Our Leadership Team
Alison
Kessel
Alison’s passion has always been in camping. Her extensive camp background led her to a Leadership Position at a prominent day camp in New Jersey. Her numerous years as a pioneer in the camping industry has led her to more than she could have imagined, including her husband Adam!
Camping runs through their blood and they are so thrilled to be sharing their passion for working with children, and their passion for summer camp, with their two children (and future Tioga campers!), Atticus and Ainsley.
Alison
Kessel
Jordan
Kessel
Jordan believes in nothing more than the power of summer camp. After more than a decade of Leadership experience at premiere camps in the northeast, Jordan was thrilled to be living his dream as the Owner/Director of Camp Tioga in 2017. Jordan is a leader in the camping community, speaking at conferences across the country and as an active participant in both the Wayne County Camp Alliance, and American Camp Association. Jordan loves spending his summers at camp, building incredible relationships with campers, and helping each of them achieve their individual goals.
Jordan
Kessel
Adam
Kessel
Adam’s passion and enthusiasm for camping is clearly evident to all those that meet him. From the age of 9, Adam built incredible camp friendships and memories, and loves watching Tioga campers share those same experiences each summer.
Adam loves working with our staff to build incredible memories that our campers will always cherish. Our Tioga values run deep with Adam, and he counts down all winter to see our campers at their summer home.
Adam is an active member of the American Camp Association, and with his wife Alison, loves sharing his insight and unique view of camp with camp professionals across the country.
Adam
Kessel
Craig
Dempsey
Craig Dempsey is an incredible childcare professional with over 10 years of overnight camp experience. After more than 7 years at a premiere Wayne County Camp, Craig is thrilled to be part of the Camp Tioga team now and in the future. Craig has a Masters in Education, and has been a school teacher for over 10 years, and uses his experience to help shape each moment at camp into one the Tioga campers will always remember.
Craig
Dempsey
Bart
Sobel
Bart Sobel is a legend in the camping industry. A premiere Camp Owner/Director, Bart joined the Tioga team in 2018 and instantly fell in love with our camp community. Bart brings experience second-to-none in the camping industry, and combines it with an incredible Educator Background: B.A. in Education, M.S. in Psychology, and a Doctorate in Education from Boston University, before becoming one of the leading education professors at the University of North Carolina.
You can find Bart everywhere, from teaching a swim instruction lesson to high-fiving all campers before bed, he loves every moment of the camp experience.
Bart
Sobel
Jaime
Krasner
Jaime has loved camp from the moment she was 8, and has never left! After growing up in overnight camping, Jaime found her home at Tioga in 2018 and has been thrilled to play a bigger role each summer. As part of our spirit team, she always has incredible ideas for great camp programs, and loves helping our younger campers learn how to make friendship bracelets!
Jaime
Krasner
Jared
Young
Jared is at home when he’s at Tioga. With his hands in so many aspects of the camp experience, Chief of Staff is the perfect title for his dedicated personality. JY found his home at Tioga in 2018 after completing his Masters in Engineering, and knowing that camp operations were his true passion. “JY” is our master of ceremonies for Tioga Color War, and helps out with all camp operations throughout the year. Throughout his decade plus experience at camp, his favorite moment is always watching our oldest campers capture the “Hidden Dreamcatcher” during Color War.
Jared
Young
The Kessel Family are the proud Owners and Directors of Camp Tioga. With over 25 years in camping, they are highly invested in each and every Tioga camper. The Kessel family takes pride in developing personal connections with all Tioga campers, watching them grow and helping them make incredible lifelong memories. All Tioga families have the Kessel’s personal cell phone numbers and they are always available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Our staff is the best hand picked staff in camping. Each staff member goes through a strenuous interview process including one-on-one interviews with the Kessel Family. The Camp Tioga Staff is filled with educators, professional coaches, and most importantly, fantastic people. Tioga pays some of the highest salaries in camping and are proud to maintain a counselor retention of over 65% each year.
In the bunk, we boast a 3-1 camper to counselor ratio with a 2-1 ratio in our younger bunks. Our counselors go through an intense 2-week training process before our campers arrive.