Meet Our Amazing Staff – Lily Grbavach
Staff Profile: Lily Grbavach 
In honor of our upcoming No School Day Camps, we wanted to shine a spotlight on one of our amazing Camp Directors: Lily. Dedicated to education and her community, Lily is one of our enthusiastic program manager extraordinaires, coordinating Camp Fire’s SummerKids and No School Day Camps. Through her work and play, she has come to believe that the biggest impact she can have on her community is through programs intentionally designed to help youth find their sparks.
Lily has directed programs for numerous camps in Alaska and Oregon. She applies her bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology and minor in outdoor recreation and guiding management to provide high quality environmental education through youth camps, guiding and interpretive presentations.
Lily loves outdoor activities, especially on the river, and also thrives on silversmithing, teaching arts and crafts, and organizing community events. She looks forward to every day of Camp Fire!
Here’s a brief interview with Lily to give you a peek into what makes her shine.
Who are you and how would you describe yourself?
My name is Lily and I describe myself as a Homo sapien inhabiting the 3rd planetary body from the sun. 😉
I would say I am a fun loving person with a passion for education and all the joys that camp life brings.
Where are you from?
Since I moved around a lot after I turned 18, I claim two places. In my childhood I am from California. After high school I moved to Alaska and did a lot of independent, young adult, hard knocks, growth and developing who I am there. I think both places have played big parts in being where I am from.
What matters to you? What pushes you?
I am motivated by the impact I can have on my community. I would also say I am motivated by opportunities to learn new things and use that to improve programs I manage.
Why do you like working with Camp Fire? How does it impact you? Or feed you?
I enjoy working at Camp Fire because I believe I can make my biggest impact in education. By sharing not only my knowledge and interests, but by facilitating others to do the same for the youth and families impacted by our programs.
What’s your favorite part of “camp”?
Ooooh, I would say the same as above is my deep driving force favorite. But if I was to think about the little things which make our camp experience so valuable and unique like singing songs, playing games and making new friends, I would have to say environmental education based crafts. Like imprint drawing leaf skeletons, or reconstructing skeletons from owl pellets.
What are your “sparks”?
My sparks include outdoor sports such as rock climbing, white water rafting, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. I’m also really into jewelry making, I teach silver soldering classes, and participate in art showings locally. But most of all I enjoy sharing these things with others.
Were you inspired by an adult mentor? How?
I was lucky to have numerous adult mentors who impacted my life as a young person, and helped me to have the knowledge and courage to make the decisions I did to progress my education, gain new experiences, and find meaningful work. I will forever be grateful for them.