GAP PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Tori is passionate about facilitating transformative nature-based experiences with young adults. She came to Glen Brook with almost a decade of experience in outdoor education, most recently coming from Farm & Wilderness Camps as the director of Red Spruce Grove, a summer wilderness program for female and non-binary youth. Tori is a transplant to New England from the DC area, but after spending several years in the West and the South, there’s no place she’d rather be other than the Northern Hardwood Forest! Tori is a graduate of Weaving Earth, a two-year nature connection mentoring program, and studied Place-Based Education at the University of Vermont. She is committed to bringing a lens of equity and justice to her work as Gap’s Program Director.

Tori is a certified Wilderness First Responder and an experienced wilderness trip leader. She loves creating caring communities full of play, music, good food, deep thinking, and shared work, where people of all identities and abilities can experience a sense of deep connection to the natural world.

GAP PROGRAM INSTRUCTOR

Emma comes to Glen Brook thrilled to reconnect with her roots of farm-based education and community building. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Emma got her start working with youth at a farm camp in the beautiful Sonoma redwoods, where she learned the power of connecting with land, animals, and the people around her through shared responsibility and relating to the natural world. While there, she led the teen program and taught outdoor skills as well as dairy goat and horse care to campers ages 8-16. She then pursued a master’s degree in teaching at the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute. While working as a teacher, Emma became passionate about the beauty of human neurodiversity and the hard work that goes into building intentional classroom community. After two and a half rewarding years working with kids in traditional classroom settings, Emma was called to return to the woods, and the magic and meaning of experiential education. Emma is honored to serve as an instructor in the gap program, bringing her passion for social emotional learning and the importance of joy, human connection, and relationship to the land. She is incredibly excited to learn and grow right alongside the gappers this fall.

Emma is a certified Red Cross Lifeguard, and will complete a Wilderness First Aid certification this summer.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Forestry / Mindfulness / Philosophy

Mark grew up in Buffalo New York, where he spent summers on camping trips and at his childhood camp as a camper, CIT, nature teacher, and horseback riding instructor. He graduated from Bates College with a philosophy degree with a focus on ethics and morality, which speaks to the very heart of what we do here. Mark is always engaging people in conversations about applied philosophy regarding Glen Brook’s mission and ways to make the world a better place. Mark loves to explore the outdoors, and is passionate about the Glen Brook land. You’ll often find him exploring the forest excitedly with members of visiting groups or with his three children, or going on long bike rides.

FARM MANAGER

Sustainable Agriculture / Animal Care / Permaculture

Samuel was born and raised in Worcester, MA. After graduating high school he thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, igniting a lifelong passion for nature and the outdoors. Samuel attended Anna Maria college and obtained a license to teach English. Over the following years Samuel would spend most summers hiking, completing treks such as the Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, and many more, returning home as winter approached to teach for Worcester Public Schools. Eventually Samuel transitioned from his position as a teacher to managing a regenerative, no-till farm in Hopkinton, MA where he had been living and working part-time. It is Samuel’s profound love for both the natural world and education that bring him to Glen Brook as the Farm Manager.

FACILITIES MANAGER

Woodworking / Carpentry / Stewardship

Grant’s history with Glen Brook started with his first summer as a camper. After attaining a BA in Geography from the University of New Hampshire, Grant delved into theatrical construction in several union scene shops. He then completed a Masters in Education from Sunbridge College before taking a first-grade class through fourth grade at the Waldorf School of Philadelphia. From there he and his wife Jennifer moved to Glen Brook where they raised their two children. Grant loves driving in each day to work with colleagues he has known for years, and buildings he has known for decades. Grant feels that the best ways we take care of the camp are not dissimilar to how we should treat and care for one another as we seek to preserve and give new life to all places of self-discovery.

CULINARY DIRECTOR

Culinary Skills / Food Preservation / Butchery

Robyn was born and raised in Texas, and moved to New Hampshire with his family at the end of 2017. He and his wife Jessie have five children, and they have been in the Waldorf community since 2007. Robyn has been in the culinary world for 25 years as a certified chef and nutritionist. He always looks forward to helping Gappers learn how to create fresh meals from farm to table.

OFFICE MANAGER

Ropes Course / Fiber Arts / Blacksmithing

Ellen spent the summers of her childhood roaming her secret forest kingdom in southern Pennsylvania, and was drawn to working in outdoor education as a way to share the adventure, creativity and comfort that she found exploring the woods as a child. Ellen first came to Glen Brook as a Land Steward in 2012, and since then she has served in many capacities, Cabin Counselor, Ropes Director and Miscellaneous Doer of Jobs . She is excited to be behind the scenes in her current role as Office Manager to support all the magic and excitement of both Gap and summer camp through spreadsheets, emails, and data entry.