There are a few people who really keep us afloat year round. Meet the brave souls behind the scenes of the Wayfinder Experience.

Corinne McDonald Executive Director of Operations

Corinne grew up a in military family and lived in a number of wonderful places as a child, before settling in Virginia Beach. It was while attending the Virginia Beach Friends School that she first encountered Wayfinder [then known as Adventure Game Theater] and discovered her passion for building strong, supportive communities while running around in fairy wings. Fifteen years later, she is still passionate about this work, and considers the friends she made at camp part of her family. (They even have a 45-person 2nd Thanksgiving every year!) Over the last twelve years, Corinne has worked every staff position at camp, directed over-night and day camps, and served on the Hiring Board. Before taking over full-time management of Wayfinder, she taught art, worked in bakeries and bookshops, studied massage therapy, managed a juice bar and a cupcake shop. She loves cooking, reading, and her mother.

Trine Boode-Petersen Executive Director of Communications

Trine is a graduate of the New School: Eugene Lang College where she received her BA in The Arts:Theater. She has been teaching a variety of theater and movement classes for ages 4-18 for the past eight years, during which time she was a summer staff for The Wayfinder Experience (WFE). Before working full time for WFE she lived in New York City where she taught after school enrichment and pursued an acting/directing career. Trine is also a founding member of the Vertigo Theater Company and an associate artist with Serious Play! Theater ensemble. Her passion for education through the arts goes back over ten years when she herself was a Wayfinder camper and lived on a small farm in Massachusetts. One thing to know about Trine is that she’s always ready for an adventure!

Janet Packard Executive Administrative Director

Janet was originally drawn to the Wayfinder Experience as the mother of our very own Jud Packard. As a parent she drove long hours, endured confusing LARP stories, and delighted in seeing the growth that Jud went through at camp. We were very pleased to welcome her back for her second stint running the administrative side of things in the Fall of 2017, this time as our Executive Administrative Director.

Chester Elliott Graphic Designer

 

Chet graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a BA for graphic design in 2011 and has been freelancing ever since. He is a Hudson Valley native and a longtime staff member for Wayfinder. In the summer you can find him directing or teaching at our camps. Outside of Wayfinder, Chet works at the Hudson Valley Sudbury School facilitating the students’ educations and working as technical clerk.

 

Michael Phillips Off Season Event Director

Michael Phillips graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a BA in digital media production with a focus in film. When he’s not on set, he is our off season director for Frontier Adventures and Living Legends Events. He is also a prolific Adventure Game writer and member of our Story Board.

 

Jusdon Packard Summer 2018 Director

Judson Easton Packard graduated from Kansas State with a Bachelor’s degree in English. He has been involved with the Wayfinder Experience since 2003 when he first came as a camper. He has been on the Rules and Regulations board since 2013. Before that he served the community by serving on the Hiring Board, and working every event he was given the opportunity to. He believes in hill trolls and LARPs because the costumes bring out his eyes. Check out the blog here

Jay Dragon Blog Writer

Jay Dragon has been attending the Wayfinder Experience since 2009, and has been writing Adventure Games for most of that time. They have run more than 20 adventure games, and help run Wayfinder Frontiers, a program at the Wayfinder Experience. They currently attend Bennington College, where they study art history, aesthetics, and curatorial studies. For more information check out their Patreon.

Howard Moody Mentor and Co-Founder of the Adventure Game

Howard Moody has been offering his playshops for over 30 years and specializes in designing team building, stress reduction, and wellness presentations for many organizations. He has trained with the New Games Foundation, Project Adventure and the Professional Play Leaders Association. He also studied Original Play with Fred Donaldson founder of the international playmate project. Howard has been a faculty member at the Omega Institute for Holistic studies for over 20 years and is also the co-founder of The Adventure Game Theatre; an extraordinary interactive learning process (featured on PBS and NPR). Howard, along with Brian Allison, co-founded the Adventure Game Theatre (AGT) in 1985. Through the process of developing AGT, Howard and Brian created a unique form of play and personal growth for teens and adults. Combining experiential learning with creativity, improvisational theater, play, community building, mythology and storytelling they have brought magic into many young people’s lives. Howard has also taken this work and adapted it with Wayfinder and Valarie Paradiz to work with Students on the Autism spectrum particularly students with Aspergers syndrome. Play in its many forms is Howard’s passion and his mission is to share the value and gifts that play has to offer to everyone.