Meet The Camp Arowhon Team
A Camp That Shapes Who You Become
Founded by Lillian Kates in 1934, Arowhon has been family-run for four generations, and it shows. More than just a camp, Arowhon is a family that shapes who kids become by challenging them in a supportive environment created by hand-picked staff that are expertly trained and supervised by a management team who really cares.
Leading With
Heart, Skill & Experience
Arowhon’s leadership team is a mix of seasoned camp professionals, educators, youth development and mental health experts, parents, and multi-generational camp alumni. Together, they shape a culture of growth, inclusion, and high standards—while keeping joy at the center of it all.
Directors
Mara KATES & max muszynski
Fourth-generation camp directors Mara and Max lead Camp Arowhon as a team, united by a lifelong connection to Arowhon and a shared belief in the power of camp to help children grow. Their partnership brings together care and challenge, empathy and adventure — the balance at the heart of Arowhon.
With a background in social work and community leadership, Mara is deeply attuned to helping campers and staff feel welcome, supported, and confident in who they are. She is a champion for inclusion, ensuring that every child feels seen, valued, and set up to succeed. An industry expert in outdoor education and risk management, Max brings a lifetime of hands-on experience and a passion for fostering adventure, skill-building, and independence in young people — always with safety at the forefront.
Side by side, Mara and Max create a camp culture where children are cared for deeply, supported thoughtfully, and encouraged to stretch themselves. Together, they foster a warm, safe, and inspiring environment where campers build skills, form deep friendships, and grow into their best selves on the shores of Tepee Lake.
Lenny Hellings
Tripping Director
In addition to over a decade of paddling experience, Lenny’s resume includes an engineering degree and professional experience as a project manager, giving him the perfect skillset to plan and execute Arowhon's renowned canoe tripping program. Lenny's mission is to pass on his passion and stewardship for the natural world and inspire courage and adventure in the next generation.
Pearl Breitman
Assistant Director, Camper Care
After having worked (and met her husband) at camp in the '90s, Pearl was thrilled to return to the team with her 3 daughters who are now campers and staff themselves. A lifelong educator with a PhD in dietetics, Pearl is passionate about nurturing physical and emotional well-being in every camper, and her expertise as a mom means she knows exactly what to look for and how to help.
Jessi Stern
Administrative Director
Camp runs through Jessi’s veins! She grew up with our friends at Camp Manitou, where she worked in all areas of camp before finding her true camp calling in the office! A professional event manager, Jessi sees camp as the best party in the world to spend all year preparing for. She is a whiz at everything organizational and she’ll be with you every step of the way to smooth your camp journey.
Steph Villegas
Head Chef Running a camp kitchen overseen by a professional food critic isn’t for the faint of heart, and we are lucky to have had Chef Steph pleasing our palates and fuelling our adventures since 2010. Having worked everywhere from restaurants to retirement homes, her favourite place is in a camp kitchen where she takes pride in creating food that’s nourishing, comforting, and genuinely enjoyed by campers and staff alike. Steph is known for her steady hand and heart of gold, and you can always find her on the Main Lodge porch at 6 AM enjoying the sunrise after unloading the days’ food delivery.
Nat and Matt
Operations & Maintenance Partners in life for over 20 years, Nat and Matt joined the Arowhon team in 2019 after leaving desk jobs to pursue outdoor, work. Nat’s background in graphic design and entrepreneurial projects—including running Ontario’s first smoothie truck—pairs perfectly with Matt’s mechanical engineering roots and passion for building and problem-solving. Together they keep Arowhon running behind the scenes, maintaining over 100 buildings and ensuring everything from clean water to power systems works as it should (often with a smile at the creative maintenance requests that come their way).
Senior Directors
joanne kates & leon muszynski
Joanne and Leon bring decades of heart and vision to Camp Arowhon. Joanne, the third generation of her family to lead the camp her grandmother founded in 1934, directed Arowhon for 35 years while mentoring Max and Mara to carry on her lifelong mission of ensuring physical and emotional safety for every camper. She created the Camp Arowhon Social Safety Tool Kit—our framework for conflict resolution, emotional support, and anti-bullying practices—and has trained educators and camp leaders across North America to improve social-emotional safety, and has served on the boards of many youth support organizations. Thanks to Joanne’s 44 years as a restaurant critic for the Globe and Mail, Arowhon food is more like a restaurant than a cafeteria!
Leon, known affectionately as “Camp Dad,” Leon’s warmth and commitment to making everyone feel welcome have shaped the Arowhon community. A lifelong model of positive masculinity, Leon has helped generations of boys at Arowhon and beyond grow into self-aware, compassionate, respectful men. He is widely respected for his service on the Ontario Camps Association Board and Executive Committee, and is a dedicated champion for the camp industry. Also an avid environmentalist, Leon was a trailblazer in Arowhon’s sustainability initiatives, and continues to inspire stewardship in the staff and campers at camp today.
Since passing the reins to Max and Mara in 2022, Joanne and Leon have been treasuring their summers on Tepee Lake mentoring and inspiring campers and staff. They are famous at camp for their cooking classes, campfire stories, and championing the transformative power of camp