Eagle’s Nest’S Former Trustees

Jean’s connection to Eagle’s Nest began in 1992 when the oldest of her three children began attending camp. Her children, Jon, Saul and Jennifer (OA Alumni Semester 22) spent a combined 21 summers at Eagle’s Nest.  Jean is a psychotherapist and the school counselor at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland. She has dedicated her career to working with teenagers and their families.  She lives in Washington, DC.

Bruce’s connection with Eagle’s Nest began when his daughter attended the Outdoor Academy in the spring of 2002. With a background in Education, Religion, Social and Biomedical Ethics, Bruce helped found and direct the non-profit FreshMinistries which focused on housing, economic and community development in the city’s urban core and HIV/AIDS prevention education in South Africa, Siyafundisa.  He now serves as the Executive Director of the North Florida chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and helped his wife, Banta Whitner, write a book called This Congruent Life, A Spiritual Ecology Practice.

Alex grew up outside of Raleigh, NC and now resides in Winston-Salem, NC where he and his wife Grace are raising 2 young outdoor adventurers, Leela & Silas. He earned degrees from Appalachian State University as well as North Carolina State University studying Interdisciplinary Studies and Public Administration respectively. During his undergrad years at ASU he spent 4 formative summers as a camp counselor, outdoor adventure guide and Wilderness First Responder in Western North Carolina. His love and passion for nature and outdoor adventure continues today, he is committed to a life-long pursuit of experiential learning. He enjoys trail running, mountain biking, hiking & paddling and is fortunate to spend a substantial amount of time in the mountains of NC. Professionally he has pursued a career in sales, marketing and talent acquisition and is currently a talent advisor with Volvo Group where he supports the R&D engineering teams.  Alex has only recently been acquainted with ENF but has a deep sense of connection with the mission and vision of this vibrant organization.

Elen’s daughters, Sara and Hannah Knott, went to Eagle’s Nest Camp for many years as campers and counselors. Now her four granddaughters are proud Nesters, and Elen has been a Board Member for many decades. After more than twenty years as a reference librarian at Wake Forest University, Elen is now involved in Master Gardener Volunteer activities in Winston Salem, digging and delving in themed gardens at the Arboretum at Tanglewood Park, and runs school programs grounded in North Carolina curriculum standards.

Rick O’Hara was recruited to assist Eagle’s Nest Foundation in establishing and growing The Outdoor Academy. At the time, he was the Head of the High School at the University School in Nashville, Tennessee, a position he held from 1989 to 1997. Prior to that, Rick was a Spanish teacher, coach, Director of College Counseling, and Director of Community Service, among other roles, at Woodberry Forest School in central Virginia.From 1997 until 2007, he was head of the Wellington School in Columbus, Ohio and appointed a member of the Ohio governor’s Community Service Council. In 2008 Rick became President of The John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland.
He has recently taken a new role as a Development Officer for The American Red Cross of Greater Chesapeake Region and resides in Maryland with his wife, Jane.

Troy grew up in Winston-Salem, NC with many of the ENF camp regulars.

In his college years, he worked at the camp and forged life-long relationships with the Eagle’s Nest community. He was a chief of the Migisi Tribe and co-led two exciting “Huck Finn” trips on the French Broad River.

He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and followed at Wake Forest University where he earned his law degree. After prosecuting for several years in Atlanta, Georgia, Troy entered private practice as a civil rights and criminal defense practitioner.

He has maintained the close relationship with the mountains of North Carolina that he gained from his experience at Eagle’s Nest. He and his wife, Theo, spend much of their free time in a cabin high above the Tuckaseegee River in western North Carolina near Sylva. He is an avid mountain biker, fisherman, skier, and paddler.

Michael’s connection to Eagle’s Nest began when his daughter, Anna, asked if she could go to Camp.  While Michael and Dori were worried how Anna would adjust to nature and the outdoors, Anna attended Eagle’s Nest until she no longer could!  Anna has been a participant in three Hantes, a Junior Counselor, kitchen intern, and will have served as a cabin counselor at Eagle’s Nest Camp for two years after the summer of 2012.  She also attended the Outdoor Academy in the fall of her sophomore year in high school. The impact that Eagle’s Nest had on Anna and her family led Michael to become a member of the Board of Trustees. Michael is a Certified Public Accountant and Partner with Birnbrey, Minsk, Minsk & Perling, LLC in the Buckhead area of Atlanta.  He has been a contributing member of several non-profit organizations in the Atlanta area.

Steve Robins became involved in Eagle’s Nest in 1998 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to serve as Head of School at the University School of Nashville. Steve’s son ultimately enjoyed Eagle’s Nest as well.  In 1999, Steve joined the Advisory Board of OA, and in 2007 became a member of the Board of Trustees. Prior to his position at USN, Steve taught English for twenty years at the Buckley School. In addition to his lifelong commitment to reading, Steve enthusiastically listens to music and whenever possible enjoys spending time in his workshop turning wood.

Helen attended Rollins College and received degrees from Duke University and Salem College.  She served Summit School as a 5-K teacher and the Winston Salem Public schools as 4th-5th-grade teacher respectively.  But she soon followed her passion for the arts combined with environmental and experiential education as Director of Eagles Nest Camp.  Later she founded  Eagle’s Nest Camp Inc. as a Foundation and became ENF’s Executive Director. Realizing the dream of experiential and academic achievement she founded The Outdoor Academy of the Southern Appalachians in 1991. Presently Helen serves the Eagles Nest Board of Trustees and also serves the Board of Directors of The Downeast Coastal Conservancy in Maine.