South Hero, VT-  Camp Ta-Kum-Ta is pleased to announce the appointment of Hattie Johnson as our new Executive Director and Dennis DePaul, as our new Camp Director.  After 33 transformative years, our friend and co-founder Ted Kessler, has retired from both his Executive Director and Camp Director roles at Vermont’s Camp Ta-Kum-Ta.

Hattie Johnson has served as the Director of Development for Camp Ta-Kum-Ta for the last four years, where she worked with individuals, organizations, event organizers and civic groups to successfully raise funds for camp programs and an ambitious capital campaign.  She brings ten years of non-profit expertise and experience to the organization.  As the Executive Director, Hattie will continue to raise funds for Camp Ta-Kum-Ta in addition to overseeing all aspects of the organization.

HLJ- Camp Ta-Kum-Ta

Prior to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, Hattie was with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Vermont and the Ronald McDonald House of Burlington, VT.   Hattie is a graduate of Saint Michael’s College where she achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in Business & Psychology and later a Masters of Science & Administration Degree.  Hattie also holds a Certificate in Non-Profit Management.

Dennis DePaul has served as Camp Ta-Kum-Ta’s Assistant Camp Director for the last four years.  In this role he assisted the Camp Director in overseeing all aspects of our year-round programs to include strategic planning, implementation and most importantly, ensuring that campers were able to check their cancer at the gate and simply be a kid again while at Camp Ta-Kum-Ta.  As the Camp Director, Dennis will oversee all aspects of the camp programs in partnership with the Executive Director.

Dennis- Camp Director

In addition to his role as the Assistant Camp Director, Dennis has served on Camp Ta-Kum-Ta’s Board of Directors for more than 12 years.  For the past 5 years, he has aptly served as the President of the Board where he helped shepherd Camp Ta-Kum-Ta from a one week program to a comprehensive year round program.  Following in Ted Kessler’s footsteps, Dennis also served on the Children’s Oncology Camping Association International’s board of directors as the Region I Representative, the Vice President as well as President.  Professionally, Dennis has worked at the University of Vermont for the past 18 years where he has served as the Financial Aid Director and currently as the Assistant Dean for the Division of Student Affairs.

Please join Camp Ta-Kum-Ta in welcoming Hattie and Dennis to their new roles within our organization!  Together, with hundreds of volunteers and the continued support of the community, they will continue the founders’ programmatic legacy for years to come.

Camp Ta-Kum-Ta provides challenging, extraordinary experiences in a safe and loving environment for children who have or have had cancer and their families. Camp exists for Vermont and Northern New York children. (including other out-of-state children who are treated in Vermont), between the ages 7-17, at no cost to their families.

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