Administrative Staff

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Heidi Stansell

Interim President

Currently in her 30th year as a part of the year-round team, Heidi was named Blue Lake’s Interim President in June of 2020. Prior to that appointment, she served as Vice President for Operations & Finance for ten years and holds the distinction of longest serving Camp Director in Blue Lake’s history. She was a camper for more summers than she can remember, and now enjoys working to further Blue Lake’s mission for generations of students to come. She is a member of the Board of Trustees. Heidi attended the University of Michigan, is married with two great kids, one of which continues as a 4th generation Wolverine.

Andy Lofgren

Director of Finance & Development

Andy Lofgren is the Director of Finance and Development for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Andy has a B.A. in economics and psychology from the University of Michigan and a M.S. in Public Policy and Analysis from Carnegie Mellon University. A native Michigander, Andy’s career has taken him to Washington, DC and Kenosha, WI before settling in Muskegon County in 2001. During his career, he has served in various capacities related to financial analysis and planning, as well as community and economic development at several public sector and non-profit organizations. Andy and his wife Elizabeth have been married for 34 years. They have two human sons and one beagle son. While only a mediocre musician in his youth, Andy enjoys music from Beach House and Radiohead to Beethoven and Handel, and is a loyal listener of Blue Lake Public Radio.

Jessica Bryant

Director of Student Services

Jessica has held several seasonal positions at Blue Lake leading up to her current role, including Camp Counselor, Unit Director, Assistant Health Lodge Director, Associate Staff Director, and Director of Health Services. She was a School Psychologist for seven years before joining Blue Lake’s year-round team in 2015. Jessica is proud to serve Blue Lake’s mission by facilitating an inclusive camp environment that fosters growth for all participants. She particularly enjoys empowering camp counselors to be leaders and role models within the camp community and beyond. A native Floridian, Jessica holds a bachelor’s degree in Clarinet Performance from Stetson University and master’s and specialist degrees in School Psychology from Florida State University. She enjoys yoga, knitting, cooking, and marveling at snow blowers and frozen lakes.

Rich Erne

Director of Arts Programs

Since first becoming a Cabin Counselor back in ’87, Rich has worked in many capacities at Blue Lake spanning four decades: Unit Director, Health Lodge Director, International Group Leader, Program Assistant, Program Coordinator, and now Director of Arts Programs. Through it all, he has enjoyed working creatively in an arts environment to provide quality educational experiences for our campers. He holds degrees from the University of Louisiana and Michigan State University and is completing his 30th year of teaching at Reeths-Puffer Schools where he leads several middle school bands and a high school concert band. Together with his wife, Heidi, they live with their two teenagers, a rat terrier, and a cat who secretly runs the household. He enjoys skiing and running 5ks with his son but has yet to beat him down the hill or across the finish line. When not working, skiing, or running, you will probably find Rich listening to Chicago Cubs radio.

Joshua Farmer

Director of Health Services

Joshua has been at Blue Lake every summer since 2007. He has served as a Cabin Counselor, Unit Director, and Associate Staff Director, along with other administrative support positions before taking on his current role as Director of Health Services. Joshua has a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Eastern Illinois University, and worked as a public school music educator for several years before joining the full time staff at Blue Lake. He is also a Licensed EMT and Red Cross Instructor. Joshua loves working directly with campers and families to make camp a safe and welcoming environment to students who may need extra support while at camp. He is also passionate about helping staff members to grow and develop. Joshua lives on camp with his wife, two cats, and a dog. He believes Sasquatch is wise and gentle creature.

Rebecca Scouten

Business Manager

Rebecca has served as Blue Lake’s Business Manager since the fall of 2019. She has extensive experience in the areas of finance and customer service, and provides essential leadership within our business office. She also manages Blue Lake’s camp store, The Happy Camper. A lifelong resident of West Michigan, she loves hiking, running, bicycling, kayaking, and just being outside in general – a day at the beach is perfect! She enjoys time with family and good friends, and believes that pizza is the perfect food. An avid listener of Blue Lake Public Radio’s jazz programming, her favorite part of working at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is being part of a great administrative team.

Ariel Anderson

Lead Business Office Assistant

Ariel holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Ferris State University and joined Blue Lake as a Business Office Assistant in 2018. Her favorite part of working at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is taking in its beautiful setting and enjoying the wonderful people that work here. Ariel is married to Matt and together they enjoy their two girls, Sophia and Nora, along with their dogs Paislee, Gracie, Olaf, Bo, and cats Lyle and Mulligan. Ariel is an active Girl Scout leader and Service Unit treasurer for the White Lake area. In her spare time, she enjoys pool time with her family, home renovation, and snuggling with her fur babies while watching a good Hallmark movie.

Nick Brough

IT Network Systems Specialist

Nick Brough is Blue Lake’s Network Systems Specialist, which includes work in IT, hardware, programming, and consulting. In other words, he is a magical wizard. Before he joined our administrative team in a full time capacity, Nick was on the summer counseling staff for eleven years with positions including Camp Bernstein counselor, Unit Director, Camp Bernstein Director, and Associate Staff Director. He holds a bachelor’s in music education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s in computer science from Oregon State University. Outside of work, Nick is a sports fan, rooting for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, and Fighting Illini, is an active guitarist, and enjoys a range of hobbies including music, movies, books, comics, and computer programming.

Caitlin Cowan

Director of International Tours & Development Coordinator

As Director of International Tours, Caitlin focuses on student preparation, communication with European contacts, and tour arrangements. As Development Coordinator, she also works to advance Blue Lake’s arts community presence and meet the organization’s development goals. A multi-year summer camper, she traveled with the 2003 IYSO as a violinist. Caitlin holds a BA from the University of Michigan, an MFA from the New School, and a PhD from the University of North Texas. She enjoys writing, traveling, playing violin, karaoke, yoga, and trail running. Her poems, stories, and essays regularly appear in national and international literary journals. She’s passionate about fostering life-changing arts experiences for young people at home and abroad for Blue Lake. Whether it’s a poem or a symphony, all art tells stories, and she believes that those stories create connections between people and help to build a better world.

Monique Stansell

Executive Assistant, Summer Camp & International Exchange

As Executive Assistant for Summer Camp and International divisions of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Monique assists in a myriad of areas including personnel and hiring, the program office, marketing, coordinating plans for visiting European students and groups, and helping to prepare young artists on both sides of the ocean for cultural exchange. She also maintains Blue Lake’s Antique Instrument Museum and helps Blue Lake with creative endeavors in photography, videography, and social media. She does it all! As a dual citizen who spent her childhood living in Denmark, Monique truly values the fine arts as a medium for cultural exchange. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan and has been a fulltime administrative employee at Blue Lake since 2018. Her interests include filmmaking, photography, live music, traveling, and collaborating on creative projects.

Belinda sterling

Head Music Librarian and Archivist

Belinda first began her journey at Blue Lake in 2015 as a member of summer counseling staff and since then, worked as a Unit Director for four seasons. As Music Librarian and Archivist, Belinda oversees the operation of the Kutschinski Music Library, which involves preparing all music and folders for the summer ensembles, and manages the organization’s archives, including digitization efforts. She studied Music History and Piano Pedagogy at Ohio University and she comes to Blue Lake having worked in a myriad of library settings- academic, music, archival, and public. Outside of work, you can catch her talking nonstop about baseball (specifically the Cleveland Guardians), taking mini road trips, reading/buying too many books, and not letting people forget that she is from Ohio. Belinda believes that Blue Lake is truly a place that instills joy and growth for all, from campers to staff alike, and she loves to help provide such fundamental materials as a part of that process.

Kim Bentley

Admissions Registrar

Kim holds the distinction of being only the third admissions registrar in Blue Lake’s 54 year history, and the first to help usher in online registration. New to her current position, Kim comes to Blue Lake with twenty-four years of experience in administrative work within an educational organization. She holds two degrees from Baker College, most recently completing a master’s degree in Leadership. Within her work at Blue Lake, she enjoys knowing she is enrolling campers for a great learning experience and to better themselves in their art. She has two daughters and sons-in-law, two grandchildren, and three grand-dogs. When not at work, she loves family time and friends time, along with golf, bowling, softball, photography, and traveling to Florida.

Terri Thomas

Registration & Scholarship Assistant

As Blue Lake’s Registration and Scholarship Assistant since 2010, Terri has processed thousands and thousands and thousands of scholarship applications for our prospective campers! Not only can she type a million words a second, but she can answer nearly every camp question you can think of. She enjoys helping children and their families come to camp who otherwise might not be able to afford it. And after all the kids are at camp, she helps to manage our administrative office reception area during summer operation. In her free time, she likes to spend time with family, biking, reading, and crafting.