Meet Our Hante adventures Staff

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.