Adam Kaplan and Stephanie Hanson are Camp Nebagamon’s fourth set of directors since camp’s founding in 1929. Adam brings a wealth of experience to this position, having spent eighteen summers at Nebagamon as a camper, counselor and village administrator. Moreover, he served for three years as the director of Four Winds*Westward Ho, a traditional co-ed summer camp in Washington state’s beautiful San Juan Islands. Prior to his career as a camp director, Adam was a teacher and school administrator in Minneapolis, Chicago, and Boise, Idaho. Adam is a graduate of Grinnell College and he received his teaching certification from DePaul University.

Stephanie is also a graduate of Grinnell College where she majored in sociology. After working for a few years in the non-profit sector, she earned her masters of business administration at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and then worked in future product marketing at Hewlett-Packard. Stephanie and Adam have three children, Josh, Ben, and Josie. “Being a parent, I understand what a huge leap of faith it is for parents to send their children to camp. Our parents trust to us the most precious things in their lives. It is an awesome responsibility.”

After spending sixteen summers at Camp as a camper, cabin counselor, trip staff, and village director, I am honored to be Nebagamon’s next director. I grew up near Chicago and moved to Colorado in 2013 to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. After graduating with a degree in psychology, I followed my commitment to supporting children, working with youth and young adults in various settings while always finding my way back to Camp in the summers. I earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology with a concentration in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Denver and have since worked as a child and adolescent mental health counselor in residential and outpatient levels of care. I love spending time with family and friends—especially in the outdoors. You can often find me in the mountains, skiing, running, and hiking! 

After working at Nebagamon for three summers as the climbing director, I joined the year-round staff as Associate Director in the spring of 2015. Originally from Atlanta, I studied business management at North Georgia College & State University. I have a variety of camp experience having worked in administration at YMCA and 4-H camps in Georgia, California and Michigan. When not in the camp office, I enjoy camping, traveling and cooking in the outdoors. 

I grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, and at Camp Nebagamon, having spent ten years as a camper and working as a cabin staff member throughout high school and college. Through experiences at Nebagamon, as well as working as a member of the administrative team at Camp Roosevelt-Firebird, I fostered a passion for creating fun and meaningful summers for kids. After graduating from the University of Chicago, I had the opportunity to join Nebagamon’s year round staff and serve as camp’s Program Director during the summers and have been serving camp as Associate Director for nearly a decade. Outside of camp, I live in Chicago with my wife Maggie and our kitten, Winnie, and enjoy, cycling, mountain biking, rock climbing, knitting, and watching baseball.

I have been recycled a bit since I joined the Camp Nebagamon staff in 1991 as an Arts specialist. I have also led wilderness trips for camp and am presently head caretaker, a job which I’ve held since 1994. Although my wife, Amy, and I and our two children enjoy all of the seasons that Camp Nebagamon encounters, we are waiting with excitement for everyone else to arrive each May.

I was born in the1960s. It was a good decade for me; I learned to walk and got a solid start on my educational career at Hilltop Elementary. I continued my educational pursuits through the 1970s, going on to graduate from Simley High School in 1980 and learned to fish, paddle, swim and love trees when I spent summers at our cabin on Devils Lake, WI. I continued my studies through the 1980s, starting at The U of MN and ending at the U of WI in 1990. My collegiate tenure was devoted to studying philosophy, fine art, and childhood education. After sampling a few careers, I came to Camp Nebagamon in 1995. Camp has been a great fit for my many years of education. I write a monthly column, “At Camp,” for “The Arrowhead,” have taught digital photography for several seasons, have delivered a number of Sunday Services, and faced the challenges of a camp caretaker. Away from camp I like to cross country ski, spend time on the lake, and hang out with my wife Wanda and our five pets.

I was a second-generation camper at Nebagamon from 1987 – 1993. Between 1995 and 2007, I was a Nebagamon cabin counselor, art specialist, campcraft director, and ultimately program director. I have over twenty years of professional experience ranging from graphic design, marketing, and communications to founding and running two local St. Louis, MO. non-profits and an ice cream shop! In 2022, I was thrilled to return to Camp Nebagamon in my old seasonal role as campcraft director (I love CNOC!) for two summers before coming onboard full-time as the first ever director of development and alumni relations. When not talking to people about how much I love Camp Nebagamon, I adore spending time with my family and friends, cheerleading my hometown, and I’m an avid collector of original props from film and television (yes, that’s a real hobby).