Abigail joined Eagle’s Nest as a camper, an OA student (Semester 4), and on a Hante to Ghana–three experiences that were formative in her life. Abigail holds a B.A. from Bates College in Environmental Studies and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University, where for both degrees she focused on sustainable development and agriculture. Over her career, she has served in an executive role at an advocacy and research nonprofit in Washington, DC, and has over 17 years experience in all management, development, communications, programmatic, fundraising, and operations facets of small to medium sized nonprofits. She lives in Charlottesville, VA with her husband and three kids, where she works as a grant writer and fundraising consultant for various nonprofits. She can often be found horseback riding, growing vegetables in her backyard, and enjoying the outdoors with her family.
Meet Eagle’s Nest’S Board of Trustees
Our Board includes alumni and family members connected with every Eagle’s Nest program and represents a wide variety of professions, geography, and ages. They are an incredibly supportive, creative, and ambitious group of individuals always working to better the Foundation and launch us toward our 100 year Anniversary!
Will has been involved with Eagle’s Nest as a camper and counselor since 1966. He also participated in the first Hante trek with Helen Waite on the Appalachian Trail in 1973 and is a member of the Bear Kindred. He has been on the Board of Trustees for many years and has served several terms as President of the Board of Trustees. Currently, Will is Director of the Trust for Public Land’s Conservation Finance Program, helping state and local governments and citizen groups throughout the United States gauge public support for open space, and craft ballot measures that generate new sources of funding for land conservation. He lives in Tallahassee, FL.
Gail is the mother to three wonderful Eagle’s Nest Campers: Liza (OA Alumni Semester 33), Billy, and Alison. Gail says, “Eagles Nest is an indescribable experience for our children and we have observed their growth in experiences, values and even the food they eat and grow.” As a committee member and previous Chair of the Cary/Apex/Morrisville (NC) Relay for Life, she has been an avid supporter for the American Cancer Society’s primary fundraiser over the past 12 years. When not busy with her husband and kids, Gail can be found riding her horse and has even begun eventing again after a break of 20 years. Gail lives in Apex, NC.
Cissy began coming to Eagle’s Nest Camp as a child in the 1960’s when her father, John Kelton, was the Program Director for Dr. Alex Waite. This is where she met her husband, Rich Byrd, who was on the medical staff for “Diabetic Camp,” and where each of her sons attended throughout their childhood. Growing up at Camp and the Outdoor Academy, Cissy has watched as her children gained confidence, knowledge, and independence. She and her family enjoy camping, canoeing, and bicycling trips together. Cissy is a retired teacher from Westminster Day School. She lives in Spartanburg, SC.
Cormac Connor has been active with Eagle’s Nest since 1985. Over ten summers, Cormac was an Eagle’s Nest Camper, Junior Counselor, Hante participant and Counselor. Cormac joined the Eagle’s Nest Board of Trustees in 2013. He received his BA in History from Davidson College in 1995 and a JD degree from Georgetown University in 2002. After working as an associate attorney with law firms in Denver, CO, and Washington, DC, Cormac worked for almost four years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Cormac is now a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, DC, where he focuses on government investigations, white collar criminal defense, and commercial litigation. He also has an active pro bono practice, including representation of indigent residential tenants who are facing eviction proceedings. Outside of his legal practice, Cormac enjoys spending time with his wife, Anu, and their three daughters, hiking, cycling and finding reasons to go to the hardware store.
Cain attended Eagle’s Nest as a camper and counselor throughout her childhood and always loved returning to The Nest each year to reconnect with some of the people she still considers to be her best friends. She has passed this tradition to her daughters: McKinnley and Mary Lawson, who are long time Nesters. Cain is a Realtor with Carolina Mountain Sales and acts as the Secretary with the Ruth Davidson Chapter, DAR. When she is not selling real estate, you will find Cain and her family hiking, biking, camping and enjoying the beauty of the mountains of Western Carolina.
Margaret joined the Eagle’s Nest community in 1996, and participated as a camper, JC, and staff member as well as in Hante and as a student at The Outdoor Academy (Semester 10). After receiving a B.A. with concentrations in dance and African American history she moved from New York City to New Orleans and has been there ever since. After receiving her M.A.T. Margaret taught kindergarten, first grade, and special education geared towards literacy. She has since transitioned into her current role as a Mentor Teacher at Green Trees Early Childhood Village, teaching preschool to four-year-olds specializing in a constructivist and Reggio Emilia approach to learning. Margaret, her husband Chris, and her son Walker live a stone’s throw from the Mississippi River and frequently enjoy walks along the levee, birding in Bayou Sauvage, and extensive applications of glitter during Mardi Gras.
Jill came to love Eagle’s Nest through her daughter, Hazel, who attended Eagle’s Nest Camp, several Hantes, and The Outdoor Academy. Her husband, Bill Spedding, knew of Eagle’s Nest since the 1990s through Paige Lester-Niles, a friend and Ultimate frisbee teammate in Winston-Salem, NC. Jill, Bill and Hazel live in San Antonio, Texas, where Jill is a Professor of Anthropology and a higher education administrator in the Honors College at The University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned her BA from Harvard College, MA’s from San Diego State University and Stanford University, and her PhD from Stanford. Originally from the southern tip of Texas, her research revolves questions of identity, place and wellbeing in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and she particularly enjoys using applied and experiential learning in her courses. Jill is happiest reading outside, working collaboratively on community projects, or hiking in new places.
Heather first learned about Eagle’s Nest when she was six-years-old through Mariella and Joe Huber whose father, Dr. Alex Waite, founded Eagle’s Nest Camp. Heather started coming to camp soon after that and still returns every summer with her husband, Beaver, and sons Daniel and Jacob. She is now a Senior Vice President of the merged company, Bank of America, a member of her church contemporary band, The Grateful Bread, and participates regularly in church dramas and plays at her community theater in Jacksonville Beach.
Sarah joined the Eagle’s Nest family as a counselor in the summer of 1993. Sarah’s two children, Sam and Soren, have attended camp for many years. Sarah works as a pediatrician in Rochester, NY, and has special interest in caring for children with developmental delays, ADHD and autism. Sarah has served on the board of the Family Autism Center since 2016. She enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors, and she recently climbed her first of the 46 high peaks in the NY Adirondacks.
Harold first learned about ENF from Roger Herbert when he was interviewing for the Director position at The Outdoor Academy. Intrigued by Roger’s enthusiasm, Harold and his family visited the campus and OA for the first time in the spring of 2016. His son Bas was sold after visiting classes with Ted Wesemann and Katie Harris. Bas applied to the OA and attended Semester 44. His experience at OA and our many visits since have developed a strong liking for ENF and its mission. His son Finn is getting ready to apply to be a student of Semester 48. Harold grew up in a small village in the south of the Netherlands. Living in Williamsburg, Virginia with his wife Tracy, their two sons Bas & Finn and their dog Mello, Harold manages to find time to play board and card games with his family, mountain-bike, trail-run and introduce Dutch visitors to the beauty of Virginia. His greatest passion is traveling with his family. Professionally, Harold has been working with Northwestern Mutual as a Wealth Management Advisor since 2006.
Born and raised in Greensboro, NC, Justin joined the Eagle’s Nest Community in 2002 as a student at The Outdoor Academy (Semester 14). He still vividly recalls the orientation trek, which was his very first overnight camping experience; he got very little sleep because every noise was obviously a bear coming to eat him. His love of outdoor education and intentional community building, introduced to him by OA, only grew during his time at Davidson College. He worked in the Davidson Outdoors office as a work study student and eventually became the President of the outdoor club. He led or participated in more than forty trips over his four years, from canoeing in the Everglades to caving in Blacksburg, VA. He and his husband Daniel currently live in (and love) Durham, NC, where Justin works at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
Edee’s history with Eagle’s Nest began when her parents met here in the early 1950’s. Her father Ed was the program director and her mother was hired to start up the rifle/marksmanship program. She grew up with summers at Eagle’s Nest as a camper, JC, and counselor. Edee is a fifth generation resident of Mt. Dora, Florida and spent fifteen years in the real estate industry followed by years managing a family-construction business. She currently is pursuing her passion as the co-owner of an online gourmet food business Viva Gourmet, which provides high-quality gourmet ingredients and the inspiration to create memorable meals. Memories from around the table are a longstanding tradition at Eagles Nest.
In addition to growing up at camp, Tom and his wife Hannah Knott Rogers met there. He relished the opportunity to return as a parent counselor in 2011, during daughter Dinah’s first year at camp. In 2012, Dinah was joined at Camp by her younger sister Juno. Tom taught Latin American and Caribbean History at UNC Charlotte for six years before joining Emory University’s History Department in 2011. His professional and personal interests overlap considerably; he wrote a book about environmental and labor history and is at work on another that explores Brazil’s experiences with biofuel production. Tom is thrilled to serve as a trustee for an organization that has figured so prominently in his life.
Becky has been part of the Eagle’s Nest Community since she started as a camper in 2000. Since then, she has had many roles: Junior Counselor, counselor, camp nanny, JC coordinator, and assistant program director. While not at 43 Hart Rd, Becky completed her BA in Psychology and English at Wellesley College, earned a master’s degree in psychiatric mental health nursing at Vanderbilt University, and completed her PhD in nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Becky is a board-certified Psychiatric Nurse practitioner and an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on stress, parenting, and the embodiment of social determinants of health. She lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina with her wife, Alison (who she met on staff in 2010!), their daughter Lucy, a Great Dane named Mo, and two very patient cats. Becky loves spending her time gardening (a hobby that started at the Nest way back in 2000), cooking, and crafting… and believes that all of those activities are best when shared with family and friends.
Born in Florida, Dee Anna spent her summers at Eagle’s Nest as a camper (and was camper of the year in 1984!). After driving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, the US wasn’t large enough and she joined the Department of State Foreign Service. As a diplomat, she and her family have served in Madagascar, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, England, and Russia. She holds an MBA from Thunderbird and a BA from the George Washington University where she was a Division I swimmer. She joined the ENF Board of Trustees in 2017. Both her children are campers and they look at Eagle’s Nest as a place to always come back to. She currently lives in Washington, DC near the Zoo with her family.
Diane’s first glimpse of Eagle’s Nest was during a site visit for a risk management class that she took while earning her BS in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University. The next summer she was all in as a vital part of Eagle’s Nest Camp and Hante Wilderness Staff. Since then, she has led countless Hante Adventures, Added Adventures, and Paddling trips for Eagle’s Nest Foundation. After twelve years of service in Denver Public Schools as a Social Worker, School Leader, and Human Resources Leader, Diane has shifted to the corporate sector and is a Business HR leader at Vail Resorts. Diane and her wife Jess, live in Denver, CO. They love spending time in the mountains with friends and family skiing and hiking.
Rodrigo has served as a strong and enthusiastic leader at Eagle’s Nest Camp since 1996 in rolls of International Hante Leader and Assistant Program Director. At The Outdoor Academy, Rodrigo has served as Spanish Teacher and in various leadership capacities for many years. He has been abroad with Eagle’s Nest to Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, and Iceland. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Costa Rica. Rodrigo also has experience as a naturalist guide of Costa Rican Sun Tours and the Executive Director of El Centro Comunitario Brevard.