Board Members

Board of Directors:

Frank Bell, Chair, Tuxedo, NC
Graduate of Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT), RF-4 pilot for the Marine Corps, director of Mondamin 1973 through 2013, three children. Favorite pursuits: paddling rivers, backpacking, sailing, biking, flying. Retired, enjoying grand kids (six… and counting?), still doing some storytelling and trip leading in the summers. Lover of remote places, whether they be rivers, mountaintops, canyons, lakes, etc… and sharing adventures with whomever will go along.

Svend Deal, Charlotte, NC
Svend is a North Carolina native who grew up backpacking, camping and canoeing as a Boy Scout all over the Southeast. After a thoroughly entertaining amateur rugby career in and after college, Svend turned his attention back to the hills and mountains of home, this time on a mountain bike. Soon thereafter he joined the mountain bike staff at Mondamin, and eventually headed up the program for six years. At Mondamin, Svend re-discovered the rivers of his home state and beyond, and started kayaking. Now a lawyer, he spends his time at work in Charlotte, or at play in the Saluda area, where he has a cabin and an inordinate number of kayaks that were bested by the Green River Narrows.

Kim Jordan, Tuxedo, NC
Kim has served as the secretary/treasurer for the Frank and Calla Bell Scholarship Foundation since 2003 and has been the year-round office manager/secretary/registrar at Camp Mondamin for 19 years; she worked at both Mondamin and Green Cove as a teenager and young adult. Her parents and all four of her brothers have been employed at Mondamin at one time or another. Kim is currently working on a BA in Psychology and Human Services and is very involved in a number of ministries at her local church. She enjoys spending time with her camp family and living on the property of Green Cove where she and her dog Macon can explore the “Back 40”.

Rick Deluga, Hendersonville, NC
Works as an assistant with autistic children at Hendersonville High School. Rick has been on the mountaineering staff since 2004, and currently heads that program. He is currently working on a Masters in Social Work from the University of Louisville's Kent School of Social Work. Rick holds a BA degree in Sociology from Ashford University and an AA degree in Adventure Sports Management with an emphasis on Outdoor Education from Garrett College. He's a NOLS graduate. What little free time remains is spent running in the woods with his dog Annie, cooking for friends, reading, and practicing tai chi.

William Felder, Dallas, TX and Tuxedo, NC
After a career in the Financial Services Industry Bill and his wife Katharine reside in Tuxedo NC during the summer where Bill teaches sailing at Camp Mondamin. During the winter, Bill volunteers his time supporting his alma mater, Westminster College as a member of its Board of Directors and is a Trustee of the Episcopal School of Dallas Permanent Endowment Trust and the St Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church Foundation.

Rob Giersch, Atlanta, GA
Camper and counselor at Mondamin in the 80’s, Rob now resides with his wife and two sons in Atlanta. He has spent the last 24 years working for The Coca-Cola Company supporting and developing innovations across their global markets. Rob has a B.S. in mechanical engineering and attended the Goizueta Business School at Emory. He attributes much of his success and thirst for adventure to his time at camp, and tries to share those experiences and love for the outdoors with family and friends. Supporting the Bell Scholarship is a unique opportunity to more proactively give others that “camp experience”. Rob still tries to spend as much time as possible in the mountains or on rivers, friends and family in tow, trusty camera by his side.

Barbara Little Weaver, New Orleans, LA
Currently a third grade teacher at St.Martin's Episcopal School in New Orleans, Louisiana. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1976. Barbara worked for 32 years in the brokerage industry for Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. and later Citigroup Smith Barney. She was Chief Compliance Officer and served as an industry arbitrator, compliance consultant and was a member and past Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Securities Dealers Adjudicatory Council. After retiring from Citigroup in 2009, Barbara decided to pursue a second career in teaching. Her connections to Green Cove date back to her days as a camper and later a counselor in the 60s and 70s. Since 2010, Barbara has been lucky to keep her camp connection alive by returning each summer as Program Director for June Camp. Beginning in 2014, "Little" has added Program Director of Main Camp to her list of camp-related duties.

Frances Clayton, New York City
Green Cove camper and counselor for 12 years, graduate of the University of Virginia. Following UVA, Frances returned to Green Cove as the Assistant Director for three years. She was the third generation in her family to spend the summers in Tuxedo. She moved to NYC, received a Masters in Social Work from New York University and completed coursework for a Master’s in Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College. Since then she has worked at Andrus Children’s Center in Yonkers, NY, first as a clinician, then as the Director of Residential Services and now as the Director of the Andrus Early Learning Center. Though she is not sure about trading the dirt roads for subways, she is still able to enjoy hiking on nice weekends and finding the magic of the natural world on every city block.

Tina Clark, Asheville, NC
Tina was a camper and counselor for 10 years beginning in 1983. She has been married for 20 years to her husband Gren (a former Mondamin mountaineering counselor) with whom she has 2 children (Sydney - 15 and Dylan - 10). Sydney has been an enthusiastic Green Cove camper for 6 summers. Tina has a BA in Psychology from Hollins College and a MSEd in Counseling from Old Dominion University. She and Gren moved back to “the place that always felt like home” in 2006. She served as a volunteer crisis counselor and support group facilitator at Helpmate (a local domestic violence agency) for several years before opening her private counseling practice in 2011. As a former recipient of financial assistance from the Bell family as a camper, Tina feels fortunate to be able to now assist the Bell family in building the fund and positive opportunities for a multitude of future campers.

Shelton Steele, Asheville, NC
North Carolina native and second generation camp alum, Shelton was a camper/counselor at Mondamin for over 10 years. Tethered to Western North Carolina by his love for the rivers & mountains, Shelton lives in Asheville with his wife, daughter Molly, and son Simon. He currently works for the Catawba Brewing Company as the Director of Retail Operations. Good friendships are founded on shared experiences, and Shelton's network of camp friends continue to be a source of adventure and good times. His goal is to get them all back to Alumni Camp on Labor Day weekend, where they can all raise the next generation of campers.

Anne "Dallas" Wynne, Austin, TX
Anne was known as “Dallas” during her 11 years as a Green Cove camper and counselor.That’s what happens when there are four Anne’s in Junior 2 and Timmie Miller re-names you. Anne is a lawyer in Austin,TX where she lives with her husband and 3 kids.She worked for Ann Richards when she was Governor and has served on many non-profit boards. She founded Atticus Circle, a non-profit for straight allies standing up for LGBT rights. She wishes her children had found the Green Cove/Mondamin magic but that was not to be. Grandchildren will be her next target.

Lee Knight Caffery, Charlotte, NC
Lee Knight was a second generation Green Cove camper in the 80s and then a counselor for six summers. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and Vermont Law School, Lee Knight lives in Charlotte with her wife and two children, Miller and Margot. She is General Counsel for Wildlands Engineering, Inc. and an adjunct professor at both Charlotte School of Law and Queens University. As often as possible, Lee Knight and her family travel to the western NC mountains, spending long weekends hiking in the woods and playing in mountain rivers and streams. She aspires to return to Green Cove as a staff member in the future once she can figure out how to become independently wealthy so she can resign from her full time job, leaving her summers free for cookouts on Otie's Knob, square dances and Tajar Tales.

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Our thanks to our retiring Board Members...

Caroline Long, Former Chair, Hendersonville, NC
Caroline was a Green Cove camper and counselor for over 13 summers and has never left our mountain area. She founded and is the Executive Director of St. Gerard House, a school and resource center for families facing autism. She has a BA in Fine Arts from the College of Charleston and a MA in Media Arts from USC. She had a business for several years making promotional videos for area summer camps and adventure businesses until her second child was born. Her daughter now attends Green Cove and Caroline still enjoys using her skills from camp paddling rivers and hiking trails in WNC.

Day Shelmire, Dallas, TX
Director of business development for an investment banking firm in Dallas. He spent six summers as a camper and three as a counselor at Mondamin, including one "encore" summer just a few years ago. Day earned a BA in history from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. He and his wife, Mary, have three boys who attend Camp Mondamin where they spend their summers, mostly whitewater kayaking. Day's mother, Suzette, was a camper the very first year Green Cove opened.

Gordon Grant, Asheville, NC
Camper and counselor at Mondamin ’69 through ‘75. Head of instruction at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Paddled on the US Team with John Burton in Whitewater C-2 in 1977-79. Studied life and nature at Mondamin, the Nantahala Outdoor Center, and NC Outward Bound. Public education from 1992 to the present. Doctorate in English and Education from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee. Author: Trailside Guide to Canoeing, other published articles in Canoe, Paddler and Outside magazines. Currently Principal of Hall Fletcher Elementary School in Asheville, NC, a public school where I am trying to fuse all I have learned about education from all my teachers in all settings into a high poverty public school that has the potential to change lives for the better, and, yes, my students DO go out on the nearby French Broad. Like Chaucer's pilgrim: glad will I learn, and gladly will I teach.

Kathryn Deas Overstreet, Hendersonville, NC
BS in Psychology from Louisiana State University in 1975 after two years at Hollins College in Virginia. Currently a Realtor in Hendersonville, NC with 20 yrs experience, she has also been an English teacher and has extensive retail experience. Kathryn spent 8 summers at Green Cove from 1965 - 1972 as a camper and Counselor, working both the Paddling and Climbing staffs. She and her husband, Garland, have three children and one grandchild. Her daughter and daughter-in-law are both Green Cove alums also.

And a sad farewell...

Frances Holcombe, Tuxedo, NC
Frances was a very active member of the board until very recently, when she unexpectedly passed away from complications following surgery. Retired from Norfolk Academy, Norfolk, VA, after 20 years as Director of Admissions, she lived year-round at Lake Summit. Her grandparents bought two cabins on the lake in the late 20's, and her parents built a home in 1940; she was 3rd generation. Her mother knew Chief well and dated some of his counselors in the late 20's. Her children, Jamie and Katherine Saul, spent many happy summers as campers and counselors at Mondamin & Green Cove.