STAFF


Laurel Jernigan
Managing Director

Laurel first got involved with World Camp in 2001 as a volunteer and since then has served as a volunteer, program coordinator, board member, and finally as managing director. She is a graduate of UNCA and currently resides in Asheville where she staffs the World Camp office year round and enjoys spending time with her husband and son.

Jesse Pipes
Director of Operations

Jesse is a co-founder of World Camp, Inc. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC Jesse joined Baker Henson in a shared conviction that education can empower the world's youth and build stronger communities. He has over 9 years’ experience assisting with the development of community based educational curricula and directing international service internship programs in Malawi and Honduras. Jesse most recently worked as a Creative Assistant for MokuZoku, a company aiming to help children and parents bridge the gap between virtual games and outdoor adventures in Boulder, CO. He currently resides in Asheville, NC.

Michael Kumwenda
Country Manager - Malawi

Michael has a background working with the Peace Corps as a language and cultural trainer in both the US and Malawi. He holds an undergraduate degree from Martin Luther College and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Saginaw Valley State University. His professional experiences vary widely in the fields of education and outreach, and he has recently finished a consulting job with the Ministry of Education in Malawi working on policy decentralization. He is also an author of children’s books.

PROGRAM COORDINATORS

Karen Clark
Program Coordinator

Karen Clark is currently a student at Colby College in Maine working to earn her degree in Anthropology with a minor in African Studies. She first volunteered with World Camp Malawi in January of 2010. Unable to stay away from Malawi and World Camp, she has since coordinated both the adult and Youth to Youth programs. Interested in learning more about sub-Saharan Africa, Karen spent the fall of 2010 in Botswana taking classes, working with the Botswana Family Welfare Association and researching the Maun Homeopathy Project. Apart from World Camp, Karen is a member of Colby's varsity crew team and an active volunteer in the Waterville community. She loves photography, her dogs, hiking and mornings that include phaz-y.

Katie Sacca
Assistant Program Coordinator - Malawi

A 2007 Malawi volunteer, Katie spent the summer coordinating our college and Y2Y programs in 2008. Katie has degrees in Environmental Science and Medical Anthropology from Connecticut College and is working towards her MPH in global health at George Washington University. Her international experience is vast--as a child she spent many years living abroad, studied abroad in Botswana, and spent a summer in Australia as a guide for a group of 11 and 12 year old People to People Student Ambassadors.

Rein Terwindt
Program Development Coordinator - Malawi

Rein graduated from Fairfield University (CT) with degrees in International Studies, Economics, and Anthropology in 2009 and then finished his Masters in Anthropology of Development at the School of Oriental and African Studies (London, UK) a year later. During his studies he participated in a Community Service Learning program in South Africa, where he taught at a primary school and learned about the complexities surrounding development. He knew that he wanted to return to southern Africa, which is why he applied to volunteer with WC in Malawi during the summer of 2009. He was inspired by WC's approach to empowerment and therefore decided to work on issues surrounding HIV/AIDS and education in Botswana that same summer through a similar approach. He then worked for an NGO in the Southwest region of Cameroon where he started a long-term literacy program for Mbororo women and he just finished an internship at CARE Cameroon where he focused on gender sensitivity. He is very excited to get back involved with WC as he believes that WC has shown that much can be done with little in the warm heart of Africa.

World Camp's Board of Directors

Dr. Baker Henson
Board Chair

Baker has been working with World Camp since putting through the original paperwork to found the organization while he was still in college. At last count, he has made the journey to Malawi over thirty times. Over the years his love for the Malawian people has grown along with his familiarity with the nuances of the culture. He has successfully led more than two hundred volunteers through the World Camp program, taking the time to show each one the ups and downs of working in Africa, while looking out for the well-being of all. In addition to his work in Malawi, he has worked in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, and completed a bike trip through most of Eastern Africa. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of North Carolina, and is now completing residency in Harrisburg, PA.

Benjamin Crosswell
Assistant Board Chair

Ben is from Boone, North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2006. He has been involved with World Camp for four years both as a volunteer and a Program Coordinator. He currently works for Axceler in Los Angeles, California. He joined the Board of Directors in 2008.

Elizabeth Jernigan
Secretary

Liz received her undergraduate degree in English and Anthropology from Appalachian State in 2002. She then spent a year working with the Maryland Conservation Corps, an Americorps program before hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2004. She received her Masters of Public Affairs with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from UNC-Greensboro in 2008. Liz is currently Stormwater Outreach and Education Coordinator for the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments in Greensboro, NC. She has watched World Camp grow as a nonprofit and is excited about the opportunity to work with the rest of the World Camp team to ensure their continued success.

Sheri Baker
Treasurer

Sheri is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Appalachian State University, where she received a BSBA in Accounting. She has over 8 years experience in Non Profit Financial and Accounting management, with over 5 years in the International Humanitarian sector. She has worked in 11 countries and currently resides in Asheville, NC. Sheri joined the WC Board in 2011.

Peter Goff
Assistant Treasurer

Pete began his involvement with WC as a volunteer instructor in January 2004. This trip inspired Pete to learn more about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa by volunteering with organizations addressing this problem from a variety of angles. After graduating from Middlebury College in May 2005 with a B.A. in Biochemistry, he spent several months volunteering, teaching, and studying with various HIV/AIDS related groups in East and Southern Africa. Subsequently, Pete joined Dr. Frederick Alt's lab at the Immune Disease Institute and Harvard Medical School to research immune system development and diversification in B- and T- lineage cells. Pete then moved to Dr. Nathaniel Landau's lab in the New York University School of Medicine's Microbial Pathogenesis Program, where he investigated the molecular mechanisms responsible for HIV nuclear import. He recently completed a Master of Liberal Arts degree with a focus in biology at Harvard in May 2009.

Rachel Dudasik
Board Member

Rachel graduated from Appalachian State University in 2009 where she studied Sustainable Development and Third World Studies. Rachel started with World Camp as an intern in the spring 2009, working on volunteer development for the Honduras Program and continued with WC as a volunteer during the summer of 2009 in Malawi. She spent summer 2010 in Malawi as a Program Coordinator and will be flying over with the Y2Y this summer. Rachel also volunteers her spare time in the WC Office, working on a little bit of everything. Rachel currently works for the YMCA of Western North Carolina on childhood obesity prevention, financial assistance for members, and LIVESTRONG at the Y. Her background is in non-profits, specifically fund raising and program development. She joined the Board of Directors in early 2011.

Taylor Lea Jones
Board Member

A longtime fan of World Camp and its mission, Taylor became a World Camp board member in 2008. Taylor attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. After graduating cum laude from Boston University School of Law, Taylor and her husband settled in Arlington, VA. She is currently an attorney in Washington, DC, specializing in health care regulatory law.

Robert Lamb
Board Member

Rob worked as a program coordinator and office staff for World Camp from 2006 to 2008. After graduating with honors from the University of North Carolina, he worked throughout the U.S. as a wilderness instructor and overseas as an English teacher. He drew on his leadership and education experience to enhance volunteers' interaction with children and teachers in each of the diverse cultures World Camp works in, taking part in the growth of the Honduras program, the inaugural session in India, and the creation of the Youth to Youth outreach program in Malawi. He now practices criminal law in the Chapel Hill/Durham area.

Sonal Raja
Board Member

Sonal began her involvement with World Camp when she traveled to Malawi, Africa as a volunteer during the summer of 2006. Seeing the positive impact the program had on the children in Malawi and understanding the power of education at a much deeper level, Sonal decided she wanted to take a leap and try to start the program in India. The following year, Sonal traveled on and off to India to set up World Camp India and assisted in running the first session in Ahmedabad, India during the summer of 2007. Sonal has worked abroad in different capacities in South Africa and Thailand. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel with a double major in Political Science and International Studies in 2002 and is currently finishing up her third year in law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was named Public Service student of the year.

Sarah Jane Delcambre
Board Member

Sarah Jane was introduced to World Camp founders in 2011 and quickly became interested in supporting the organization's cause. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Global Studies and French from University of California at Santa Barbara in 2005, she spent years volunteering for various organizations across the globe with experiences ranging from teaching to reforestation. Currently Sarah Jane resides in Asheville, North Carolina where she is pursuing a Masters of International Education through School for International Training in Vermont. She is passionate about taking a "glocal" (global and local) perspective and is committed to supporting both local organizations and creating opportunities for people throughout the world. Sarah Jane brings expertise to the World Camp team through her work with the Center for Diversity Education and Youth for Understanding.

World Camp's Advisory Board

Andrew Beckmann
Advisory Board Member

Andrew first volunteered with World Camp in Malawi during the winter of 2009. After his time there, he became active recruiting volunteers and helping organize fundraisers in NYC. He returned to Malawi in 2010 to research new strategies for World Camp. He graduated from Columbia with a degree in Economics in 2006, and works for an economic consulting group. He hopes to transition into a career in international development, with a focus on business development in Africa.

Jay Brollier
Advisory Board Member

Jay first became involved with World Camp in early 2009 as a volunteer with the Malawi Program. After returning from Malawi, Jay continued to work with World Camp staff on fundraising, program development, and as an Area Representative for the South/Southwest Region of the U.S. Prior to volunteering with World Camp, Jay served as Junior Board President for Chances by Choice, a not-for-profit adoption program that places HIV-affected children from Africa and Asia with adoptive families in the U.S. and Europe. He has also volunteered for five summers with Camp Hope, a camp for HIV-positive children, based in Texas. Jay received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Science in Accountancy from Loyola University Chicago. After living in Chicago for almost a decade, Jay has returned to Houston where he grew up, and works as a Forensic Accountant.

Scott Coriell
Advisory Board Member

Scott originally volunteered with World Camp in Malawi during the summer of 2006. After graduating from Middlebury College in 2007, he worked as a US History teacher and coach for alpine ski racing at a private school in Killington, VT. In May of 2008 Scott began working full-time for World Camp as the Volunteer Coordinator in the Asheville office, and lead Program Coordinator in Malawi. He coordinated 5 sessions in Malawi during his tenure with World Camp, helping to strengthen the program's outreach efforts and specifically the gender relations curriculum. Scott is currently living in Washington DC and working on Capitol Hill.

Alexandra Dupont
Advisory Board Member

Alexandra is a Health Psychology PhD student at UCLA. Her research explores how the mind effects the body, specifically focusing on how lifestyle factors such as exercise and stress influence the immune system in cancer patients. Her involvement in World Camp began in 2005 as summer volunteer in Malawi. Since then she has volunteered with the Honduras program and acted as Program Coordinator in Malawi. Her initial experience with World Camp inspired her to conduct health research as an undergraduate at Duke University, and to eventually pursue graduate school. She has raised over $15,000 for World Camp and is currently a member of the Advisory Board.

Price Massey
Advisory Board Member

Price joined World Camp in 2004 as a volunteer for our pilot January program in Malawi and served on the Student Advisory Board and as an Area Representative during her time as an undergraduate. After graduating from Middlebury College with a BA in International Studies/African Studies with Political Science and French, Price spent a year traveling and volunteering in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. From teaching English in a Buddhist monastery in Nepal to learning how to handle elephants in Thailand, Price maintains that the most intimate, well-organized and life-changing experience she has had volunteering abroad has been through World Camp. Her passion for affecting change through education led her to coordinate four programs for World Camp in both Malawi and India. Currently, Price teaches sixth grade earth science, coaches volleyball and lacrosse, and helps direct Breakthrough, an academic enrichment program for low-income, high-promise middle schoolers in Norfolk, Virginia.

Catherine Scantlin
Advisory Board Member

Catherine is a licensed counselor working as a community based clinician and substance abuse prevention specialist for mental health management in NC. Her passion for wellness is carried over into her work as a yoga teacher and spin class instructor. Catherine and her husband Brett Scantlin served as volunteer coordinators in Malawi and became passionate about helping World Camp.

Gretchen Visser
Advisory Board Member

After hearing fantastic things about World Camp from friends, Gretchen volunteered in Malawi during the summer of 2009. In 2003, Gretchen received her undergraduate degree in International Environmental Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has worked in the field of education for the last six years and earned her Master in TESOL in 2007. After teaching in Thailand, she moved to New York City where she joined the New York City Teaching Fellows and continues to teach today. Gretchen is excited to work with World Camp as it continues to use education to empower, build understanding and create positive change.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (MALAWI)

Chipingo Phiri
Board of Trustees

Chipingo is a multi-faceted HIV/AIDS Specialist with an academic background in Biblical and Social studies and degrees in Education and Mass Communication. His professional experience includes home based care, HIV counseling, peer education, orphan and vulnerable child management, radio production, presentation and facilitation. Chipingo has worked with World Camp as a member of our Field Staff and as a Trustee.

More Information

If you need information, please feel free to use our contact form, send us an e-mail to info@worldcamp.co, or give us a call at 828-254-2339.