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STITES McDANIEL
Director
Hometown: Dover, Delaware
His FAVORITE.....
PMOEC Meal: Vegetarian Wings
Books: The Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Hobby: “anything my dog Harmony can come along for”
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Long time attendee of Camp Arrowhead
-Holds a B.A. in Psychology
-Has Explored the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia
-Rafting Guide in Colorado
Taught High School Special Education in Philadelphia and Vermont
Quote: “Be here now, no other place to be. All the doubts that linger, just set them free. And let good things happen, and let the future come, into each moment like a rising sun.” -Mason Jennings
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TIM OPRZADEK
Assistant Director
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
His FAVORITE.....
Meal: Pierogies, or anything homemade
Books: Adirondack Wilderness Days, My Side of the Mountain, Into the Wild, The Fox Fire Book
Hobbies: Camping, hiking, photography, landscape painting, eating, Frisbee, and snowboarding.
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-BSA Eagle Scout
-Went to Kent State University for Art Education
-Nighttime supervisor of snowmaking operations at Bolton Valley Ski Resort
-Worked 8 years at Island Lake Summer Camp
Quote: “I don’t know where I’m going, I only know where I’ve been and where I’d like to go. Life is an endless road trip. There are break downs, gas ups, pee stops, lunch breaks, rest points, scenic lookouts, fender benders and never-ending stories about the adventures” _Tim Oprzadek
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LEAH CANTOR
Instructor
Hometown: New Hyde Park, NY
Her FAVORITE.....
Place: Alaska
Mountain: Three Sisters in the Willamette National Forest, Oregon
Hobbies: Soccer, hiking, biking, traveling and trying to learn guitar.
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Secondary English Education
-Obtained a Masters Degree from CUNY- Queens College in Elementary Education
-Spent 2 summers leading trail crews for the Sudent Conservation Association which took her through Mississippi, Georgia, and West Virginia
-Taught at an Outdoor High School in Oregon, taking at-risk youth into the wild
Quote: “When I see birches bend to left and right, across the lines of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging in them.” -Robert Frost
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DENISE CASEY
Instructor
Hometown: Crofton, MD
Her FAVORITE.....
Place: In the woods
Food: dhal bhat tarkari
Mountain: Old Rag, Shenandoah National Forest, Virginia
Hobbies: playing guitar, hiking, riding bikes, yoga, qigong and meditation
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in International Relations
-Traveled, studies and volunteered in Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe
-Taught in Godavari, Nepal for over 2 years
-Apprenticed on a biodynamic farm in Kentucky
-Worked at Nature Camps in Monkton, MD
Quote: “The river that flows in you also flows in me.” -Kabir
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NICK MARCET
Instructor
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
His FAVORITE.....
Place: Grandma’s House
Food: Shepherd’s Pie
Mountain: Katahdin, Maine
Books: Where the Red Fern Grows (Wilson Rawls),Beyond Backpacking (Ray Jardine)
Hobbies: hiking, backpacking, Frisbee, soccer, exploring nature, biking, working with his hands, learning.
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Environmental Studies
-Spent time leading trail crews for the Student Conservation Association, traveling to Massachusetts, New York, and West Virginia
Quote: “Hakuna matata” -Timon and Pumbaa
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EMILY NESTLERODE
Instructor
Hometown: Mingoville, PA
Her FAVORITE.....
Place: Assateague Island, VA
Food: Chocolate
Books: The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver), Fall on Your Knees (Anne Marie McDonald)
Hobbies: Baking Pie, running, kayaking, blogging
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Interned at Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve
-Instructed at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center
-Has kayak camped through the Everglades
-Has Climbed in the Gunks
Quote: “Solitude is a human presumption. Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot, a tug of impalpable thread on the web pulling mate to mate and predator to prey, a beginning or an end. Every choice is a world made new for the chosen.”
- Barbara Kingsolver
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ALLISON WARING
Instructor
Hometown: Manorville, NY
Her FAVORITE.....
Place: the south coast of Iceland
Food: Broccoli or asparagus
Book: Oh the Places You’ll Go (Dr. Seuss)
Hobbies: kayaking or canoeing (flat or moving water), hiking, camping, unicycling, arts & crafts, enjoying a sunny day outside
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Degree from SUNY Plattsburgh - double-major in Environmental Science and Expeditionary Studies, and a minor in Ecology
-Spent two summers as an intern at Northern Forest Canoe Trail
Quote: “Life is not a problem to be solved but rather a mystery to be lived.”
-Chinese Fortune Cookie
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P.M.O.E.C. ADMINISTRATION and SUPPORT:
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SHARP SWAN
Executive Director, Pok-O-MacCready Camps
Hometown: Essex, NY
His FAVORITE.....
Place: the Adirondack Park
Food: Meatloaf
ADK Mountain: Iroquois
Book: Killer Angels, Black Hawk Down
Hobbies: lumber camp & Civil War research
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-B.A. History, Westminster College (Class of 1978)
-Headmaster of Camp Pok-O-Moonshine for 17 years
-Founder & Owner of Cloudsplitter Carpentry
Quote: “There are more people that are bad than good...but if you’re good you’ll live forever.”
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SARAH DISNEY
Admissions Director, Pok-O-MacCready Camps
Hometown: Essex, NY
Her FAVORITE.....
Place: Pok-O’s Intermediate Swim Docks
Food: Magic Bars
ADK Mountain: Rattlesnake
Book: anything by Barbara Kingsolver
Pet: Griffin
Hobbies: Kayaking, knitting, cross-country skiing, tennis
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Co-Director of Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center for three years
-Supervised the support personnel for the Nordic Sports 1980 Olympics
-Raised 3 daughters!
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SCOTT McINTYRE
Financial Director
Hometown: Burlington, VT
His FAVORITE.....
Place: Geiranger Fjord, Norway and Intermediate Point at Camp Pok-O-Moonshine
Food: BIG Salads
ADK Mountain: Rattlesnake
Book: Harold & the Purple Crayon, the Twits
Hobbies: Baseball card collecting, watching the Boston Red Sox, playing with his black labs: Jaya and Tikka
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-B.S. in Education from SUNY Plattsburgh
-M.Ed in Higher Education Administration from the University of Vermont
-Spent 19 years working in Education Administration at Champlain College in Burlington
-Was an elementary school teacher in Nashua, NH
Quote: “Remember all the movies, Terry, we’d go see...trying to learn to walk like the heroes, we thought we had to be...and, after all this time to find we’re just like the rest” -Bruce Springsteen
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ERIN DeBUSK
Marketing Director
Hometown: Washington, PA
Her FAVORITE.....
Place: New Zealand
Food: anything with coriander and lime
ADK Mountain: Wright Peak
Book: the Life of Pi
Hobbies: photography, planning trips, thrift-store shopping, playing “Scrabble”, making hats
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-B.Com from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, with a major in Tourism Management
-Worked as a studio photographer for Lifetouch Photography
-was a Research Assistant for Pulau Bangkaru Sea Turtle Conservation Project in Sumatra
-was a former PMOEC Intern and Instructor
Quote: “The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remain over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves.” Kahlil Gibran
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SHAI WALKER
Maintenance Coordinator
Hometown: Cazenovia, NY
His FAVORITE.....
Place: Telluride, CO and Pok-O-MacCready (it’s a tie)
Food: tofu and veggies
ADK Mountain: Algonquin
Book: the Idiot’s Guide to Maintenance
Hobbies: skiing, fixing vans, giving his dog Skyla a bath
Previous Education, Employment, Adventures:
-Worked as an Environmental Engineer
-Worked as a Ski Instructor
-Worked as a Snowmaker
-Currently moonlighting as an EMT and Firefighter
Quote: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is limitless” -Albert Einstein
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