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Leadership Team
Our organization is managed by a team of directors:
C.G. Stephens, Administrator/Director
Jodi Browning, Administrator/Director
Michael Jarvis, Program Director
Christine McKenna, Program Director
Cena Shaw, Program Administrator
Jen Zahorchak, Program Administrator
To learn more about their shared commitments as directors and the paths that brought them to Langskib and Northwaters, please visit the Program Directors page.
Trip Staff
These are the people who make our programs extraordinary. Occasionally we hire a professional from outside our community but the vast majority of our trip leaders start out as participants. After working their way up through the ranks, earning a spot on a James Bay Trip and then completing our Leadership Program, they begin a multi-year apprenticeship to become a Northwaters/Langskib leader. All in all, it takes from 5 to 8 years for a young person to become a trip leader.
Our camp leaders are chosen because they have earned our respect and trust, because they have demonstrated a strong ability to relate to young people and because they share our commitment to providing outstanding wilderness experiences for young people coming of age.
Once they sign on, our camp leaders tend to stay—many for 10 or more years. Low turnover insures consistent program quality and the capacity to train new leaders. During the off season, we encourage our staff to pursue endeavors which stretch them as individuals and develop them as leaders. This makes for a diverse group of adventuresome staff with an ability to relate to young people from all walks of life.
*Not all Staff Listed*
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"I first came to Langskib when I was 13. I went on the Temagami Tour, turned a fully white t-shirt gray, and still wear that same shirt on trail. I returned the next three summers to run the Sturgeon, Harricanna and Hayes Rivers. As I've grown older, I continue to learn from the land and the NW/L community. In May 2009 I graduated from Yale University with a BS in Physics, and am now starting work as a management consultant."
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"When I first stepped onto the docks at Northwaters, I was a skinny, klutzy fourteen-year-old girl who harbored a deep and abiding fear of leeches. That summer, I found myself swimming in waterfalls, hiking into old growth forests, and baking blueberry muffins on a portable Coleman stove. Late at night, we would lie back in our tent and sing Joni Mitchell songs until we fell asleep. Every year since then, I’ve returned to paddle more lakes and rivers, to bake more muffins, and to sing many more songs at all hours of the day and night. For the past three years as a leader, I’ve seen how life on trail can bring out the best in all kinds of young people. I’ve learnt that it’s a life of laughter, challenge, and freedom. And I’ve come to believe that spending time in the outdoors—catching a fish, swimming in an icy-cold lake, climbing a tree, sleeping on the ground—is every child’s birthright. When it gets too cold to paddle, I take up my alternate existence as a student of literature and philosophy at the University of Toronto, where I get to indulge my love of Belgian waffles, the Sunday newspapers, 19th-century novels, and Canadian politics. I am no longer afraid of leeches."
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I first came to Langskib at the age of 13, having spent years in traditional residential camp and spending summers at the cottage. From the moment I stepped out of the float plane I was hooked. Over the years I have traveled the lakes and rivers of Temagami, Quebec and Manitoba, learning the whole way. My leaders passed on the tools that have allowed me to lead a full and rewarding life. They have all helped to shape the person that I am. I have been leading trips with NWL for 5 years, most recently the leadership expedition, and it is an honour to have the opportunity to pass on this knowledge and experience to future generations. NWL has provided an incredibly powerful experience that has set the stage for my future career in Outdoor Experiential Education. Through this, I am able to continually improve the work I do throughout the summer. I am currently in my professional year of my Honours Degree in Outdoor Recreation and Geography, as well as my Bachelor of Education at Lakehead University. In the off-season you can find me working as a ski instructor, running Dog Sleds, and volunteering as an Advanced Medical First Responder and Instructor in the city of Thunder Bay.
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"During my first summer at Northwaters it rained for seventeen of our twenty-four days on the trail. After a few days of pulling on wet jeans and my soggy Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, I began to wonder if canoeing was my thing. Yet I remember one particularly puddly morning quite vividly as a turning point for me: one of my tent-mates, tugging on her own sodden socks in the (relative) dryness of our tent, turned to me with a deadpan expression and proclaimed, "it's probably about to stop." A moment passed and we burst out laughing, struck by the absurdity of our shared predicament as well as relieved by the realization that neither of us would be alone in facing what promised to be a very challenging day. The sound of our laughter, needless to say, overpowered the ominous pitter-pat of the rain outside. In the backcountry, I discovered an ability to laugh - and to seek out the laughter of others - in the face of adversity; this gift has served me in more ways than I might count. These days I spend a lot of time in Mumbai, researching and writing about water and politics. While this has meant that I spend fewer of my summer months canoeing, I still point my compass north whenever I get a chance."
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"When it's minus 25 degrees (Celsius) up in Canada and there is snow all around many peoples minds begin to wander. Often times talking to friends and family they dream of sitting on a hot tropical beach with a cool drink in one hand and a warm ocean breeze in the other. I however do not share that sentiment. Often times when the schoolwork begins to weigh heavily, and my days begin to seem more routine, I find my mind wandering to a scene that greatly differs from that tropical paradise. I envision an 80 pound canoe on my shoulders as I trudge through the woods on ground in which a stable surface is a rare commodity (moose muck). Many people would say I'm crazy and perhaps I am, but when I think of these situations certain emotions and feelings are brought back from memory which seem to be few and far between when back in the comforts of home. I started at NWL almost 6 years ago and since then have undergone the greatest physical and emotional journeys I will probably ever be a part of. Every trip I lead I am privileged to see participants exposed to the trials and raw emotions that help individuals to grow and silence the inner voices of doubt which limits one from reaching their full potential. The beautiful scenery and more importantly the life lessons that are learned for each person has made NWL and the community it fosters a very special place for me. –teeth to the wind."
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Taia Harlos and Jeff Fetterman are long-time educators at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they make their home for three seasons out of the year. Jeff teaches 6th Grade, coaches wrestling and is head of the Outings Club, and Taia teaches music and plays violin and viola with the Fairmount String Quartet and numerous performing groups. In their capacity as educators, they have also taught outdoor education, rock climbing, high ropes and Taia led the Leadership Program at Abington Friends School. Taia and Jeff have traveled extensively throughout the United States and eastern Canada camping, rock climbing and canoeing. They spend their free time with their dog Otter exploring around their cabin in Jim Thorpe,Pennsylvania. Jeff and Taia have been leading and guiding canoe trips for more than a decade. Both are certified Wilderness First Responders and Jeff is presently finishing his ACA whitewater canoe instructor certification. Taia and Jeff are committed to the great benefit of wilderness challenge and rites of passage into adulthood in the lives of young people.
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"I came to Northwaters/Langskib originally in 1995 as a participant, and I immediately fell in love with the woods and waters of the north. A few years later I started leading trips, and I have been working with the organization in varying capacities since that time. Northwaters/Langskib is a place where I have watched myself and others learn enormous perseverance, compassion, and self-awareness -- all within the context of a remarkable community and amazing wilderness. Over the past six years, my sister and I have headed up the “Burke Trip” program, which works to make scholarship opportunities available for young leaders in order to provide them with a meaningful and powerful wilderness experience. I am currently finishing my doctoral residency in Clinical Psychology at a therapeutic high school in Chicago, Illinois. In my free time, I love getting outside, adventuring, traveling, being involved in the arts, community, and efforts towards various social justice causes."
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NWL represents a significant portion of my life - as a camper and eventually a leader. I believe it is important to provide youth with opportunities to participate in outdoor programming so they can be a part of something great and create a story for themselves in a challenging environment. This in turn instills confidence and the belief that you can achieve your goals as a member of your community. I am thankful for my story with the organization that allowed me to grow and work with kids to provide them with similar experiences I had in my youth. NWL gave me strength and heart along with some amazing relationships with like minded people.
I currently work at the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa as the Business Development Manager - I am in charge of creating social enterprises and other methods of profit that are invested directly back into programs for children and youth in our community. Working with the vulnerable population has been a passion of mine for awhile and I've been actively involved in creating alternative programming for youth at risk over the last few years. In addition to being a tripper, I am an amateur boxer and have competed in Ontario and British Columbia. My hope is to return to the circuit sometime in the next year. I enjoy drawing and painting: this winter I'm planning to convert my shed into an art studio. Beside all this, I enjoy spending time with my fiance and our pup.
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"I must have known on some level that I was going to feel a strong connection with Northwaters & Langskib and Lake Temagami when I was 13 and day-dreaming about cutting my hair short and sporting a baseball hat in order to attend the all-boys canoeing camp my brother went to on the lake. That summer of 1995 I went on the first Northern Lights trip, and on our trip to Blueberry Island I took the first steps on my journey that has continued through to this day. It has been a journey through the waters and woods of Temagami, Ontario, as well as Quebec, Manitoba, and the James and Hudson Bays, and it has brought me to as many lessons and discoveries about myself as it has places on the map. For the past two summers I have co-led the Leadership Expedition down the Hayes River to the Hudson Bay. After graduating from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a degree in Biology I have spent time as an Outdoor Education Instructor at the Hulbert Outdoor Center, and as a full time volunteer in New Orleans organizing and implementing an after-school program for middle school students in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I plan to pursue a teaching career in a fusion of environmental and outdoor experiential education to foster a sense of land stewardship and empower today’s youth to grow into their full potential."
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Gabe's love and fascination for the outdoors started at a very early age. His father had him backpacking when he was just 4 years old. Then, 10 years later at 14, Gabe arrived at Langskib thinking he was going to be prepared for what was to come. "That first three-week canoe trip to the Lost Lakes was one of the most valuable experiences I have had to date. The trip had as much to do with the physical journey, as it did the personal journey. Taking that experience at Langskib fueled my passion for the outdoors and environment and helped me to gain the strength of character and make the decision to go to school on the other side of the country at the University of Montana. It was there where I received two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology." While attending The University of Montana, Gabe was captain of the lacrosse team for three years, finishing second in the nation the last two. In addition, he helped coach the men's lacrosse team to a national championship in 2007. "Since graduating, I have further broadened my enthusiasm for wild places by exploring the country via bicycle. Most recently, I just completed a four-month circumnavigation of the Hawaiian Islands. Now, I am currently working in Missoula, Montana bringing local food awareness into community designs.” Gabe also enjoys cooking in the woods."
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