a restaurant manger. He went to Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College for nursing and currently works at Mission Hospitol with the Cardiac ICU and stepdown patients. Frank lives in Asheville with his three kids Phoebe 13, Alesandro 3 and Paiden 1.5 and his wife, Samantha. He enjoys soccor, hiking and running. Play Soccer, hike and run. This will be Frank's third summer as a Camp Nurse for GRP! Frank will be one o the Camp Nurses during Session 2.

Jenny Willard Camp Doctor

Jenny is a board certified Pediatrician practicing at Linderman Pediatrics in Matthews, NC. Prior to her nine years as a Pediatrician, she completed my residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. Being a true Tarheel, she graduated from UNC School of Medicine, but her true love was the time I spent at Davidson College. She met her husband, Derrick Willard, there as well. She is honored to work at the camp her family runs. Beth and Paul Bockoven are her sister and brother-in-laws. Jenny will be working as the Camp Doctor during Mini Camp.

John Giles Outer Banks Expeditions Staff

John Giles graduated with a bachelors degree in Outdoor Education/minor in Biology at Georgia College and State University. John worked as a gourmet chef for seven years before going to college and decided he wanted to get out of the kitchen and focus on the natural world. John fell in love with the ocean after several coastal wetland classes and hasn't looked back since. John has worked many different positions at GRP for five years and has found his true calling in the Outer Banks Expedition. This will be his second year as the lead mentor for OBX and his third year on the expedition. John loves to play music with whatever instrument he can grab and enjoys making people happy with food!

Rachel Brett Outer Banks Expeditions Staff

After graduating from Brown University last May, Rachel has spent the last year eating homemade granola, climbing really big mountains, and working for an environmental nonprofit in Boulder, Colorado. She has spent nine summers at GRP as a camper, expeditioner, counselor, and mentor, and although she is slightly prone to seasickness, she is nonetheless excited to hit up the beach this summer while leading Outer Banks Expeditions. Rachel loves long walks on the beach, bears, shooting stars, her guitar, getting dirty, and frisbees, and is so excited to go back to camp after a year of pretending to be an adult.

Brennan Splain Outer Banks Expeditions Staff

Brennan graduated with a degree in recreation management from Appalachian State University. He has since spent his time working with troubled teens in wilderness therapy programs from Utah to North Carolina. A Raleigh native, he has spent plenty of time exploring North Carolina from the mountains to the coast. He is an avid fisherman and enjoys exploring the ecological diversity that the North Carolina coast has to offer. This is Brennan’s first year with the Green River Preserve, and he is looking forward to a fantastic summer.

Robin Weeks Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

Robin spent the winter living her dreams in Aspen, Colorado. Her passions include mountains, snowboarding, photography, and yoga. She graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Environmental Studies in 2005 and has been teaching environmental education ever since. No stranger to Green River, this will be Robin's 10th summer at camp and her 4th as an Expedition leader. She looks forward to sharing the magic of summer with all of you!

Andrew Glikin Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

This is Glikin’s first summer at GRP. Glikin was originally born in Long Beach California and grew up in Baltimore MD. He was a tropical and fresh water biology graduate student at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and is currently at Antioch University in New Hampshire studying Environmental Education. Glikin loves everything earthy, photography, running free outdoors, and a delicious veggie-burrito w/ hot sauce! He's excited to act as both co-leader and a lead mentor on Blue Ridge Expeditions!

Eric Thompson Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

Eric graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2005 with a bachelors degree in Biology and a passion for field studies. He has spent the last 3 years working various outdoor jobs for The Student Conservation Association (SCA) in places like Maui, Utah, and Southeast US. He loves backpacking, canoeing, frisbee, and exploring. Eric is super excited about being a Blue Ridge Expedition Co-Leader for his first summer with GRP.

Elsa Bledsoe Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

Now reigning from Asheville, Elsa is joining GRP for her first summer as a co-leader for Blue Ridge Expeditions. She has a degree in biology from UNC-Chapel Hill which sent her to Costa Rica for a semester to study tropical field ecology. After college she worked on a backcountry trail crew in wilderness areas all over California and for the last year she has been working on ecological monitoring projects for the National Park Service on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Elsa enjoys getting dirty, birding, and the endless discovery nature has to offer.

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