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About Northwaters and Langskib Summer Camps

Leadership Team

Our organization is managed by a team of directors:

C.G. Stephens, Administrator/Director

Jodi Browning, Administrator/Director

Michael Jarvis, Program Director

Christine McKenna, Program Director

Cena Shaw, Program Administrator

Jen Zahorchak, Program Administrator

To learn more about their shared commitments as directors and the paths that brought them to Langskib and Northwaters, please visit the Program Directors page.

Trip Staff

These are the people who make our canoe trips extraordinary. Occasionally we hire a professional from outside our community but the vast majority of our trip leaders start out as participants. After working their way up through the ranks, earning a spot on a James Bay Trip and then completing our Leadership Program, they begin a multi-year apprenticeship to become a Northwaters/Langskib leader. All in all, it takes from 5 to 8 years for a young person to become a trip leader.

Leaders are chosen because they have earned our respect and trust, because they have demonstrated a strong ability to relate to young people and because they share our commitment to providing outstanding wilderness experiences for young people coming of age.

Once they sign on, our camp leaders tend to stay—many for 10 or more years. Low turnover insures consistent program quality and the capacity to train new leaders. During the off season, we encourage our staff to pursue endeavors which stretch them as individuals and develop them as leaders. This makes for a diverse group of adventuresome staff with an ability to relate to young people from all walks of life.

*Not all Staff Listed*

  

Maggie Ballantyne, Trip Leader

"I first attended Northwaters at age 14. Since then, I returned every summer and have been guiding for the organization since 1998. My Leadership trip took place on the North Knife River in northern Manitoba. This experience was unforgettable and one that set the framework for my future in Outdoor Education. Recently, I completed my Masters of Environmental Education in Australia and I am currently teaching in Ontario. My most recent work with Northwaters was developing an adult Sea Kayaking program which I have been managing since 2003. In the off-season you can find me volunteering for WWF, snowboarding, skiing or travelling. I am passionate about providing youth with opportunities to connect with nature and increasing their environmental awareness and self-esteem. "

Matt Barber, Trip Leader

 "I first came to Langskib when I was 13. I went on the Temagami Tour, turned a fully white t-shirt gray, and still wear that same shirt on trail. I returned the next three summers to run the Sturgeon, Harricanna and Hayes Rivers. As I've grown older, I continue to learn from the land and the NW/L community. In May 2009 I graduated from Yale University with a BS in Physics, and am now starting work as a management consultant."

Laura Berger, Trip Leader

 "When I first stepped onto the docks at Northwaters, I was a skinny, klutzy fourteen-year-old girl who harbored a deep and abiding fear of leeches. That summer, I found myself swimming in waterfalls, hiking into old growth forests, and baking blueberry muffins on a portable Coleman stove. Late at night, we would lie back in our tent and sing Joni Mitchell songs until we fell asleep. Every year since then, I’ve returned to paddle more lakes and rivers, to bake more muffins, and to sing many more songs at all hours of the day and night. For the past three years as a leader, I’ve seen how life on trail can bring out the best in all kinds of young people. I’ve learnt that it’s a life of laughter, challenge, and freedom. And I’ve come to believe that spending time in the outdoors—catching a fish, swimming in an icy-cold lake, climbing a tree, sleeping on the ground—is every child’s birthright. When it gets too cold to paddle, I take up my alternate existence as a student of literature and philosophy at the University of Toronto, where I get to indulge my love of Belgian waffles, the Sunday newspapers, 19th-century novels, and Canadian politics. I am no longer afraid of leeches."

James Bertoia, Trip Leader

 "I first came to Langskib at the age of 13, having spent years in traditional residential camp and spending summers at the cottage. From the moment I stepped out of the float plane I was hooked. Over the years I have traveled the lakes and rivers of Temagami, Quebec and Manitoba, learning the whole way. My leaders passed on the tools that have allowed me to lead a full and rewarding life. They have all helped to shape the person that I am. I have been assisting and leading trips with NWL for 4 years, and it is an honour to have the opportunity to pass on this knowledge and experience to future generations. NWL has provided an incredibly powerful experience that has set the stage for my future career in Outdoor Experiential Education. Through this, I am able to continue and improve the work I do throughout the summer. I am currently in my last year of undergraduate studies in Honours of Outdoor Recreation and Georgraphy, as well as my Bachelor of Education at Lakehead University. In the off-season you can find me working as a ski instructor, running Dog Sleds, and volunteering as an Advanced Medical First Responder and Instructor in the city of Thunder Bay."

Lisa Bjorkman, Trip Leader

 "During my first summer at Northwaters it rained for seventeen of our twenty-four days on the trail. After a few days of pulling on wet jeans and my soggy Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, I began to wonder if canoeing was my thing. Yet I remember one particularly puddly morning quite vividly as a turning point for me: one of my tent-mates, tugging on her own sodden socks in the (relative) dryness of our tent, turned to me with a deadpan expression and proclaimed, "I'll go out there if you'll go out there." A moment passed and we both burst out laughing, struck by the absurdity of our shared predicament as well as relieved by the realization that neither of us would be alone in facing what promised to be a very challenging day. The sound of our laughter, needless to say, overpowered the ominous pitter-pat of the rain outside. In the backcountry, I discovered my ability to laugh - and to seek out the laughter of others - in the face of adversity, a gift that has served me in more ways than I might count. These days I spend a lot of time in Bombay, where I'm researching the politics of municipal water access for my doctoral dissertation. While this has meant that I spend fewer of my summer months canoeing, I still point my compass north whenever I get a chance."

John Booth, Trip Leader

 ”I started out at Northwaters when I was 15, went on to do the Bay Trip and then was hired on as an assistant trip leader in 1997. Since then, I've assisted and/or lead 11 trips with Northwaters and Langskib including a Langskib Bay Trip. I am currently enrolled at Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph and expect to have my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine by spring 2004. In 2002 I participated in "Global Vets" South Africa program working in various South African national parks with wildlife veterinarians doing game capture, relocations and rehabilitation of elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalo etc. I am a member of the Big Brother's program, an avid windsurfer and guitar player.“

John Bowie, Trip Leader

 "I first arrived at Langskib as an unsuspecting cherubic 11 year old with a bowl cut. From that young age, I discovered a love of the wilderness and the lessons my mentors at Langskib taught me were invaluable in my development into an adult. Working as a guide has been a journey in itself, teaching me countless things about leadership, group process, and psychology on the individual, group and organizational levels. I am currently living in Canada, working as a tutor and a sales representative for Northwaters & Langskib Wilderness program. In addition to being a canoe guide, I am an aspiring teacher and science fiction writer. I hope to pursue graduate studies in Applied Cognitive Science and Education with an emphasis on the shifting development of male learning as a result of information age recreation. In essence, this is looking at the changing learning behaviors caused by youth exposure to the Internet, and how we can better teach in these conditions.."

Riley Brown, Trip Leader

 "When it's minus 25 degrees (Celsius) up in Canada and there is snow all around many peoples minds begin to wander. Often times talking to friends and family they dream of sitting on a hot tropical beach with a cool drink in one hand and a warm ocean breeze in the other. I however do not share that sentiment. Often times when the schoolwork begins to weigh heavily, and my days begin to seem more routine, I find my mind wandering to a scene that greatly differs from that tropical paradise. I envision an 80 pound canoe on my shoulders as I trudge through the woods on ground in which a stable surface is a rare commodity (moose muck). Many people would say I'm crazy and perhaps I am, but when I think of these situations certain emotions and feelings are brought back from memory which seem to be few and far between when back in the comforts of home. I started at NWL almost 6 years ago and since then have undergone the greatest physical and emotional journeys I will probably ever be a part of. Every trip I lead I am privileged to see  participants exposed to the trials and raw emotions that help individuals to grow and silence the inner voices of doubt which limits one from reaching their full potential. The beautiful scenery and more importantly the life lessons that are learned for each person has made NWL and the community it fosters a very special place for me. –teeth to the wind."

Swift Corwin, Trip Leader

 "I first came to Langskib when I was 10 years old in 1996. Since then I have been on many incredible adventures with Northwaters/Langskib and on my own. Some of my adventures include the Langskib Bay trip and the Winisk River Leadership Program. My love for adventure and the outdoors have truly found a home in Temagami. I am currently planning a year off from my studies in which I plan to travel and explore the world for the beauty and adventure other countries have to offer. I hope to attend college in the fall of 2006. In the off season I enjoy skiing/snowboarding, ice boating, white water kayaking, and competitive swimming."

Jon Ehrenfeld, Trip Leader

 "I first came to Langskib when I was 9. The camp, the land, and the people made an immediate impression on me - I felt intrinsically that this was the place for me. I returned every year after that, and after completing my Bay trip, I was invited on the first Great Whale trip, an experience that made a huge impact upon me. To this day I frequently think of it, and the effect that it had on me. My time as a guide at NWL has been a hugely positive experience, and I am profoundly thankful to have had the opportunity. In the offseason I enjoy backpacking, hiking, and camping, and am involved in the nonprofit community as I plan to return to school in international relations or environmental policy."
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