team

Tyler Gardner joins us as the Executive Director of Forest Lake Camp, bringing with him a wealth of experience in teaching, coaching, and camp administration. With a background in English and economics, Tyler has spent many years teaching and coaching in schools throughout New England. He comes to Forest Lake Camp with his wife Stephanie and their two bloodhounds, Wallace and Dixie. Tyler’s love for summer camp began at the age of 9, when he spent his first summer attending an overnight camp in Vermont. He went on to work as a counselor at that camp for 10 years, served as Waterfront Director and Assistant Director, and now serves on the camp’s finance committee on the Board of Directors. Tyler values the simplicity and the integrity of the summer camp experience and is excited to lead Forest Lake Camp in providing a safe, fun, and transformative experience for all campers.

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Elyse brings her love of camp, the outdoors, and leadership development to Forest Lake Camp as Assistant Director. As a kid, Elyse attended an overnight summer camp in Vermont and went on to spend her high school and college summers working there as a counselor, waterskiing instructor, and Ropes Course Director. Although native to Vermont, she has spent time living throughout the West Coast, East Coast, and internationally in Nepal. An experienced educator and community builder, Elyse is committed to facilitating a joyful and empowering experience for everyone who steps foot on FLC. With a background in economics, marketing, leadership, and outdoor education, she comes to Forest Lake Camp with many years of experience working in the outdoor industry. Passionate about connecting with people and nature, Elyse is excited to be part of the FLC leadership team and community. 

Elyse is joined at camp with her partner Drew and their dog, Siggy – when not at camp, they can be found mountain biking, skiing in the North Cascades, and paddling in the San Juan Islands that surround their home in Bellingham, WA. 

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Drew is the newest member of the FLC team, joining us as the Director of Rentals and Events at Forest Lake Camp. With a background in wilderness education, leadership, and event planning, Drew brings his passion for nature and expertise in crafting extraordinary experiences. Drew is dedicated to connecting people to nature and to each other through events and facility rentals on the beautiful Forest Lake Camp property.

Originally from Vermont, Drew has since found home in Bellingham, WA where he lives with his partner, Elyse, and their adventurous dog, Siggy. With a love for mountain biking and skiing that developed during his childhood in Vermont, Drew enjoys exploring and adventuring at home in the Northwest and throughout the Northeast. Drew is excited to bring life long memories and joyful moments to everyone who comes to Forest Lake Camp for events, weddings, and retreats.

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Brenda is our Director of Finance and Operations and works year round to help all aspects of the business run smoothly. Brenda has been working with Forest Lake since 2009 and has been key to the success of behind the scenes operations like accounting, forms, transportation and various office matters. Brenda’s incredible organizational skills, attention to detail and ‘can do’ attitude brings an enormous benefit to FLC. She will be available year round to help parents and the other administrators plan and prepare everything so we can have a smooth and fun filled summer.

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Of all the team members at FLC, Gary has by far the longest history at camp. Gary’s grandfather, Harold T. Confer, founded Forest Lake Camp in 1926 and was director until 1954 when Phil and Sally Confer took over. Gary’s parents ran FLC together for 32 years until he took over the directorship in 1986. Gary’s knowledge of camp history is second to none and we are grateful to have him as part of our full time team. He has come back to camp as groundskeeper and will help us keep FLC in tip-top shape through the year and during the summer. His calming presence on camp and encyclopedic brain about anything FLC is greatly appreciated by all.

Geoff is a second generation alumnus of Forest Lake Camp. His father Bob Blanck spent many summers at FLC in the 50’s and 60’s, and Geoff and his brother Rob were campers during the late 70’s and early 80’s. He spends as much of his summer as he can at FLC and is famous for leading the rain chant “Flee, Fly, Flo” at campfire each Sunday night to help us ward off rain clouds for the rest of the week. He lives in Waterbury, VT with his daughters Emma and Annecy who are both campers, and his wife Shalagh who runs the camp Store.

Tobin is an alumnus of Camp Tohkomeupog in Madison, New Hampshire where he spent 18 years as a camper, counselor and Head Counselor in addition to leading the alumni association for ten years. He has spent most of his career in the education and training field when not at camp. He comes to Forest Lake as much as he can over the summer to enjoy being surrounded by the spirit of a traditional summer camp and to get to know the Adirondacks. He lives in MA with his wife Margaret, son Quinn and daughter Kenzie who is a current FLC camper.