Linda Richards, Director
Linda’s experiences as a public school teacher, Education and Music Director at Clearwater, camp director at Manitoga in Garrison and the Ashokan Summer Camp in Olivebridge, and wandering troubadour have given her the skills, humor and sensitivity to enjoy children in just about any setting. Raised by a family of teachers, dinner table discussions were lively and instructional! Early childhood summers, and then later summers with her own family, were spent traveling across this beautiful country – camping, learning and experiencing the great outdoors. Linda wove her education and outdoor experiences together into a lifetime fabric of musical environmental education adventures. She is currently a music teacher at the Manitou School in Cold Spring and teaches guitar, ukulele and voice privately. She also performs for kids extensively through “S.L.Y.M.I. (Sing Like You Mean It!)”. Linda cherishes the camp experience and knows that summer camp can inspire the next generation of thoughtful leaders!
Wyatt Buesing, Assistant Director
Wyatt is a third grade elementary school teacher at Tri-Valley Elementary School in Grahamsville. He has had the unique opportunity to have worked with thousands of children in varying capacities for the past decade. His teaching and summer camp experiences, music performances at special assemblies, and years of back flips (at Circus Camp) have given him the skills to provide children with positive, meaningful learning experiences in a huge variety of environments. Wyatt’s sense of humor and love of learning make his camp contributions – from dissecting owl pellets to teaching diabolo – wonderfully valuable.
Kyra Cimino, Assistant Director
Kyra is no stranger to Camp @ The Camp! She has been with us as a counselor since the camp opened in 2017, and prior to that, had been seen lurking in the Manitoga camp as a camper way back when Linda and Wyatt were running that summer program. A recent graduate of SUNY New Paltz, she is presently working as a program coordinator at Sargent After School in Beacon. Kyra’s favorite camp activities are hiking with the kids and playing field games (NO ONE can run like Kyra…), and if you’re lucky, you’ll hear her lend her voice to “All Earth’s Critters”. We are happy to have the opportunity to work with her in her new camp capacity this summer!
Nate Smith, Aquatics Director (The Pool Guy)
Nate has been working in camps and aquatics for nearly 30 years since becoming a swim instructor, lifeguard trainer and Waterfront Director through the Boy Scouts of America in the early 1990s. Since then, he has taught aquatic activities up and down the east coast as well as Mexico and the Bahamas with the Boy Scouts of America, Outward Bound, and Club Med. He’s also been part of the team at several camps across the country. Some highlights include Adventure Director at Interlochen Arts Camp (Interlochen Arts Academy, MI), Camp Director for Camp Central Park (Central Park, NY) and locally as the Recreation Director Highlands Country Club (Garrison, NY). He is currently certified as a WSI (Water Safety Instructor) and First Aid/CPR trainer through the American Red Cross. Nate brings his recreation philosophy of insuring safety, fun, and learning to Camp @ the Camp’s pool time. When he’s not at the pool, Nate is a full time, year-round member of the City of Beacon Recreation team who manages the After School program and can often be seen around town walking Murphy, the 3-legged wonder hound with his family.
Counselors & Staff
Our summer staff is a team of experienced and knowledgeable leaders, who we work closely with each summer to develop our weekly themes and to provide the best possible experience for campers and CITs.
Collaborations: Camp @ the Camp is a program of the City of Beacon Recreation Department, directed by Mark Price. We have strong relationships with other programs and organizations who support our camp with resources, special presentations, and guest educators.
“My years are divided into two seasons – camp and not camp.”