Year-Round Staff

Most people think of camp happening only during the summer. In reality, without the hard work of our Year-Round Staff 10 months out of the year, the two months during the summer wouldn’t happen. As soon as one summer ends, we start putting together all of the pieces to make next summer happen!

Alex Crompton

Executive Director
2022-Present

Alex’s camp journey began in 2008 as summer staff, flying over from the UK to work as a Camp Counselor, totally unsure of what to expect. It didn’t take him long to fall in love with the place, and he returned whenever life would allow, working five summers as a Counselor, CIT Director, Assistant Director, and now Executive Director.

After college and grad school, at the University of Exeter and King’s College London, Alex spent time working in London schools and with politicians in the UK Parliament. After relocating permanently to the USA in 2017, Alex realized a longtime dream and began work as Camp Director of Camp Dark Waters.

Dark Waters is the most important place in the world to Alex. Working together in the summer of 2011, Alex met Sarah, who he would go on to marry. In 2018, after living together both in the UK and USA, Alex and Sarah got married at Dark Waters, in front of the Peace Tree.

Katie Loane-Secrest

Camp Director
2023-Present

Katie’s history with Camp Dark Waters began in 2006 as a camper. Over the years, she progressed through both the CIT and TAC programs and worked as a counselor from 2011-2014. Her love of camp stayed with her long after she left and she was incredibly excited to be offered the Director position in 2023.

Katie is a Social Worker by profession and obtained both her BSW and MSW from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. After college, she moved to New York City to work with individuals experiencing homelessness in the subway system. She also worked with those same individuals in transitional shelter programs to find permanent housing for them. She has a passion for service and creating environments that foster positive growth for those in them.

Camp Dark Waters had a profound impact on Katie’s life and she is incredibly grateful to be in a position where she can help everyone experience the same joy camp brought her when she was younger.

Sara Sorantino Rivera

Outdoor Center Director
2023-Present

Sara recently joined the Camp Dark Waters community as Outdoor Center Director and comes with personal and professional knowledge and experience in outdoor education. After receiving her B.S. in Exercise Science from the University of Delaware in 2015, Sara learned of Adventure/Wilderness Therapy and, as an avid nature lover, quickly researched how to achieve this as a career. This led Sara to receive her M.S. in Recreation Therapy from Temple University in 2018, as well as becoming a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS).

Through her Adventure Therapy course, Sara was connected to Camp Dark Waters for high/low ropes training in 2018 and assisted with off-season programming. Since then, Sara has worked as a CTRS with many different populations in a variety of settings, including outdoor experiential learning, community integration, adult day programs, short-term rehabilitation, and long-term care. However, she always had the desire to fulfill her initial goal of pursuing a career in the outdoors. Sara is thrilled to return to Camp Dark Waters as a year-round staff member and is looking forward to helping the team continue to fulfill the mission and philosophy of Camp Dark Waters.

Sara recently married her husband Mynor who has worked as the Camp Cook. In their free time, they enjoy climbing, biking, camping, and hiking with their dog Boo. They are looking forward to beginning their next chapter with Camp Dark Waters.

Joe McShulkis

Facilities Manager
2023-Present

Joe first started coming to camp back in 2002. He started off as a counselor and transitioned into maintenance in 2007 until his last summer in 2012. During the camp off-seasons, he would work in after-school programs run by Camp Ockanikon.

After 2012, he moved on to Philadelphia to work in the real estate industry as a property manager. During that time he honed his skills in painting, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical. All the while, he never lost touch with his camp roots. He came back to help out during Banquet week in the summers of 2013 and 2014, and helped with various offseason functions. In March of 2019, he was adopted by a cat he calls Cat and, on May 26, 2019, she had kittens called Arya and Sansa. His sister adopted Sansa but Cat and Arya are still living with him.

Camp has always played a big part of Joe’s life since he first started. He is grateful to be back and have the opportunity to give back to a place that gave him so much.

Melissa Horne

Finance Manager
2025-Present

Melissa has worked in both Corporate and Not-for-Profit accounting for over 20+ years. She currently holds a B.A in Finance, and is currently enrolled to become a Certified Human Resource Officer.

She is a wife and mother of 5, in addition to 6 amazing “glam” children whom she adores.