 George Ellis, M.D.
George J. Ellis, III, MD
Assoc. Professor of Medicine (Ret.)
Duke Univ. Medical Center
Black Mountain, NC
Jay Ellis’s history with Eagle’s Nest began when members of the Greenville, SC chapter of the American Diabetes Association decided to provide a camp experience close to home for children with diabetes. This decision led to Diabetes Camp sessions being held at Eagle’s Nest Camp. Jay was invited to serve as the Camp’s Medical Director, a position he occupied until 1985, when the Diabetes Camp moved to a more central site near Winston-Salem. During those years, the Diabetes Camp grew to two 2-week sessions, serving as many as 250 campers with type I diabetes each summer. As Jay attended camp for two weeks each summer, he could appreciate the experience as a camper or staff member might. Jay has remained active as an Eagle’s Nest trustee even after the Diabetes Camp moved further east. All three of his children have also attended Eagle’s Nest.
Jay was educated at Centre College, Harvard Medical School, and Duke University Medical Center. He remained active on the ENF board during his career on the Duke faculty in Medical Endocrinology and after his retirement from active practice and teaching in 2002.
The experiential education he treasures at Eagle's Nest Camp and at the Outdoor Academy has many parallels with the problem-oriented practice and education he employed in his "day job." He believes his perspective as a medical scientist and educator complements the contributions of other members of the diverse ENF Board. At the same time, his relationship to the Foundation, now in its 4th decade, offers some balance to the perspectives of Board members whose connections to Eagle's Nest differ from his.
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