Dayna and Terry Hardin

Dayna Glasson Hardin Dayna Glasson Hardin arrived at Lake of the Woods Camp in 1979 and worked her way up from camper to counselor to assistant director before becoming owner/director in 1997. Dayna is well-known within the camp industry and is the Vice President of the American Camp Association's (ACA) National Board. In addition, she serves as President for the Midwest Association of Independent Camps (MAIC), is a past member and PR Chair for the ACA Illinois section Board. Dayna is the co-founder of SCOPE Midwest (Summer Camp Opportunities Provide an Edge), a charity that provides camperships to underserved children throughout the Midwest at not-for-profit camps. She is a speaker at camp conferences throughout the year on topics ranging from homesickness to trends in camping and is also the conference chair for the ACA’s national annual conference. She has received a number of awards for her dedication to the camp industry. Dayna and her husband Terry have two boys; Dylan and Tyler who join her at camp all summer.

Dana Cohn has over 16 years of camp experience as a former Lake of the Woods camper, counselor, program director and now our associate director. Dana is involved in staff recruitment, staff training, program development, and has terrific relationships with our campers, parents and staff. Dana graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Journalism and Political Science. Having been a camper, Dana understands the benefits of a summer camp experience. Dana is the co-founder of SCOPE Midwest (Summer Camp Opportunities Provide an Edge), a charity that provides camperships to underserved children throughout the Midwest at not-for-profit camps. Dana is on the program planning team for the American Camp Association's national conference and is a speaker at conferences throughout the year. As a former waterski instructor, Dana's favorite camp activity remains waterskiing. Dana also loves to play tennis with her father's 1983 wooden racket!

Emily "FERDIE" Ferdman, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in English. Emily quickly realized her dream to work at her childhood summer camp. As the Operations Director, Emily works behind the scenes to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Emily has spent 15 summers at our camp and sailing across our lake in “SS Ferdsta” is amongst her favorite things to do! Emily serves on the Illinois section board of the American Camp Association and is also involved in SCOPE Midwest (Summer Camp Opportunities Provide an Edge), a charity that provides camperships to underserved children throughout the Midwest at not-for-profit camps.

Amy Latulippe was a counselor and waterski instructor with us in 1993 and 1994. She rejoined Lake of the Woods and Greenwoods as our resident life director for the summer of 2007 and is now a part of our full-time team! During her years away from camp, Amy graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies, completed her masters in Elementary Education at the National Louis University, and began her career in elementary education. Amy taught 3rd grade for 4 years and Kindergarten for 4 years. Amy and her husband, Mike, have 3 beautiful children and 3 very happy campers! Gabi, Brady, and Keegan join Amy at camp every summer.

Before joining us, Rob Burns completed a four-year degree in business, and worked within the international marketing department of a French company.  Having spent time living in Spain, Germany, Cyprus and England; Rob decided that he wanted to find out what an American summer camp was all about. Rob joined us as a counselor and climbing instructor. For Rob, the American Dream became summer camp and he has been living and working full-time for camp ever since!  Rob moved to Chicago in 2006 for his role as the boys' program director.  He has always had a passion for soccer but the boys at camp have opened his eyes to many new activities including: wakeboarding, climbing, and gaga!  Rob recently completed the Honolulu Marathon and is always looking for the next challenge.

We believe that any camp is only as good as its people. We select only the finest counselors to guide and care for our campers. Our overall staff-to-camper ratio of 1 to 3 ensures that campers receive the individual attention they deserve. The average age of our counseling staff is 21 years old. We hire young teachers and mature college and graduate students, many of whom are education or recreation majors, from around the world. We have 3 to 4 counselors living with campers in each cabin.

Each year we receive over 1800 applications and select fewer than 10% of the applicants to serve on our staff. Each counslor is dedicated to making our campers’ experience enjoyable and memorable. Campers establish enduring friendships with their counselors that last a lifetime.