Leadership
Jimmy Holmes
Executive Director
Jimmy started his O-AT-KA journey as a junior unit camper in cabin Oxford back in 1994. He then spent every summer at Camp until 2006. Jimmy was also elected King in 2005. After graduating from the University of New England in Biddeford, ME, Jimmy’s professional career has been exclusively focused on youth development. He worked at the Merrimack Valley YMCA from 2009 to 2016 where he held a variety of roles from Youth and Teen Director, Athletic Director, and three summers as the YMCA Camp Lawrence Director. Jimmy then went to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central and Northern New Hampshire where he was a Branch Director and Area Manager overseeing the Clubs in and around Concord, NH.
Jimmy is thrilled to be returning to Camp as the Executive Director, which has been a dream job for him since his summers as a camper. Jimmy and his wife Amanda got married at Camp in 2013 and along with their daughters, Kinsley and Mabel, spend the off season living in Hooksett, NH.
Karina Carlsson
Program Director
Karina joined the camp staff in 2018 as the Summer Office Manager and now serves in the role of Program Director. As a long time supporter of camp through her involvement in work weekends, on the Centennial and Friends Weekend Committees, and as a member of the corporation, Karina looks forward to serving camp in a role that directly impacts the development of boys.
Karina is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Music Education. She teaches beginning instrumental music in the Bonny Eagle School District and is the past president and a member of the Casco Bay Wind Symphony. Karina is also a life member of the Girl Scouts having served as a leader of troops as well as a regional coordinator for events and adult training.
When not at camp or in school, Karina enjoys hiking, gardening, and, in her daughter, Erika’s words, “Learning new things.”
Chris Kohl
Summer Director and Senior Unit Head
Chris Kohl has worked at Camp O-AT-KA since 2001 in various roles including the Athletic Director, Program Director, Senior Unit Head and the Staffing Coordinator. Chris became the Summer Director in 2022. When not at camp Chris is the Chair of the Wellness Department, assistant boys tennis coach, and a title-winning women’s soccer coach at Thornton Academy in Maine. He is an undergraduate of Gettysburg College, and has earned both a Masters and Doctoral degree from Springfield College.
Alyssa Kovach
Assistant Program Director
Alyssa supports Karina in the planning of schedules and activities for all campers and staff.
Sam Kumler
Junior Unit Head Counselor
Sam remembers visiting camp in 2006 for the centennial celebration, but his first summer as a camper was in 2011. He has returned for many more summers and became a counselor, the Athletic Director, and the King in 2023. He is now the Head Counselor for the Junior Unit. Sam graduated from Wesleyan University in 2025 with a bachelor’s in economics and molecular biology & biochemistry, and he is applying to medical school. Sam has also worked on ambulances as an EMT, and he enjoys reading and playing basketball in his spare time.
George Miller
Middle Unit Head Counselor
George started at camp in 2010 as a junior in cabin Lincoln. He eventually became a staff member in 2019, serving as a counselor, Head of Pottery, and Head of the Goff Center, and was eventually elected king in 2022. Joining leadership in 2023 as assistant program director, he now serves as the middle unit head counselor. In 2025, George graduated from Bates College with a degree in History and Medieval Studies and is currently taking a gap year before applying to graduate programs. In his spare time, George enjoys reading and learning languages.
Elijah Read
Senior Unit Head Counselor
Eli has born in Dallas TX and been coming to camp for the past 15 years as third generation camper after his father and grandfather. Through the years he has gone from being a camper in every unit to King in 2024 and currently a Head Counselor. In the off season he studies at Dallas College.
Zach Pedowitz
CIT Director
Zach graduated from the University of Vermont in 2024 where he majored in Political Science and minored in German and Japanese. As an undergrad, he was extensively involved in student leadership through his fraternity Phi Mu Delta, UVM’s Interfraternity Council, and his membership as a Fellow in UVM’s Presidential Leadership Conversations program. After graduating, Zach is pursuing an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Vermont. Zach attended Camp O-AT-KA from 2012-2017 as a camper and returned in 2024 as the CIT Director where he began work revamping the CIT program. His favorite hobbies include going to the gym, being in nature, and reading.
Heather Burkhart
Goff Center Head
Heather is an educator and caregiver with over 14 years experience working with children. Currently the art teacher at Sebago Elementary School, she is known for creating inspiring spaces where kids can express themselves, learn, and grow.
A lifelong lover of the outdoors, Heather spent her own childhood summers here on Sebago Lake at her family’s summer cottage. She has deep roots in camp life and attended Camp Mataponi as a child, where her love for camp traditions and meaningful connections first began.
When she’s not teaching or leading camp activities, Heather enjoys making and tinkering, painting, hiking, kayaking, gardening and fostering rescue dogs. She is thrilled and ready to bring her energy, compassion, and creativity to this role, and can’t wait to make this summer one to remember!
Brendan McCoy
Trip Leader
This is Brendan’s first year with the camp as the trip leader. He is new to Maine but not the outdoors and spends most of his free time canoeing camping and hiking. He also enjoy playing disc golf and Guts frisbee!
Bruce Courtney
Service Master
Bruce spent his first summer at Camp O-AT-KA when he was six months old. Now, after returning almost every summer for over 60 years, he continues his family’s O-AT-KA tradition that started with his dad and mom when they arrived at camp in the mid-1950s. Through the years, Bruce participated in all phases of the camper experience and then assisted his dad in various service roles. Now, as the camp’s Service Master, Bruce keeps busy with planned and unplanned events and projects that keep the camp’s facilities running. If you need to know anything about camp history or the infrastructure, Bruce is the one to go to. His knowledge of camp is endless.
Matt Gosselin
Facilities Manager
Matt is the right-hand man of camp and spends four seasons tending to the maintenance and preservation of the buildings and campus.
Stu Tuthill
Chief Financial Officer/Business Manager
After graduation from Penn State University in 1972, Stu went to work for Johnson & Johnson and spent his entire career in the health care industry. His responsibilities over the 40+ years that followed included virtually all aspects of business operations at both Fortune 100 companies as well as two Boston-area start-ups.
Stu attended Camp O-AT-KA as a camper from 1959 through 1965. He and his wife Anne live in Newbury, MA, and he became involved with O-AT-KA once again when his son, Bailey, began his camp career in 1996. Stu became a member of the Corporation in the late 1990s and subsequently served on the Board of Directors.
Roy Heller
Chaplain
Roy Heller has been at Camp O-AT-KA since 2007. He is the Chaplain in charge of Sunday services in our camp chapel. Roy is a great resource for all of our staff with interpersonal relationships. Roy is also the guidance and organization of the Order of Sir Galahad. The Heller family has been greatly involved at Camp. Roy’s wife, Amy, has worked at camp alongside Roy and with their son, Noah, who is a cabin counselor. Their daughter Annie has also grown up here at O-AT-KA. Roy and his family live in Dallas, Texas where Roy is on the faculty of Southern Methodist University and teaches the Old Testament.
