Generations of Dedicated Leadership
Camp Birchwood has been family-owned and directed since 1939. Throughout the years, Birchwood’s Leaders have been dedicated to enriching the lives of campers for generations. Each summer, they foster the growth of their counselors. This kind of attentive care and support translates directly to the campers and assures the highest quality experience for all.
Meet the Owners
Samuel Del Favero
Samuel came to Birchwood because of his sense of adventure, appreciation for the outdoors, and passion for mentoring youth. His love of working with people was cultivated over years of working with diverse populations in various professional settings. For nine years, Samuel worked in Outward Bound’s at-risk youth program – first as a wilderness educator, then as a Course Director, staff trainer, and finally as a medical and psychological screener. Samuel also spent several years working as a youth treatment counselor in a residential facility, an assistant teacher mainstreaming children on the autism spectrum, and as a behavioral therapist for children on the autism spectrum. Samuel has long been passionate about medical and behavioral interventions for social, emotional, and psychological well-being, particularly as concerned with youth and young-adults. Immediately prior to coming to Camp Birchwood, Samuel was pursuing a career in medicine and was a clinical research coordinator at the University of California San Francisco in the immunotherapy department where he worked on curing incurable cancers. He has also volunteered in an acute psychiatric care unit to help facilitate various group therapies, and at San Francisco General Hospital as an emergency department volunteer. Samuel has coached high school softball, climbing/bouldering, and lacrosse teams. Throughout all of his professional endeavors, Samuel has been guided by his North Star – the drive to mentor kids to be their healthiest, happiest, most capable selves. Samuel brings many talents to Camp Birchwood, but especially his extensive wisdom and knowledge in working with kids from all walks of life – adjudicated youth, youth who have lost parents and loved ones, children who are wards of the state, “gifted” children, etc. When he isn’t talking to parents, hiring and helping train our wonderful staff, running our marketing, or overseeing our facilities, you can find him teaching canoeing, going for a trail run, practicing his handstands, riding horses alongside Georgia, or cheering (probably the loudest!) for our campers at camp and in their everyday lives.
Georgia Del Favero
Georgia has personally known the magic of Camp Birchwood since 2001 when she first came to Camp as a camper. Camp Birchwood showed Georgia who she is – an equestrian, a wilderness expeditioner, and a passionate advocate for children’s welfare. After attending Camp for four years as a camper and spending two summers on staff, Georgia followed her many passions around the world - first to college where she was the student director for the College of Saint Benedict Center for Women, then to New Zealand on a 75-day wilderness expedition, then to Outward Bound as a Wilderness Educator for at-risk youth, then to an Olympic-level facility to start sport horses for the equestrian sport of dressage, and finally to law school to become a child protection prosecutor for Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and a family law litigator for complex child custody cases in Silicon Valley, California. While on her winding path, Georgia never imagined all of her passions would eventually align to bring her back to the beginning, but looking back, she now knows that it all happened for a reason: so that one day, she could have the chance to show young women everything they can be and more. Georgia is deeply dedicated to the Camp Birchwood legacy and brings her many passions and skills together to train, support, and lead an incredible staff who work every day to foster our campers’ independence, confidence, and self-discovery. When she isn’t directly supporting our wonderful staff, you can find her spending time with the campers (especially in evening activity!), teaching riding lessons, walking her dog, trimming hooves, paddling a canoe, making Samuel laugh, or riding horses.
Team Birchwood:
Directors and Staff Enrich the Lives of our Campers
From the very beginning, Lucy knew that if you want to instill confidence you better surround campers with some awesome role models; smart, caring, and independent people who lead with fervor and grace.
Camp Birchwood is lead by strong, independent, and diverse leaders.
Our team of thoughtful and engaging people are highly skilled and well trained. Birchwood’s counselors take pride in their ability to make everyday unique. They are passionate when it comes to supporting others in camp. Every day they work tirelessly to enrich the lives of our campers as role models and mentors.
Want To Make A Difference?
We’re always looking to add compassionate and skilled role models to join the Birchwood team of directors who vow to make a difference in the lives of our campers. If you’re looking to spend a summer with us, we’d love to hear from you.
