A native New Yorker, Melanie (she, her, hers) found her calling—informal education and capacity building for non-profit organizations—while living in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She traded in warm, turquoise, ocean water for cold, green, river water when she moved to Colorado for a stint as a whitewater rafting guide, and the river is what eventually led her to Bend. Melanie is committed to community and environment, working non-stop to inspire positive behavior changes in those around her in order to create a world rich in nature, well-being and culture for the future.

Melanie spent many years building up Camp Fire's teen programs before stepping into the role of Program Director. As Program Director, she is focused on program quality and youth safety across all programs. In addition to guiding program improvement plans, she strives to create a workspace where all staff feel welcome to be themselves and are encouraged to grow both professionally and personally. She is a strong believer that when staff and youth feel safe and supported, they are able to lead, learn and ultimately thrive.

When not at Camp Fire, you will find her indulging in her various sparks: yoga, rafting, SCUBA diving, tarot card reading, telling bad jokes, puzzles and blowing bubbles.

Joey (he, him) has over two decades of marketing and development experience spanning global food and beverage brands, finance, professional sports, travel & tourism, and non-profit work. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies and Art from Colgate University and completed his MBA at the University of Oregon.

Having had adult mentors when he was younger, Joey knows first-hand the value of programs and adults in your life that help you find yourself and your passions so you can thrive. Working to tell the story of Camp Fire Central Oregon’s inclusive programming creates a higher calling in his daily work.

Joey brings a diverse perspective to his work from a unique life journey. He has taught middle school special education, pursued the Olympics, lived in other countries, and coached world champions.

When he's not at work, you can usually find Joey traveling the world and doing things before the sun comes up, like fly fishing on a lake, hiking to photograph the sunrise, or paddling out to surf. Joey gets creative inspiration from being outdoors, and takes lessons from the natural world and applies them to all aspects of his life. His best time is spent connecting with his beautiful family.

Cece (she, her, hers) is an energetic, down to earth mother of three who loves camping, adventures, and candy sales! In 1991, she started at Camp Fire and has been a guiding force to all young participants ever since. Before that, she was a leader for over five years, which means that she has over 30 years of combined Camp Fire experience, making her a valuable resource to all participants who are looking to earn emblems, find their sparks, and embark upon a journey that helps them to thrive!

One of the things Cece loves most about Camp Fire is seeing the same kids come back, year after year, watching them grow, have fun, gain self-confidence, and become positive role models for the next generation. Tumalo Day Camps are her pride and joy, and she works hard every year to ensure everyone has a fun and safe experience.

As the longtime Tumalo Day Camp lead, Cece has had her work cut out for her. There is always something to plan, learn, and be excited about. She takes everything on with a smile and has a great sense of humor, which makes her a fun person to work with and get to know.  

Javier (he, him, his, ell, él) has worked in education since 2006 and has experience working with children and adults, both in-person and online. At Camp Fire, he coordinated the STEM programs and coached robotics for around three years after a brief period teaching Spanish at CFA. He has additional skills in digital technology, research, information retrieval, and project management, all of which he tries to put to work in his current role to help the Camp Fire team run smoothly.

He was born in Catalonia, where he grew up and spent part of his life, before moving to Bend with his family in 2019. He's also lived in France and different parts of Spain. He has visited 34 countries, for vacation or work, and loves traveling because he believes being exposed to different people and cultures is one of the greatest sources of learning. He loves hiking, running, and playing tennis; he has run three full marathons and completed the 60 mile Intermon Oxfam Trailwalker fundraiser race, as part of a team called "Wacky Walkers."

Katie Roberts (she, her, hers) grew up primarily in Pensacola, FL. After earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of the South, she moved west to Colorado and earned a master’s in journalism and mass communication from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She’s worked as a television reporter, magazine editor, nonprofit executive director and owner of her own freelance writing/communications firm.

Katie grew up going to a number of camps as a youth, plus worked as a summer kindergarten assistant and program youth director in Tennessee when she was in high school. Having had positive experiences with youth mentors who inspired her to believe in her abilities to accept challenges and hit goals, she has huge respect for the power behind the camp counselor-camper relationship.

In her role at Camp Fire Central Oregon, Katie brings us her love for people, connection, relationships and community, along with her professional communication and leadership skills. She’s excited to be contributing to an organization that supports and lifts up today’s youth, positioning them for current and future success.

Outside of work, she and her husband have two children and a crazy cute corgi named “Honey.” Katie loves to get outdoors, skiing, hiking, paddle boarding, and floating rivers in Central Oregon’s beautiful back yard!

Kia (she, her) grew up amongst the giant redwoods in Northern California. She is one of eight children and spent much of her time with her family on the river swimming, crabbing on the pier, and cooking with her family. When she was not traveling with her family or at the beach, she was an active member of her community. She attended Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, CA, and got her bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management; she is also a certified EMT-B. After graduating, she moved to beautiful Bend to be able to experience all four seasons.

Kia hopes to create an environment similar to the one she grew up in; one where youth can be themselves and discover what they are passionate about, while also learning to create a sense of connection to their community and surroundings. She looks forward to creating lifelong memories at Camp Fire and having fun with youth and staff!

Kia’s interests include travel, karaoke, cooking, and puzzles. When not at work, she enjoys playing the piano and ukulele, learning a new recipe, and being out in nature.

Logan (she, her, hers) grew up outside of Nashville Tennessee, spending a lot of time on the lake with her family. She attended The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education.

Her love for the outdoors grew when she met her husband; they spent six years exploring the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and on the Tennessee River before deciding to continue their adventures out west. In Bend, her long list of hobbies grew to include skiing, rock climbing, and stand-up paddleboarding.

Logan knew from an early age that she wanted to work with kids and in education. She taught third grade for five years and is passionate about working alongside youth, helping them discover new things, and connecting them with the world around them. She wants all kids she works with to know that they can do anything they set their mind to!

When she’s not working with kids and coding robots, you can find Logan exploring Bend with her husband and her dog, with her head in a book, drawing, or trying out a new recipe in the kitchen.

Mary (she, her, hers) has spent most of her working life in education, in both formal and informal settings. With a bachelor's degree in physics, she has spent over 10 years teaching middle and high school math and science, as well as facilitating life experiences for students outside the walls of the classroom.

Through teaching in traditional or outdoor schools, guiding and participating in various adventures, or leading teenagers on international service adventures, Mary has seen the power of adventure, nature, and community foster personal growth for all ages.  Her personal adventures and interests often include riding bicycles, skiing, climbing, roller skating, sailing or any other activities that allow her to be outside or to travel to exciting places.

Mary sees Camp Fire as an opportunity for Central Oregon youth to build the confidence and courage that will inspire them to recognize and pursue their biggest dreams. As Camp Fire's Grants Manager, Mary hopes to help build the organization's capacity to reach more youth who will do just that.

Nadia (she, her, hers, ella) started working with youth as a school garden educator, combining her passions for food, health and wellness, gardening and teaching. She holds a B.A. in Global Food Systems and has been working in school food systems for most of her career (making school lunches better and building school gardens!). Since 2020 she has worked for nonprofits doing outreach, marketing and program coordination. She has served 3 years as an AmeriCorps FoodCorps service member.

Nadia has worked as a kids dance teacher, youth snowboard coach, creative arts instructor, and summer camp nature specialist, and loves creating fun, safe, inclusive spaces for youth to engage with nature and with their own creativity.

Born on California’s central coast, Nadia grew up surrounded by ocean, mountains and redwood forests and loves spending time outdoors with her dogs backpacking, paddleboarding, taking road trips, and identifying plants.

Sam (she, her, hers) grew up spending her early childhood in the mountains of Idaho and has had a passion for environmental studies from the start. She has explored 15 countries (and counting!) while holding a wide range of jobs. After leading educational butterfly tours in Laos, volunteering in Mexico, leading river trips in Ohio, and finally building trails and teaching outdoor education in Oregon, her path landed at Camp Fire. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder and is currently studying biology.

Sam’s hobbies include collage-based art, climbing, surfing, backpacking in the wilderness, cooking outdoors, painting with watercolors, traveling, and collecting plants! She is passionate about creating learning environments where kiddos can be themselves—and find their own personal sparks—while learning to communicate and connect with their community. Sam’s camp name (RAAAAA!) encompasses the enthusiasm and fun she loves to have with the groups of youth she works with!

Zafiro (she, her, hers, ella) is a Tucson, AZ native who has pursued adventures around the world as an English teacher in the USA, Italy, South Korea, and Spain, and an outdoor trekking guide and teen program leader in Peru, Nepal, India, and Australia. She has a Master’s degree in Bilingual and Multicultural Education and is a certified Wilderness First Responder.

Zafiro’s sparks include playing with her baby boy Mateo, hiking, camping, rafting, singing, performing, tasting as many different types of cheese that she can get her hands on, puzzles, escape rooms, and reading.

Zafiro’s philosophy is that youth thrive best when they are encouraged to learn in a fun and creative environment. She looks forward to bringing this philosophy to life in SummerKids, Teens, and No-School Day programs!

Avara (she/her/hers) grew up in the Bay Area, about an hour outside of San Francisco. She attended California State University East Bay, where she graduated with her bachelor's degree in Business Administration.

Her love of the outdoors began early in her childhood, spending summers camping and boating on the delta with her family. In 2016, when she moved to Bend, her adventures continued with hiking, outdoor exploration, and homesteading—eventually leading her to form her own camp for kids centered around various homesteading skills.

Avara worked at her children's Montessori school, volunteering and later in the afterschool program. This experience is part of what led her down the path of discovering some of her sparks: working with children and teaching.

With Camp Fire, Avara hopes to help empower kids, teach them new skills, and form connections with nature. When she’s not working with kids, Avara is spending time with her family on their farm, hiking, and exploring Central Oregon.

Carissa (she, her, hers) was born in San Francisco and spent most of her youth in San Mateo. In 2004, she began splitting time between California and Bend, Ore., then made a big move to live full time in Bend in 2013.

Describing herself as authentic, considerate, nonjudgmental, curious, just, witty and occasionally a little impish, Carissa is passionate about creating inclusive and safe spaces for herself and others. Carissa sought a workplace where diversity is celebrated and this is part of what led her to Camp Fire, now serving as our Program Support Specialist.

That said, she also came to us thanks to fond memories of her grandmother—a Camp Fire alum—who would light up telling stories about her own adventures at camp as a youth. Having heard about those wonderful experiences, Carissa feels honored to have a voice at the organization’s table. She values our nonprofit’s inclusive culture and mission of connecting youth to the outdoors, to each other, and to themselves.

As for Carissa’s sparks, or passions in life? They include letter writing, treasure hunting (think geocaching and searching for buried items with metal detectors), gift wrapping, mystery solving, and experiencing novelty. Influenced by her grandmother who inspired her to be curious and her grandfather who showed her to live mindfully and authentically, Carissa lives by the words of Daniel Johnston: "To understand and to be understood is to be free."

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Jess (she, they, theirs) joined Camp Fire Central Oregon in Fall 2024, heading up a newly expanded program called “eSTEAM”—the acronym for all activities that fall under the umbrella of Environment, Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math enrichment.

A super creative and curious individual, Jess found our organization and their new role after some serious, avid job searching while “trusting in the universe” that the right opportunity in the right place would present itself. In addition, Jess found themself deeply resonating with the Camp Fire vision of facilitating self-discovery, creating community connections, and promoting engagement with nature. To that point, nature is important to Jess, who hopes to bring their appreciation and awe for all it offers to the youth that Camp Fire serves while “engineering” impactful and, of course, fun activities.

No doubt, learning and fun are both big parts of Camp Fire’s goals, and Jess loves learning and fun, too! In particular, Jess—an Oregon transplant with roots in California and Texas—is inspired by learning about plants, language and the nuanced way in which all things in our world and beyond are connected. Over the years, they have felt such connection and impact from many people in their life, particularly those who have inspired Jess to see mistakes as opportunities for growth…an approach to life and learning Jess hopes to instill in Camp Fire youth.

Devin Barclay grew up in Annapolis, Md., where his mother was head of a school, which cultivated in him a passion for teaching, coaching and, ultimately, sports. An avid athlete, Devin played football for THE Ohio State University during college and also played Major League Soccer for five years. Today, he’s working as a sports marketing manager at Nike. In this role, Devin serves as the connection point between brand/story and athlete—a natural fit, given his experience in both playing sports and coaching athletes. Outside of work, Devin loves spending time with his family, anything related to football (global as well as American), skiing, hiking, travel, mountain biking, dogs, music, innovation and creativity. He says that as a youth, he took family trips out West, and these formative experiences got him hooked on nature and outdoor recreation. That invariably sparked his appreciation for youth programs and camps like Camp Fire Central Oregon, which strive to connect youth to the outdoors, others and themselves.

At the beginning of 2021, Rui Cruz and his wife came all the way from Portugal to Bend, following their thirst for adventure and the desire to embark on a new direction in life. Rui currently works at Lonza in Bend and is involved in the development of new and repurposed pharmaceutical drugs. Super curious and very committed to learning and his community, Rui regularly enjoys reading, observing, listening to very different perspectives related to politics, philosophy, world history, science, pop culture and even conspiracy theories! He loves team sports as well as exploring the central Oregon region, which has helped inspired him to commit to a nonprofit that supports youth in getting outside and their own connection to the great outdoors. He is very proud to be serving on the board of Camp Fire, which he says is the ideal organization to help children find their place in our world, bettering themselves and, by extension, all of us.

Alex Edwards has lived his entire life in Oregon on both sides of the Cascades, never residing more than 8 miles from the Willamette or Deschutes Rivers. A software engineer by trade, he spent 10 years working in the aviation industry building navigation systems for single engine airplanes. Since then he has dedicated his career to solving climate change, most recently in the forestry industry as the head of engineering for a startup with the goal of restoring native biodiverse forests around the world. In his personal time Alex enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking, bouldering, curling, reading, and exploring the world with his son. His familiarity with nature - both recreational and professional - and his experience raising a child have shaped his passion for Camp Fire’s mission.

Growing up in West Michigan attending summer camps every summer for most of his childhood, becoming a counselor, and eventually a year-round employee, Adam is no stranger to the transformative power of spending time with a community in nature. Chasing a more adventurous path in life, he landed in Central Oregon by way of full-time van life, traveling the country in a 1982 Volkswagen Westfalia with his wife. He was lucky to spend a year at a Camp Fire camp up in Washington and fell in love with the organization’s mission. Having spent time living full-time at a Camp Fire Camp, being a brand new dad, and having over a decade of building and marketing brands through a strong sense of community, he brings a unique perspective to the board. When he isn’t at work you can find Adam out in the forest running pop-up pour-over cafes with his Hush Hush Coffee community, mountain biking, playing disc golf, or discovering anew how amazing rocks and plants are out in nature camping with his toddler and wife.

Melissa Greenwald moved to Bend 2 years ago from the east coast in order to spend more time outdoors. Melissa began her professional career as an elementary school teacher in Phoenix, Arizona before moving to Philadelphia to work at an environmental charter school as a third grade teacher and then math coordinator.  She now works for the Math Learning Center, a Salem based non-profit, as a Professional Learning Developer where she supports educators in their mathematics teaching. Melissa is also committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion work particularly in education settings. Outside of work, she loves to hike with her dog, read, camp, and cook.  She is excited and proud to be serving on the board of Camp Fire, whose mission and values she feels deeply connected to and looks forward to supporting the youth in Central Oregon connecting to outdoors and their community.

Connor has lived in Oregon most of his entire life. He grew up in the Willamette Valley (Tualatin, OR) during the golden age of outside living. As a young person, Connor enjoyed playing tag, touch football, hide and seek, and basketball, among many other things.  When he wasn’t at school or doing homework, he was outside getting sweaty and dirty. Connor studied Mathematics and Physics at The University of Oregon, graduating in 2018, and has been in Finance for the last 6+ years.  He is the owner and operator of a financial planning firm that serves clients nationwide.  In his free time, he loves to hike, bike, play sports, read, and spend time with family and friends. Growing up, Connor’s mom ran an in-home daycare instilling in him the importance for kids to have safe spaces to learn and grow. The combination of his support for programs that help kids thrive and a love for the outdoors has shaped his passion for Camp Fire’s Mission.

Maxim is the youth representative to our Board of Directors. He has been working and participating with campfire for 7 years, and it has been a large part of his life and how he interacts with his community. Maxim loves going on hikes and is an avid mountain biker - rain shine, or snow you can see him biking to school. Maxim is passionate about the environment and he’s doing his best to make Central Oregon a little bit better.