Staff Bios

We want you to meet our 2009 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 Director

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!

Michelle Grim Assistant Program Director

The Green River Preserve has become a second home for Michelle. This is her third summer here and she has quickly moved her way through the camp system. In her first year she was a timid mentor, just learning the ropes of camp. Last year she was a little more seasoned, and enjoying taking on a few more challenges in the office and around camp, along with being a mentor. This summer she has moved into the position of Assistant Program Coordinator, working more behind the scenes of the camp machine, helping to keep things running smoothly. She is ready for the challenge of this new position, but is still sad about not being with the campers on a full-time basis. She would love for anyone to ask her to play or join them on a hike if they see her, because despite all the fancy titles, she will always be a Nature Nerd at heart! Michelle's background is in Biology with an emphasis in Life Sciences. She specializes in ecology, ornithology, and fun facts about science and nature. At the end of the summer she will be getting married to former GRP staffer Philip Pearce, whom she met at camp during her first summer. She is also looking forward to taking on this full-time challenge!

Helen Hull Assistant Program Director, Co-Counselor Coordinator

Helen is a native of Atlanta, GA who currently lives in Charlotte, NC, teaching English courses at Queens University. After graduating from college, she taught high school English, French, and Drama for three years before starting the graduate school track, eventually earning an MA and a PhD in English. Mixed into all those years of school are many years of organized camping including 14 years at a girls' camp in Brevard, NC as a camper and staff member, as well as stints at various day camps. Besides reading, her favorite past-time is rock-climbing!

Ben Wyrick Mentor

Ben is entering his eighth straight summer as a mentor. He enjoys backpacking, photography, running long distances through the mountains, and his dog, Dante. Ben will be working on making chairs for the camp tipi this summer. 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.

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 is currently a science teacher at Providence Day School, a K-12 independent school, in Charlotte, NC. While he is presently teaching AP Environmental Science to juniors and seniors, he has taught science at all grade levels from 6 through 12 over the last 13 years. He absolutely loves camp and both his kids are repeat GRP campers. 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

Courtney Brown Mentor

Courtney is originally from Naples, FL, but has lived in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, for 6 years now with her family; husband Sene, daughter Piper (2 yrs), step-son, Sam (age 8) and Border Collie, Sweep. Together they own and facilitate a Holistic Health Retreat in Opua, NZ as well as an international nutritional science business. Courtney's USA family started at the GRP as staff the very first year! She returns with over 5 years experience as a Counselor, Activity Director, Assistant Director, and Mentor. 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, tai chi/chee kung, family, health & healing treatments, sports and spiritual development. Piper is a spirited kiwi/American camp cheerleader! Sene is a naturopath, reiki master, multi-sport competitor and fantastic dad. He will join the GRP family throughout the summer.

Elan Solveson Mentor

Elan has just graduated with a degree in environmental studies from Florida Gulf Coast University and is excited to return to GRP for her third summer. Elan loves to play guitar, climb, smile, sing, and spend as much time outside as possible. There is no where else in the world Elan would rather spend her summer and is determined to see a bear and make fire by friction!

Ben Roe Mentor

Ben was born in Raleigh, NC and spent his childhood exploring the woods at Green River and all across North Carolina with the Boy Scouts where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He was a counselor at the Carolina Kids Camp in Chapel Hill for two summers where he coached sports, taught arts and crafts, and led nature hikes. He enjoys public service and in 2007 he worked in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi with AmeriCorps in the effort to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Ben recently returned from seven months traveling around the world, during which time he lived in Copenhagen and Hong Kong and visited as many countries as he possibly could in between. Ben loves riding his bike and enjoys rock climbing, swimming, and quiet walks through the woods. He is currently learning to juggle and walk a tightrope and is involved in a longstanding guitar duel with Mr. Dylan and Mr. Clapton.

Sharon Wildey Mentor

Sharon loves nature, travel, and art. Her favorite things are beavers and meeting new birds. She is from Northern NJ but has lived in Ohio, Montreal, and Italy. Sharon has hiked the AT in NJ, NY, and VA and hopes to one day hike the whole trail. She has a degree in illustration/fine art and is certified to teach Art K-12. She has taught art and outdoor skills in NJ and was a camper in the Adirondacks, NY. Sharon enjoys playing guitar, speaking Italian, and photography. She can't wait for her first summer at GRP!

Rachael Bergmann Counselor

Rachael is a rising junior at Emory University majoring in Environmental Studies and Psychology. She is a former camper and expeditioner, and she is pumped for her third year on staff. Rachael loves most everything found in nature but especially butterflies, flowers, sunrises, and the mountains. She is excited to be back at Green River and knows that this is going to be a fantastic summer!

Lizzie Smith Counselor

Lizzie is from Tuxedo, NC - a little place just down the road from the GRP. She's a rising sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she's majoring in International and Area Studies with a focus in Latin America. This is her third year as a staff member and tenth with Green River. Lizzie likes theatre, Spanish, and waterfalls. She's looking forward to breathing mountain air again and having another great summer at camp.

Ben Solomon Counselor

Ben grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and spent seven incredible summers with the preserve. He's currently attending Boston University double-majoring in Sociology and Anthropology. Ben loves playing the guitar, writing, and getting to know everything about everyone. He can't wait to play field games, go on camp-outs, and contributing as much as he can to the GLPs.

Laura Hoxworth Counselor

Laura is a rising junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in journalism with a minor in French. In her free time, she loves writing, dancing, traveling, taking pictures, singing, lying in the grass, learning new things and meeting new people! Laura spent one wonderful summer at the Preserve as a camper and could not be more excited to finally be going back!

Jessie Nichols Counselor

Jessie grew up in Matthews but has always considered the North Carolina mountains her second home. This will be her ninth summer returning to the Preserve and her second spent as a counselor. After graduating in May from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Spanish, she plans to work as a park ranger next year. She is extra excited to spend the summer looking at plants, bugs, ort and fungi through her nerd-a-scope!

Catherine Bloodwell Counselor

Catherine (Cat) is a senior at Appalachian State University majoring in Recreation Management with a Biology minor. After sailing for the past two summers Camp Don Lee in Arapahoe, NC, she's decided to hang up her lifejacket and lace up her hiking boots. She loves pirates, whittling, breaking into random songs, spelunking, and playing the ocarina. With camp constantly on her mind, she's ready to discover the new adventures that await at GRP.

Eliza Bordley Counselor

Eliza is a rising junior at the College of Charleston, SC. She's from Durham, NC and attended Durham School of the Arts. She is currently majoring in studio art, with a minor in environmental studies and possibly religious studies as well. In her free time she enjoys playing soccer, painting and drawing, camping, live music, being involved in her campus Christian ministry group, snowboarding, traveling, hiking, canoeing, cooking and trying to play guitar. She is a huge UNC fan! She has two younger brothers, Travis and Sam, who are campers this summer. Travis is a fifth year camper and Sam and I are here for our first summer!

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 senior at Elon University, majoring in History 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 counselor for a summer. He loves to backpack, kayak, and do just about anything outside! He is really excited to be back at GRP this summer and can't wait for the summer to start!

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!

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).

Becca Shareff Counselor

Becca is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis studying cognitive science, but more importantly she is a counselor during sessions 1 and 2 who loves eating ort, tie dying, frogs, and having fun. Her proudest accomplishments include making it through camp without losing any socks, a stegosaurus whistle she made during hand pottery, and of course the Lorax Bus. This is her third year on staff at the GRP and she can't wait to try new things and meet new people this summer!

John-Reid Sidebotham Counselor

John-Reid is a rising sophomore at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, where he is majoring in Political Science. He grew up spending summers at Wrightsville Beach, NC fishing and gaining a love for the outdoors. This is his first year at Green River Preserve, but is absolutely thrilled to work at such an incredible place. See you soon!

Avery McGaha Co-Counselor

Avery is a rising senior at Carolina Day School in Asheville, North Carolina. He has lived surrounded by the mystery and aplomb of the Appalachian Mountains all of his life, and cannot wait to spend the summer outside during his first year at GRP. He enjoys hiking, camping, playing guitar, theatre, and play writing, and puns more than the rest combined.

Hannah Breunig Co-Counselor

Hannah lives in Atlanta, GA and is a rising freshman at the University of Georgia. She loves playing in the woods, making music with her friends, and learning about trees and plants! She has called the GRP her home for the past 7 years, spending 5 years as a Base Camper, and 2 years on Blue Ridge Expeditions. She can't wait to go back this summer and expand her knowledge and love of the outdoors!

Denton Baird Co-Counselor

Denton is a rising senior at Raleigh Charter High School in Raleigh, NC. This is Denton's first year on the GRP staff but he was a base camper for 7 years and attended BRX last year before making the jump. He enjoys climbing trees and ultimate Frisbee among other things, and is always ready to polar bear at any of the local streams and waterfalls (and is planning on polar bearing in Antarctica where he will be helping research climate change next winter). He's looking forward to spending the entire summer at the green river, where paradise lays.

Laetitia Mead Co-Counselor

Laetitia has gown up with three brothers right outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She has recently graduated from the local high school, Brookline High. She hopes to take a year off to travel and gain more experience and competence in the mountains before she attends college at Warren Wilson (just down the road from GRP). When she is not studying, she likes to bike and do yoga. She also loves working with her hands, whether that be polishing or cleaning, or the arts. She loves sewing, needlepoint, knitting, and pottery. She loves the Smoky mountains and can't wait to spend time there at GRP!

Gillian Small Co-Counselor

Gillian is a rising senior in Augusta, Georgia. She has spent 6 wonderful summers at GRP as a camper, and is so excited to be returning as a member of staff to share her enthusiasm with campers. When not studying, she loves reading, going to the beach, watching C-SPAN, dancing, playing music and just having fun. She's counting down the days until camp and and is so excited about this amazing summer.

Brian Clark Co-Counselor

Brian Clark is a rising freshman planning to attend St. Mary's College of Maryland. He enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and capture the flag, especially at Green River Preserve. This will by his second year as a co-counselor and is excited at the prospect of spending his entire summer at GRP. He enjoys rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing, and fencing. He is officially undecided as far as his major goes but plans to go into environmental sciences or studies. Other interests include reading, board games, camping and hiking.

Kartik Sethuraman Co-Counselor

Kartik is a rising freshman at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. He has gone to the Preserve for 8 years now, including both expeditions. Last year he worked as a co-counselor and had a great time! He plays violin and guitar, and enjoys backpacking, hiking, Ultimate Frisbee, disc golf, capture the flag, reading, cross country, 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!

Drew Henderson Co-Counselor

Drew is from Spartanburg, SC and will be a freshman in the fall at Yale University. He is thrilled to be returning to the GRP as a co- counselor and is particularly excited about wading through creeks, playing capture the flag, and backpacking through the woods! His goals for this summer include spending time stargazing, improving his orienteering skills, and learning the art of making perfect chocolate- chip pancakes on campout.

Allen Lyons Co-Counselor

Allen is a rising senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, NC. When he isn't at school he spends most of his time at home in Winston Salem, NC playing with his little sister and practicing Taekwondo. He has spent the past 7 years as a camper, two of which were spent on BRX and one on OBX. This will be his first year as a staff member and he can't wait to go hiking, camping, and go swimming. He enjoys reading, music, and advanced physics. He can't wait to meet all the amazing people coming to GRP this year.

Alexis Grant Co-Counselor

Alexis lives in Mendham, New Jersey and is a rising senior at Mendham High School. When not studying for her IB diploma, she loves fencing, hiking (in the mountains), reading, and above all, having fun with her friends. Though this will be her first year on staff, Alexis has already spent five wonderful summers at the GRP-four at base camp and one at Blue Ridge Expeditions. She can't wait to hit the trails, eat GORP, and meet campers!

Charlotte Dunn Co-Counselor

Charlotte is a rising senior at Durham Academy in Durham, NC. She has been both a camper and an expeditioner at GRP for somewhere close to 7 years and is exceedingly excited to start her first summer as camp staff! When she's not doing homework she loves hiking, swimming, singing, acting, reading, frolicking, and general merriment and she can't wait to get back to the GRP!

Carson Ellis Co-Counselor

Carson was born and raised in Asheville, NC, but will be heading off to Massachusetts to attend Mount Holyoke College in the fall! She's pumped to be returning to the GRP as a co-counselor this summer, and can't wait to romp around in the mountains. Playing with clay, counting stars, attempting to play the guitar, making neat things out of string, "XTREME" badminton, backpacking and armadillos are a few of her favorite things, not to mention the GRP!

Lisa Watt Co-Counselor

Lisa is from Atlanta, GA, and is a rising freshman at DePauw University. This is her first time at GRP, and is so excited to spend her summer at camp! Lisa loves to go backpacking, white water rafting, running, biking, and skipping through meadows. She can't wait until camp starts!

John Giles Outer Banks Expeditions Staff

John 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 six years and has found his true calling in the Outer Banks Expedition. This will be his third year as the lead mentor for OBX and his fourth 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

When Rachel was six years old, she told her parents to stop addressing her by her given name and start calling her "Nature Girl" instead. Although they ignored her, Rachel remained dedicated to her love of dirt and has since been climbing her way up the super hero ladder (watch out, Ortman) and fighting for environmental sustainability in any way she can. After graduating from Brown University, she moved west to Boulder, Colorado, where she spends her days eating granola and avocados, climbing mountains, and working with college students on environmental and social justice issues. She returns to Green River for her eleventh summer, making rapid progress towards her goal of being the oldest camp counselor ever, and can't wait to hit the beach, shower rarely, and get a great life jacket tan.

Noah Gregory Outer Banks Expeditions Staff

Outdoor Education is something that has driven Noah to where he is today at GRP! He is 25 years old and left the nursing field to pursue a career focusing more on his love of the outdoors. Prior to this summer, Noah has worked for 3 years at SUWS, an outdoor therapy program for troubled adolescents, accumulating 52 weeks of total experience. Other jobs have ranged from restoring sailboats on the west coast to working with orphans in Turkey. Some hobbies that have turned into life style are climbing, snowboarding, camping, bike touring, and traveling. His love of his life is his 4 month old border collie named Buddha which he wishes could join him on the Expedition. Noah is excited about the summer with OBX!

Eric Thompson Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

Eric finds joy from living outside and seeking to understand the patterns of order and chaos within the natural world. He spent several years doing seasonal biology research across the country, but has now found his true calling--playing in the woods with young people. Some of his favorite activities include running after Frisbees, sleeping under the stars, and playing with fire! He has been camping and backpacking since he was too young to remember. He loves his family and friends more than anything else in the world, and he's SUPER excited about his second year at GRP where he can teach and learn from his newest friend-YOU.

Herb Walters Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

Herb is a former director of the "Walkabout" ancient living skills program for teens and as a seventeen year GRP veteran, he has directed our Blue Ridge, Outer Banks and Wilderness Arts expedition programs. Herb directs an international conflict management program, farms and gathers wild foods on an environmental land trust community in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He loves to play, sing, dance and tell stories which he has done professionally as a member of the Sapien Dreamtime performance group. He is excited about leading Blue Ridge Expeditions this summer!

Jon Rousseau Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

Jon has been involved in outdoor education since 1991. He holds a BS in Economics and a Masters of Social Work (MSW). Much of his career has been devoted to serving "at risk" youth in both therapeutic wilderness programs and residential treatment centers. Other avenues of experience include leading nature awareness and young naturalist programs for schools and camps and facilitating team challenge courses for adults and corporate groups. Jon is also a storyteller and drummer and has a passion for building a genuine sense of community among those he works with. Jon led Blue Ridge Expeditions in 2005 and 2006 and he's thrilled to be back at GRP for 2009!

Amy Strictland Blue Ridge Expeditions Staff

Amy received a bachelor's degree in Education from Auburn University, with a focus in Science. Since graduating she has been teaching middle school math and science at ArtSpace Charter School. She teaches dance at the Asheville Ballet and heads the GRITS Girls, a science club for middle school girls. She has also lived and worked in the Canadian Rockies and New Zealand, doing ecological research and teaching school. In her free time she loves to travel, backpack, dance, knit, read, explore, and play with her dog. She is incredibly excited about joining the BRX crew and about working at the Preserve in general!

Ginger Scalone Camp Nurse

Ginger lives in Mills River, NC with her two sons and husband. She was born in Goldsboro, NC and has traveled across the US ending up in Western North Carolina. She attended AB-Tech Community College and is currently attending Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing to achieve her masters of nursing in the family nurse practitioner program. Ginger loves kids and enjoys hiking, kayaking and biking. This will be her second summer with Green River Preserve. She will be working at base camp two.

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