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.
Following a 26-year career as an officer in the US Navy, Roger joined the Eagle’s Nest community as Director of The Outdoor Academy from 2015 to 2018 (Semesters 41-46). He stepped down in 2018 to serve on the faculty of the US Naval Academy where he was responsible for teaching and administering the Naval Academy’s ethics curriculum. In 2021, he returned to Western North Carolina and Eagle’s Nest. He has led an “ethics intensive” for each OA semester since his return, introducing OA students to the fundamentals of moral reasoning. In 2023, Roger became a member of the Board of Trustees. When he’s not hiking and backpacking in the North Carolina mountains with Gretchen (also a retired naval officer) and Dudley (a very good dog), Roger is a writer. He has co-authored two books on military ethics and is working on a third that introduces teens and their influencers to ethics and moral reasoning.
Suzanne was introduced to Eagle’s Nest in 1998 by then-Executive Director, Helen Waite. By the following year, she was onboard as a development consultant to lead the Nest’s first capital campaign. Working with the Board of Trustees and other supporters of Eagle’s Nest, she witnessed first-hand the multi-generational impact of Eagle’s Nest Camp, OA and Hante. In short, she was hooked. After 30 years in development, Suzanne retired in 2022 and is happy to now serve as Trustee of an organization that has influenced so many in its proud history. Suzanne lives in Richmond, VA where she is an active community volunteer, primarily mentoring young development professionals through the VA Association of Fundraising Executives and devoting time to VCU Health Systems as an administrative volunteer in Palliative Care.
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.
Sarah first came to Eagle’s Nest in 1999 as a wee little Camper in cabin Library. Since then, she has participated in all three Eagle’s Nest programs as a camper, Outdoor Academy alumna (Semester 21), participant and leader of Hantes and Added Adventures, camp counselor and assistant program director. Sarah completed her BA in Biochemistry with a minor in African studies at Colorado College and earned her medical degree from Campbell University in North Carolina. She recently completed her medical training and works as a pediatric oncologist and hematologist in Knoxville, TN. Sarah loves spending time with her husband, Brady (who she met at Eagle’s Nest!), her two young daughters, Parker and Ella, and a very large lab named Bolt. When she can, she enjoys reading, being in nature, exploring local restaurants, and growing her amateur garden.
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.
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 daughter Lucy, a Great Dane named Mo, and a very patient cat named Piecrust. 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.
Ami has been a member of the Eagle’s Nest community since 1989, participating in camp, added adventures, and Hantes, as well as serving as a JC, counselor, and camp administrator. He deeply cherishes the memories and bonds he created, and believes that Eagle’s Nest has been instrumental in shaping many of his core values and life choices. He is grateful for the opportunities Eagle’s Nest has provided, and is committed to giving back to the organization.
Ami holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Wesleyan University and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium. After years of providing mental healthcare to underserved rural Veterans at the VA, he now works in private practice, specializing in health psychology and working with LGBTQIA+ adults. Ami splits his time between the urban landscape of downtown LA and the majestic beauty of the Southern California desert, where he and his family enjoy regular hikes with their beloved senior dog, Oren.
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.