Elizabeth Waite-Kucera (Noni) is the Executive Director of Eagle’s Nest Foundation and serves on The Outdoor Academy Advisory Board. She graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., with a B.A. degree in anthropology. Previously, Noni was Camp Director at Eagle’s Nest Camp from 1993-2003 and Business Manager from 1989-1999 for Eagle’s Nest Foundation. She has also been the Swimming Director, and Paddling Director.  Additionally, Noni developed Eagle’s Nest whitewater canoeing and Hante Bicycling programs.

Noni’s grandfather, Alex Waite, head of psychology at Rollins College, founded Eagle’s Nest Camp in 1945. Helen and Mo Waite, Noni’s parents, served as directors for the Eagle’s Nest Carolinas’ Camp for Diabetic Children. Her mother served as director of Eagle’s Nest Camp and executive director of Eagle’s Nest Foundation for many years. Noni spent her childhood years growing up at camp and is honored to carry on the mission of Eagle’s Nest as Executive Director of the foundation.

Paige graduated with a B.A. degree in English from Salem College in Winston-Salem. While studying education in college, she applied to work at Eagle’s Nest Camp because she loved her own camp experiences as a child and thought that working at a camp would give her invaluable teaching experience. Her first summer at camp, Paige helped direct the musical and taught soccer. Throughout college, she continued to spend her summers at Eagle’s Nest teaching everything from ceramics to swimming to Explorer’s Club and leading Hante Appalachian Trail treks and bike treks. After graduating, she started working full time with Eagle’s Nest and has now worked here for more than 15 years. During that time, she served as the Hante Director, Head Counselor, Junior Counselor Coordinator and Associate Director. Her husband, Andy, whom she met at Eagle’s Nest, is also an educator.

Cara, a North Carolina transplant from Ohio, now calls Brevard and the Blue Ridge Mountains “home.”  After hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2014 she took the role of Paddling Director for ENC before moving to the development office full-time.

Not only is Cara a skilled paddling instructor, she’s a talented experiential educator and an avid outdoorswoman. She holds a BS in Recreation from Ohio University and has worked in the field of outdoor education since 2003 as a wilderness instructor, outdoor program manager, camp counselor and challenge course facilitator. Cara spends her free time paddling, climbing, and hiking, tending to her impressive garden, and adventuring with her family.

For over 20 years, Frank has been in love with summer camp, starting as a camper in 2002 and working through the ranks before finding his home here at Eagle’s Nest. He was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and earned his B.A. in English from Louisiana State University in 2016. After getting his degree, worked as an English teacher in Houston, and taught first-year English Composition at Texas State University while working towards a Master’s Degree in fiction writing. He also has served as the Recreation Coordinator for the Meadows Place Parks and Recreation Department.

Beyond reading and writing, education, sports, and animal care, Frank’s longest-held passion has been for summer camp. He began as a camper at Camp Champions, where he first worked as a counselor. Since then, he has taken on a variety of roles in the camp world, including waterfront head, division leader, media department head, and communications specialist, all before running his first successful day camp in the summer of 2021. Now as a part of the Eagle’s Nest family, Frank is thrilled to share his love of camp with a new generation of lifelong campers.

After being born and raised in the concrete flatlands of suburban Chicago, Ed was ready for some place different. It began with attending the University of the South, where he studied ecology and fell in love with camping and trail running amongst pristine old-growth deciduous forests. After graduating in 2016, he passed on that love of nature by teaching biology and environmental science at a boarding school in western Maryland. But as his summer trips to Bolivia, Patagonia, Tanzania, Japan, and Alaska compelled him to lead backpacking and canoeing trips at residential camps in Maine, he realized his passion for the outdoors came from experiencing it for oneself. Thus, he moved west to earn a Master degree in outdoor adventure and expedition leadership from Southern Oregon University, where he gained a foundational understanding of experiential education through research, planning, leading, and teaching in the field. In 2022, he found his way back to southern Appalachia, joining the Eagle’s Nest community as the Hante Adventures and Outdoor Program Manager. He is excited to facilitate new experiences for participants so that they can learn and grow from the challenges they encounter.

Raised in the small metropolis of Salisbury, North Carolina, Ben has always had a fascination with the outdoors. Everything from quaint weekend hiking trips to rambunctious mischief at summer camp excited him. So, when Ben figured out that he could pursue the outdoors as a career, he jumped at the opportunity. Ben graduated from Appalachian State University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Parks and Recreation. In 2019 he began his journey at Eagle’s Nest Camp, immediately falling in love with the place. Since then he has returned summer after summer acting as a camp counselor, lifeguard, outdoor logistics manager, and trip leader of various Hantes and Added Adventures. Now he is unbelievably ecstatic to be joining the full time team as the Camp Program Manager. Outside of Eagle’s Nest, Ben has worked in wilderness therapy as a Lead Field Instructor at Trails Carolina, as well as a facilitator of social-emotional learning at Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. Overall, Ben is passionate about showing everyone the wonders that the wilderness has to offer and is ready to bring his love, care, and humor into the Eagle’s Nest community.

Molly Herrmann joined the Eagle’s Nest staff in May of 2014 as the Camp and Hante Registrar and Winston-Salem Office Manager.  Previous to joining the Eagle’s Nest, Molly was a PhD candidate at the University of Buffalo in the History Department studying slavery in Charleston, SC.  Molly brings to the Eagle’s Nest her passion for experiential education and a love of outdoor activities.  In her spare time, Molly can be found hiking, camping, or playing with her two dogs.

Ava is coming from La Crosse, Wisconsin for her first summer at Eagle’s Nest. Ava is excited to meet new people and explore a new place! Ava is interested in leading canoeing, and other outdoor adventure activities. In her free time, she enjoys spending a lot of time outside hiking, and exploring, as well as spending time with friends and family. Currently Ava is studying at the University of Minnesota Duluth

Hailing from Perth, Australia, Starley is new to Eagle’s Nest this year. Starley is excited to meet new people from around the world and challenge herself by living outside of her comfort zone. She is looking forward to building her skills in working with children and creating new memories while working at Eagle’s Nest. Starley is most interested in leading sporting and cooking activities. Back at home, she enjoys spending her time at the beach having grown up so close to it. Starley also loves to travel. Whether it’s driving to camping trips with friends or an overseas holiday, traveling will always be a favorite pastime of Starley’s.

Pronouns

  she/her

New or Returning

  New

Questions

Where are you from?

  Perth, Australia

What are you excited for this summer?

  I’m excited to meet new people from around the world and challenge myself by living outside my comfort zone. I’m looking forward to building my skills in working with children and creating new memories from this experience.

What activities are you interested in leading?

  I’m most interested in leading sporting and cooking activities. I like to try new things so I am open to leading other activities like arts and crafts.

What are your favorite things to do in your free time?

  I enjoy spending time at the beach, I have grown up living close to the beach and it is one of my favorite places to be. I also love to travel, whether it’s driving to camping trips with friends or an overseas holiday, travelling will always be a favorite pass time of mine.

Coming from Atlanta, GA, Paris is ready to begin her first summer as a counselor at Eagle’s Nest. Currently a student at Georgia Tech, Paris was once a camper at ENC nearly 8 years ago. Since then, she has never gotten the opportunity to return to the Nest, so Paris is excited to come back to a place where she made so many great memories. Paris is interested in leading various arts and crafts activities. Some of her favorite things to do during her free time are read, play guitar, go thrift shopping, embroider, and box.

Questions

Pronouns

She/Her

Where are you from?

  Atlanta, GA

If you go/went to college where do/did you go?

  Georgia Tech

What are you excited for this summer?

  I’m excited to return to camp as a counselor. I went to camp at Eagles Nest about 8 years ago and have never been back, so I’m super excited to be back in the place where I made so many great memories.

What activities are you interested in leading?

  Various arts and crafts activities

What are your favorite things to do in your free time?

  Read, play guitar, go thrift shopping, embroider, box

Heather is coming to camp for the first time! She is from Dora, Alabama, and attended Bevill State Community College and King University. She is looking forward to going to camp for the first time! Heather lived in East Tennessee from 2010 to 2018 and is so excited to be back in the mountains. She is also looking forward to meeting new people and spending time outdoors. Her favorite things to do in her free time are spending time with her husband and two pups, relaxing on the beach, reading a good book, traveling, and kayaking.

Bethany is returning to Eagle’s Nest for her second summer! Bethany attends North Carolina State University and is excited to get back outside, meet up with old friends, and make new ones. She is interested in leading arts and crafts activities and loves to explore and try new things. A favorite memory of Bethany’s from camp is when Cabin 3 was coming up with their air guitar performance, and they were confused if it was a dance or just a sing-along, so they were shouting to Cabin 2 and having a full-blown conversation without leaving their cabins!

Madi is coming to camp for her first summer! She is from Orlando, Florida. Madi attends Piedmont University, where she plays on the soccer team. She is excited to meet new people and make new friends! She is also excited to be in the mountains and experience summer in a different place. She is interested in leading some soccer classes this summer! Some of Madi’s favorite things to do in her free time are playing soccer, wake surfing, bouldering, and anything else outdoors!

Jacob is coming to camp for his first summer! He is from Bristol, England. He is excited to meet the campers and fellow staff and build strong connections while spreading positivity and happiness around the camp. He is also excited to explore the campus and local area. He is interested in leading any classes that get him out in the fresh air and on his feet! In his free time, you can catch Jacob exploring the outdoors, listening to music, and watching and playing any sport

Posey is returning to camp! She is from Winston-Salem, NC, and attends Appalachian State University. Posey has been at camp forever and is excited to find a new waterfall in the woods around camp. She enjoys leading classes like Gardening, Rock Climbing, and Backpacking, plus all things crafty (knitting, printmaking, paper mâché, cooking)! You can find Posey riding her bike or just sitting in the sun at a beautiful view in her free time. One of Posey’s favorite memories from camp is making a giant paper mâché sun with a group of campers during Session 4.

Isa is returning to camp for her 5th summer on staff and her 10th summer at camp! She is from Asheville, NC. She is so excited for all the Lodges at camp, to see the returning campers’ familiar faces and meet the new ones. She loves to cook for camp while also being involved in the Eagle’s Nest community and daily camp activities. This summer, she will be heading up our kitchen, whipping up some delicious meals! She hopes to get some participants back into the kitchen to cook with her. You can catch Isa rollerblading, hiking, road biking, skiing, and hanging out with friends when she’s not working in the kitchen. She has gotten into reading more over the last year and has set a goal to read 15 books this year!. One of Isa’s favorite memories from camp is when she was in Cabin 4. Her counselor took the cabin down to the bridge by the Ironwood shed during cabin bonding. It was early in the summer, and there were still some bioluminescent underneath the bridge and glow blue on the ground they were on. She’ll never forget how much fun and meaningful that experience was to her.

Matt is returning to camp for his second summer! He is from Bristol in the South West of England. He attends Cardiff Met University in Wales for Food Science and Technology. Matty is excited for everything! From lunchtime singing to earning those A’s in cabin cleanup to get a trip to Dolly’s. He is also excited to reunite with campers and staff and to meet some new faces! He is interested in teaching any class that puts him on the A-Field and teaching some more unfamiliar classes such as woodworking. Matt is also very hopeful to teach some cooking this summer. Matt enjoys getting a good playlist on and going for a run in his free time. It is the perfect opportunity for him to think. One of his favorite memories from camp is when his team had identified where the flag was during a game of Capture the Flag. There was a moment when he saw about 40 Bears and Buffalos charging down the hill by Cabin 9 in an attempt to secure the flag. It was a great sense of togetherness and camaraderie.