2023 Nor’wester Board and Year-Round Team Members at the fall retreat in October.
Camp Nor’wester Board Culture Statement
1. We embrace our mission. The mission first and foremost guides our leadership, decision making, and actions.
2. We value our traditions past, present, and future. As we honor our history and culture. We respect and learn from the traditions of other cultures as well.
3. We respect the environment. We love the land and strive to leave our camp site better than how we found it.
4. We create community. We build, grow, and maintain honest and genuine relationships which are foundational to a sense of belonging. The creation of community requires trust, vulnerability, and forgiveness, and with these tenets in place individuals can flourish.
5. We practice inclusivity. We accept people for who and what they are. Every person has a right to respect and dignity. Racism, bigotry, and prejudice have no place at Nor’wester. We embrace our diverse cultures, experiences, and backgrounds.
6. We support the Camp community with our hearts, our time, and our resources. As members of the Board we value accountability and transparency in our commitment to the organization. We each have a responsibility to participate in the community and to contribute our energy, thoughts, opinions, and spirits.
7. We strive for an attitude of wonder, curiosity, and inquiry. We listen to understand, not just to react. We seek new ideas and ask questions in the spirit of experiential learning and growth. We assume best intentions in our interactions. We strive to remain both humble and grateful in all we do.
8. We are pursuing a journey, not a destination. We appreciate both process and progress. We enjoy the adventure and celebrate it together with dance and song.
Meet the Board
Mollie Montgomery – 2024 President
Mollie (she/her) received a BFA in Jewelry Metals from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston/Tufts University in 1995. She went on to receive a MFA in Metals from the University of Washington. Mollie has taught visual art at The Overlake School in Redmond since 2005. She also teaches jewelry at North Seattle College. Mollie has sold her jewelry to galleries across the country and continues to make custom art jewelry and sculpture in her studio in Seattle, most recently finishing the Copper Madrona Donor Tree for Camp. Mollie was a first session camper in 1979, and 1982 on Sperry. She started working at camp in 1987 on the waterfront where she worked for 5 years, and one year as a unit staff. When camp moved to Johns Island, Mollie came back in 2000 to help lead a Sailing Big Trip. In 2001 Mollie was the Assistant Program Director and Program Director from 2002 – 2011, and program supervisor in 2012 during the directors’ transition. Mollie has been an Advisory Board Member since 2001 and a Board Member since 2014. “One of my proudest moments is seeing campers become staff and carry on the program and traditions I helped rebuild on Johns Island.” Mollie lives in Seattle and grew up on the water and in a family of sailors. When not on the water she enjoys hiking, visiting museums, creating in her studio, and spending time with family and friends. She currently participates on the Connections, C5, Development, Finance, Site, and Financial Aid committees.
Roger Alfred – 2024 Vice President
Roger Alfred (he/him) is an attorney in Portland who has worked exclusively in Oregon land use law for over 20 years. After several years working for the State of Oregon and representing state land use agencies with the Oregon Department of Justice, Roger spent 11 years in private practice at Perkins Coie before becoming the land use attorney for Metro in 2012. Roger spent three summers working at Nor’wester as a boys’ unit counselor (1988-1990) before moving to Portland to attend law school at Lewis and Clark in 1990. He became a member of the Camp’s Advisory Board in 1996 to assist with relocation efforts, and joined the Board of Directors in 2017. He enjoys spending time outdoors camping, hiking, mountain biking, and skiing with his son Cameron, who was an Explorer in 2019! Roger participates on Camp’s Governance committee.
John D. Bunzel – 2024 Treasurer
A graduate of the Juilliard School, John (he/him) spent over 20 years working in the entertainment industry as a writer/producer and production executive, overseeing the production, sale and delivery of numerous multi-million dollar films around the world. A Certified Financial Planner Practitioner, he was a wealth advisor at Merrill Lynch before moving to Morgan Stanley in 2009 and later was a co-founder of The 310 Group, a team based in Beverly Hills, California.
John is also passionate about philanthropic causes and non-profit board service. In addition to Camp Nor’wester, he is also a board member of TreePeople, an environmental organization and land trust, Shakespeare Center Los Angeles, which provides urban theater and education, and serves as a Trustee for The Franklin Cole Foundation. Past board service includes: board member (and past chair) at New Horizons, an organization that serves individuals with special needs; Trustee at The Wesley School, an independent K-8 school located in North Hollywood, CA; board member at The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, and former board chair for The C5 Youth Foundation of Southern California (formerly the Camp Coca-Cola Foundation of L.A.) He is also an accomplished playwright. John and his wife, Florie, are the proud parents of two children, Jordan and Maggie, and reside in Sherman Oaks, CA. He was a camper at Nor’wester from 1969 to 1975 and was a staff member for five years. He currently chairs the finance committee.
Peter Green
Peter (he/him) has been teaching outdoor skills and leadership to teenagers for more than 40 years. His experience includes four years as Program Director at Nor’wester and six years as a counselor there. Peter was the Coordinator of the NW Regional Outdoor School Program in 2004 and 2005. Peter served as Director of Outdoor Education at Catlin Gabel School for 11 years, helping to grow the outdoor program significantly. Peter is currently Executive Director of Post 58, one of the most active youth outdoor and climbing organizations in the country. Peter worked as the Oregon Governor’s Natural Resources Director from 1993-2003, and served as Executive Director of the Kitzhaber Center at Lewis & Clark Law School in 2004. He also served as chairman of the Oregon State Outdoor Youth Program Advisory Committee for eight years. In addition, he guided climbing and hiking trips for Oregon Peak Adventures. Peter and his wife Mary live in Portland where they spend their free time exploring the wilderness areas of the Northwest and traveling where they can. Peter serves as co-chair of the SARM Committee, and also serves on the Site Committee.
Elizabeth Bayley
Elizabeth (she/her) is a cardiology nurse practitioner with the Adult Congenital Heart Disease clinic at UW Medicine. She first became involved as an Advisory Committee member when the Nor’wester Board was created in the Fall of 1996, and became a board member in Fall of 2015. Elizabeth was a camper at Nor’wester in the 1980s (3-year Weaver!), staff in the 1990s as well as the first two years on Johns Island. With eleven years having worked in family practice, she’s also moonlighted a few times as Camp Nurse in the Health Center (so fun!). Elizabeth met her future spouse (John Marshall) when she drew his name for the Potlatch gift exchange in 1992, when they were both staff members. Their son Christopher attended Nor’wester as a camper and hopes to work as staff someday. Their daughter Scout is a current camper. One thing she loves about Camp is the music program (long-term goal: learn to play guitar well enough to play some camp songs!). Elizabeth currently serves on C5, Finance, and Governance committees, as well as the liaison to the Advisory Committee.
Jaina Bee
Jaina Bee (they/them) learned many important life practices and values from their many years as a camper and staff at Nor’wester— from knowing how to sort a bag of refuse at Recycle Central to being guided blindfolded by a camp-mate in a trust walk to respectfully witnessing and enthusiastically appreciating the countless unique personal expressions and varied traditions in our international, intersectional, and intergenerational Nor’wester community. Jaina Bee is the current Chair of the C5 Committee; Creating Cultural Competency in our Camp Community. They recently moved back to the PNW with the hopes of more in-person time with camp folx. Their favorite camp song is “The Vagabond Song.”
Janet Charnley
Janet Charnley’s (she/her) family has a long history at Camp Nor’wester. Her father, Donn Charnley, began as a camper at the Henderson’s Camp in the late 1930s and participated in the Henderson Ski Camp. Her parents worked at camp during the transition years between the Henderson and Nor’wester Camps. Janet was a camper in 1967, the Henderson Camp’s last year, and Nor’wester between 1968-1975. She worked on staff from 1977 to 1985 as Kitchen Staff, Unit Leader, Head Counselor (the first in this position), and Program Director. Janet’s son Colin Walker was part of the first campers on Johns Island, continued through all the units, and was on staff for five years. Janet’s husband, Pat Walker, is an active volunteer at camp. Janet served on the first Advisory Board in 1996, was a member of the Advisory Committee from 2000-2007, and has been on the Board of Directors since 2008 serving as Board President and currently serving as Chair of the Development and Alumni Relations Committee and as a member of the Finance, C5, and NCA committees. Janet retired in 2023 from The Evergreen School. Janet enjoys summers in the San Juan Islands and is an avid hiker, birdwatcher, gardener, photographer, and soccer player and coach. Camp has shaped Janet’s choice of careers and love of the outdoors.
Hillary Day
Pete Flynn
Pete (he/him) has been a middle school teacher for independent schools in Seattle and Portland since 1999, first at Explorer West Middle School in West Seattle, then at Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, and at Oregon Episcopal School since 2016 where he teaches seventh grade English. He graduated from Yale University with a degree in English, and before becoming a teacher, he lived in New York City and worked in both finance and electronic media. Pete grew up in Seattle and spent a lot of time boating, hiking, and playing basketball. He was a camper at Camp Nor’wester for five summers (1983-1987), and spent eleven summers as staff (1990, 1993-1993, 2000-2007) including seven summers on Johns Island serving as Waterfront Director. Pete, his wife, Jen, and son, Ronan (current camper), now live in Portland. He served as Board President from 2019-2021 and currently serves on the Executive Committee as well as Governance, Finance, and C5.
Libby Hulsey
Libby Hulsey (she/her) lives in Hillsborough, CA, with her husband Zach and two children, George (Nor’wester camper for 7 years and staffer in 2016) and Peyton (Nor’wester camper for 7 years and staffer in 2019). She volunteers with several community groups, among them the Cantor Museum for Visual Arts (Director’s Advisory Board) and Stanford Medicine’s Community Council. Libby attended Nor’wester as a camper from 1969 -1977 and was a staffer in 1984. Libby participates on Camp’s Development and Finance committees.
Jonathan Lee
Jonathan Lee (he/him) is a physician practicing Otorhinolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery (Ear, Nose, and Throat) in Ashland, Oregon. He is a board member and partner in a private practice group, and has also served as Chief of Surgery and on the Medical Executive Committee of the Rogue Regional Medical Center, a level 2 regional trauma hospital in Medford, Oregon. Jonathan was a camper and staff at Nor’wester in the 1980s/1990s, where he was known as “Skip.” He met his wife, Denison, square dancing at Nor’wester in 1989. They have two kids currently attending Nor’wester. Whenever possible, the Lees like to telemark ski, whitewater raft, hike, and play music – especially camp songs. Jonathan participates on Camp’s Site, SARM, and Finance committees.
Carter Maser
Carter Maser (he/him) is a management consultant who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional focus includes crisis management, business turnaround, financial restructuring, transaction advisory, and financial-based consulting for management, creditors, investors, and attorneys. Carter was a camper from the Explorer through Mountaineer years and subsequently worked as Waterfront Staff in the 1980’s. He began volunteering in 2000 when the new lodge was built on Johns Island, became an advisor to the Board in 2015, and joined the Board in 2017. He is an active sailor, a skill and passion he acquired while a camper at Nor’wester, as well an outdoor enthusiast and strong supporter of the value that a natural setting and outdoor-oriented living brings to youth programs. Carter participates on Camp’s Finance Committee.
Jenny McColloch
Jenny McColloch (she/her) is based in Rhode Island leading Sustainability & ESG strategy at CVS Health, where her team focuses on the inextricable links between human health and our planet’s health. She previously served as global Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer for McDonald’s Corporation, a Midwest chapter when she spent much of her free time racing sailboats on Lake Michigan. Prior to her corporate career, Jenny led the education program at Salish Sea Expeditions, an inquiry-based science and sailing organization in Washington. Whatever body of water she’s living near or sailing along, her passion for being outdoors combined with professional work to support people + planet all stem from her years at Nor’wester. A camper on Sperry (1991-1996); a daughter, sister and cousin of campers; and 5-yr staff during the early years on Johns Island, Jenny is thrilled to be back in the Nor’wester community as a member of the Board as of 2023, and participating as a member of the Finance and Site Committees
Mike Poutiatine
Mike (he/him)is a university professor and educational consultant in Spokane. Mike is a founding Board member of the Nor’wester Board and has served since the Board’s inception. He also served as the Board Secretary. He was a Nor’wester camper in the 1970’s and staff in the 1980’s. Like so many others, Mike met his spouse at Nor’wester (Sally Stanton), and his daughter (Hailey) attended seven consecutive summers at Nor’wester. He calls his family “lifers.” Mike currently participates on the the Site Committee, and he serves as the Chair of the Board Governance Committee.
Cygnia Rapp
Cygnia Rapp (she/her) is the Founder of Melt Organic, a food company specializing in plant-based butter and cheese, whose plant-based butter was born from a personal need. As an entrepreneur, Cygnia led efforts in all aspects of business startup, a grueling growth experience that changed her life forever. Cygnia is no longer active in day to day operations, but continues to be an active Board Member. Cygnia is also a Geomorphologist (river scientist) of 20 years and lead author of state guidelines for assessing channel migration and delineating the channel migration zone. Cygnia specializes in the evaluation of geomorphic processes as they relate to flooding, channel migration, and the creation and restoration of aquatic habitats. Cygnia came to Camp in the early 1990’s as stable staff, and has been thankful to be a part of this amazing community ever since. Her favorite camp song is Piney Wood Hills. Cygnia lives in Bellingham and enjoys skate skiing, mountain biking, and elk hunting. Cygnia currently participates on the Site and C5 Committees.
James Reinhardt
James Reinhardt (he/him) was first a camper – at 14 he was introduced to Nor’wester and has never recovered. Returning as a Mountaineer in 1996, the magic of camp was real, and James, was hooked. In 2001, it was times to jump back in – James was an Islander counselor, again in ‘02, and ‘03 Mountaineer counselor (best job in the world). He then ran various bike trips for several seasons. James is owner of Pacific Architectural Metals with his wonderful wife Betsy, and they have a tiny gremlin named Lucian. James serves on the Site and SARM Committees.