Selling Beyond Summer: How Sales Pro Certification Builds a Year-Round Camp Business
2026-03-11 15:15 - 16:15 (America/Los_Angeles)
Stop filling your camp with groups that drain your staff and your budget. Join us for an honest look at how a few smart shifts can help you sell out your groups and conferences without burning out your team. During the “off season,” camps often end up taking whatever groups they can get. These low-paying, high-demand groups create more stress than revenue. It doesn’t have to be that way.
This session will show you how to find the groups that fit your mission, respect your staff, and make the work feel easier. We’ll dig into practical ways to streamline your off-season operations so you can run more efficient groups and walk into summer fully focused on what you do best: creating incredible experiences for your campers

Lessons from Two Recent ACA Legends of Camping Award Winners: Recalling the Past, Assessing the Present, and Predicting the Future
2026-03-11 15:15 - 16:15
Join two of ACA’s most recent Legends of Camping Award recipients as they share stories from their journeys, reflect on today’s challenges, and inspire us with a vision for the future of camp. Packed with wisdom, humor, and heart, this session will leave you energized and reminded of why camp matters yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Insanity or Genius? The Magic of Camper Choice at Day Camp
2026-03-11 15:15 - 16:15
Discover how you can elevate your day camp culture by allowing campers to self-select their daily activities and how to overcome barriers for implementation. This session will discuss how SummerCollab has implemented choice activities for campers in grades 1-8, and the magic that happens when kids make their own choices. If you are looking to improve culture, decrease camper behavior, and/or enhance your staff development, the magic of camper choice might be your missing solution.

Don't Let Lice Bug Your Summer: Stress-Free Management for Camps
2026-03-11 15:15 - 16:15
Head lice can feel like a big disruption at camp, but it doesn’t have to be. In this workshop, lice professionals Laurene Plourde and Jill Bazos, will share proven strategies to keep lice from becoming a stressful memory for campers, staff, and parents. We’ll walk through the science of lice, dispel common myths, and provide a clear, step-by-step process for effective head checks and treatment procedures. Participants will learn what supplies and systems every camp should have in place, how to minimize disruptions when lice are discovered, and how to decide whether to manage checks in-house or bring in a professional. Our goal is to ensure every camp leaves equipped with confidence and actionable steps for a stress-free lice management process.

Fostering Camp Culture Through Data-Driven Program Innovation
2026-03-11 15:15 - 16:15
Creating a safe, transformative camp experience requires more than supervision and policies – it demands intentional design grounded in data and continuous improvement. This session explores how Change Summer uses Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) data and strategies to drive program innovation and cultivate environments where campers thrive and are safe. We believe safety and emotional well-being are directly correlated, and ensure both are incorporated into our camp culture and our program. We’ll share how we created tailored, data-driven camper surveys, how we interpret our data insights to shape programming and culture, and how we are continuing to innovate the way we measure our impact.

Get Active! Vendor Make-and-Take
2026-03-11 15:15 - 16:15
Join us as we gather to make easy and fun projects that you can take with you when you are done. This is a great session to pick up new ideas for quick and easily implemented projects for your camp’s Arts and Crafts, STEM, Nature programs and more.

Discussion of Camp Referral Service Commissions & Suggested Best Practices: Follow-Up from Tri-State 2025
2026-03-11 15:15 - 16:15
An open meeting of Camp Directors and top leadership staff for a positive, constructive conversation about how to handle requests for increases in referral service fees, along with suggestions for best practices to recommend to the referral services for consideration. Camp Directors and top camp leadership staff only, please.

Fast Solutions, Fun Process: Solve Your Challenges Now with a Great Group Problem-Solving Method
2026-03-11 16:30 - 17:45
Please join us for our annual blast of learning and fun connection! Tri-State is delighted to continue this unique way to learn at Conference and meet other people. Top camp expert and staff trainer Michael Brandwein leads this special hands-on session in which he will teach you the Consultative Problem-Solving Process. This is an enjoyable, highly effective, incredibly efficient group learning technique that you can learn immediately and helps you get great ideas today, right in this session, working with colleagues to solve the greatest camp challenges you’re facing at your specific camp. You’ll walk out with lots of notes on how to handle a challenge of your choice. And Michael will show you how you can use this same process back at your camp, not only with staff but with campers, too. And wait-there’s more! You’ll meet lots of new camp friends at Conference, so this is a great way to build your own community of supportive folks you can hang with and learn from throughout Tri-State.

Campchella
2026-03-11 22:00 - 2026-03-12 02:00 | Kiss Kiss Nightclub, 2801 Pacific Ave Suite 308, Atlantic City, NJ, 08401
Campchella is Tri-State’s late-night celebration! Hosted inside Kiss Kiss Nightclub at the Tropicana, the event transforms a neon-lit nightclub into a high-energy gathering place for camp professionals from across the country.
Attendees can expect a full nightclub experience curated by the Magen Group, complete with DJs, lighting, and an atmosphere designed for connection, nostalgia, and fun. Campchella blends the spirit of camp with the energy of Atlantic City nightlife, offering a space to unwind, dance, and reconnect with old and new friends after a full day at the conference.

Please note the ACA, NY & NJ is not responsible for or a decision maker on this event.

Getting Comfortable With Your Budget: A Crash Course in Fiscal Management
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
Let’s be honest – most of us didn’t get into camping because we love spreadsheets. But budgets shape everything we do: what we can build, who we can hire, and how we show up for our campers.
This crash course is for camp leaders who want to finally feel confident talking about money. We’ll walk through what a camp budget really means, then jump into hands-on “what if” challenges. What if enrollment drops mid-season? What if we actually make more money than expected? You’ll practice adjusting, prioritizing, and explaining your decisions in ways that make sense to boards, families, and staff.
You’ll leave with simple tools, real examples, and the confidence to stop dodging the finance talk—because leading well means owning the numbers, not fearing them.

Where Does the Soup Go? Lessons Learned From an Anxious Kid... Who Grew into a Teen
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
Years ago, my son’s first camp experience came wrapped in tears, fear, and overwhelming anxiety, an experience that changed how my team approached camp. Now older, his worries have grown and shifted, offering new lessons about supporting teens. Back by popular demand, this session expands on the beloved “Where Does the Soup Go?” presentation.
Together, we’ll explore the reality of anxiety for both brain and body, the unique benefits and challenges that summer camps bring for anxious youth, and how staff can adapt their approach as campers grow.
Participants will leave with practical strategies to support anxious campers with empathy and humor, tools to help teens build belonging and resilience, and actionable steps to train and empower staff to better meet the needs of today’s campers.

From Hookup Culture to Consent Culture: How to Make the Difficult Transition
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
When camp staff arrive at the beginning of each summer, they are not blank slates. Hookup culture, the harmful sexual culture on high school and college campuses today, has far-reaching impacts on the way our staff have learned to conceptualize sex, romance, and intimacy. To foster a healthy, professional culture among staff, camps have the opportunity to address hookup culture and consent in their staff training and cultural expectations. Building a culture that celebrates consent and self-advocacy skills will also allow us to do the most important thing of all: care for our campers better. This session will allow camp leaders to understand the hookup culture their staff are entrenched in outside of camp and build the tools to take tangible steps towards building a consent culture this summer.

Creating a Camp Culture People Want To Be A Part Of
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
The best camps intentionally build cultures where campers and staff feel seen, valued, and inspired to return year after year. This session explores practical ways to create a positive, inclusive, mission-driven camp culture through strong values, intentional onboarding, meaningful traditions, and authentic leadership. Learn how to foster belonging, promote staff ownership, and prevent burnout or culture drift. Help your camp become a community people are proud to be part of long after summer ends.

From Florida Man to The Bear - Lessons Learned in the Kitchen
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
For 29 summers, Iain has lived the camp and camp kitchen life from washing dishes to running a resident camp. In this lively session, he shares lessons learned along the way: the meals that worked (and didn’t), camper feedback, silly traditions, and how his kitchen evolved into one of the highest-rated parts of camp. Discover what makes a camp dining experience truly memorable, explore your own non-negotiables, and leave inspired with a few new ideas and maybe a craving for Taco Tuesday.

Painted Projects for All
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
Paint, painting, painted can be so many different things. Come explore different uses of paints, and different types of simple paints. Join in the fun as we colorfully paint our way to making several unique crafts with string, paper, water, rocks, and paint. Participants can expect to create 2-3 crafts in a supportive, fun environment and leave with directions and ideas for many more painting projects.

The Power of the Narrative: Using Storytelling to Transform Your Camp
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
In this session, we will move beyond treating stories as simple anecdotes and instead learn how to craft and deploy them to solve concrete challenges. Participants will learn how storytelling can transform a camp’s identity into a compelling brand, communicate a unified vision to staff and stakeholders, elevate routine training into memorable, impactful lessons, enrich program areas to foster deeper camper engagement, and build an unshakeable bond of trust with parents. Specifically, this workshop will provide staff with a practical toolkit of narrative frameworks and prompts, enabling them to tell powerful stories that inspire action, build community, and foster a deeper connection to instructional objectives and the camp’s mission. By the end of this session, attendees will not just understand the theory of storytelling; they will have a practical toolkit to immediately implement, creating a more cohesive, engaging, and successful camp community.

Responding to Racially Charged Language Among Campers using the "Speak Up Superpowers" Framework
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
“Go back to Mexico or I’ll report you to ICE” one of your counselors overheard their camper jokingly say this to a Latinx camper and is asking for your help to address it. As adults in charge of camper safety, we need tools and strategies to address racially charged language among campers. In this interactive workshop, we will begin by recognizing how unconscious beliefs can influence interactions and interpretations. Using real-life camp scenarios, we’ll then apply the “Speak Up Superpowers” framework along with an understanding of applicable frameworks, and a sense that addressing racially charged incidents is an ongoing learning process that requires active participation and continuous growth.

The Inside-Out Camp: How to Prioritize Your Staff
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
What is the true engine of an unforgettable camp experience? This session explores the powerful “Inside-Out” leadership model, a framework built on one core principle: a thriving camp starts from within. Leo, a camp leader with over 15 years of field-tested experience, will demonstrate how prioritizing the staff journey—their growth, well-being, and sense of purpose—creates a powerful ripple effect across the entire camp. Discover practical strategies to build an exceptional staff experience that directly translates into higher staff retention, deeper camper engagement, and a vibrant, self-sustaining culture. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to focus on their team and unlock their camp’s true potential.

From Interview to Arrival: Building a Strong Staff Onboarding Experience Before Day One
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
At Woodmont Day Camp, onboarding our staff doesn’t begin at orientation—it starts the moment they are invited to interview. In this session, we’ll walk through the systems and strategies we use to initiate communication and subsequently prepare our staff before they even arrive at camp. From interview tools to pre-season emails, and even an online introductory “course,” learn how we’ve designed our onboarding process to build excitement, confidence, and connection long before our staff ever sets foot on camp for orientation.

How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Camp Operations
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
This session explores how emerging technologies are already reshaping the way camps operate, with examples like automated medical form processing, camper intake profiles that surface important insights, time-saving email and communication tools, and AI-assisted staff hiring processes. Attendees will see how “Efficiency AI” can streamline operations and how “Opportunity AI” can open new frontiers in safety, camper experience, and personalized parent engagement. Participants will leave with clear, actionable ideas for integrating AI into their own camp operations.

Awesome Activities: Teaching Staff (and Campers!) to Handle Challenges and Make Decisions with Flexibility, Confidence, and Creativity
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
Join us to play, learn, and take it all back home to your staff team! Staff leaders are frequently reporting that many (not all) of our team members have increased difficulty with “solving problems on the spot”. To their credit, many staff don’t move forward for fear of doing things “wrong” or when they haven’t been given explicit directions about what to do in a specific situation. In response, Michael has designed some great ways to use “playing with a purpose” to boost their skills in approaching challenges with greater initiative, skill, creativity, calmness, and confidence. Learn how to get them to ask for support even when reluctant to do so. Most importantly, he’ll demonstrate with the concept of “point of concentration” how to explain to staff the one key secret to improvising solutions when we haven’t been told exactly how to handle something. These are quick bursts of experiential learning that can be used and practiced in staff training before and after campers arrive.

The "Unknown Known" Magic of the Campfire: The Serious Work of Making Fun
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
We all know that getting camp culture right is one of the critical factors that lead to lasting success or closing our gates. Too often, we rely on what we’ve always done or chase after the newest trend without ever looking at what research actually tells us. We know what we’re doing even if we struggle to articulate what we know, but frankly, we don’t have time for academics. However, there are scholars—some with camp backgrounds—who take camp culture seriously. They test what we assume, study what we don’t fully understand, and uncover insights we might never see on our own. Their work often lies hidden in academic journals, but it has practical lessons that can strengthen and evolve our programs. This session introduces scholars whose research sheds light on camp culture. Participants will leave with clear, usable takeaways to get camp culture right.

Health Center Staffing: Diversity in Roles and Needs
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
Camps have diverse profiles, locations, and operations. This means that there is no one particular health service model that works for everyone. This session will discuss the many variables that impact the decision of camp leadership on how to most effectively and safely staff health services.

Helping Camp Parents Thrive: Supporting their Campers, Setting Expectations, and Letting Go
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
As summer camps increasingly serve as crucial developmental experiences for children, parents are navigating more complex emotions around separation, trust, and control. This session, led by a Psychotherapist, Camp Wellness Advisor, and former Camp Director, will explore how camps can play an active role in supporting not just campers, but their parents as well.
Participants will learn how to communicate with families in a way that validates their concerns while reinforcing boundaries that protect the camper experience. We’ll discuss strategies to help parents prepare for the emotional transition of camp drop-off, manage their need for control, and avoid over-involvement that may undermine their child’s independence. The session will also address why more communication, updates, or access isn’t always better-and how to help parents understand and respect this.

CIT Program Development = Strong Future Leadership
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
We all know and have experienced the staffing challenge. Each year, we look for a new and creative solution to add to our hiring strategies. and camps mustn’t overlook the importance of building and maintaining a strong CIT Program. Your best staff is there, in camp, in the making. Camps need to ensure their CIT Program is effective and producing future staff. Most importantly, the CIT participants need to experience and feel their summer experience is one of professional and personal growth, and that being a camp counselor is an important step into their future endeavors. Come ready to evaluate, share, and build your CIT program. You will walk away with a clearer direction and incentive to spend time evaluating and building this essential feeder program.

Growing a Camper and Staff MESH Program - A Case Study
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
This roundtable chat will explore one camp’s progression of MESH (Mental, Emotional, Social Health) support for staff and campers. From sporadic virtual consulting to the development of an on-site MESH department, Frost Valley YMCA has continued to invest in the well-being of its stakeholders and has seen the benefits. You’ll hear from Frost Valley’s mental health consultant, who has been working with the camp since the inception of the program, as well as its new on-site MESH Director. You’ll also hear insights from members of the Frost Valley director team, who can share about some of the successes and setbacks faced over the years. They’ll share about prioritizing MESH in the budget, thoughts on creating and implementing intentional policies, and more! Camp leaders who are considering making an investment in the mental, emotional, and social well-being of their campers and staff can’t miss this! Folks who have created MESH programs and roles are encouraged to come share their stories and experiences.

We Get to Do This: Increasing Retention through Staff Engagement
2026-03-12 09:00 - 10:00
When the day starts, does your staff think “I have to go to work” or “I get to go to work”? Getting to go to work means our staff members understand the purpose of their jobs, they feel appreciated, and they have fun! This highly interactive session includes a mix of thought-provoking discussion as well as dynamic activities to encourage camp leaders to increase the engagement level of the staff they lead as a key tool to help increase staff retention.

Authenticity Wins: Actionable Social Media Strategies to Grow Your Camp Community
2026-03-12 10:15 - 11:15
Aaron Bloomfield, founder of Summer Camp Connect, the worlds largest online summer camp community, has generated over 70 million views across social media in the camp industry. In this session, he shares proven strategies for leveraging genuine, story-driven content to strengthen camp culture, engage alumni, and attract new families. Drawing from direct feedback from thousands of campers, counselors, alumni, and directors, Aaron reveals how authentic storytelling and community-centered content can bridge generations, showcase camp traditions, and spread the magic of camp year-round.
Most importantly, attendees will walk away with actionable strategies they can implement immediately without big budgets, marketing degrees, or complex tools required. Learn how to turn summer 2026 into a marketing engine, driving year-round connection, stronger communities, higher enrollment, and more effective staff recruitment.

Right Fit, Right Now: Mastering Camp Hiring
2026-03-12 10:15 - 11:15
Great camps start with great people, but how do we find them? This session explores effective hiring practices that go beyond resumes and reference checks. Learn how to design a hiring process that identifies not just skill sets, but character, cultural fit, and potential.
We’ll look at strategies for spotting teachability, evaluating buy-in, and recognizing leadership capacity, even in candidates who may not check every traditional box. Whether you’re hiring summer staff or year-round team members, this workshop will equip you with tools to build a values-aligned team that’s committed, coachable, and ready to grow.
Come ready to rethink your approach to hiring, ask hard questions, and walk away with practical tools you can use to strengthen your team, one great hire at a time.

Nurturing Healthy Competition in a High-Pressure World
2026-03-12 10:15 - 11:15
Campers love competition, but justifying ferocious competition by saying, “Hey, it’s a competitive world out there!” ignores the critical differences between healthy and harmful competition. Even worse, most young people will arrive at camp feeling excessive pressure to succeed. Participants in this inspiring workshop will learn the keys to upending harmful competition and external pressures by using healthy approaches that not only boost campers’ mental health, they also improve performance!
