A “sylvan” landscape is one steeped in natural beauty. Picture wooded forests, babbling brooks, rocky outcrops, and happy wildlife wandering in and out. We, as Sylvaneers, are dedicated to teaching children how to responsibly enjoy these places, as well as to provide access to those who might not otherwise get to enjoy them. Fellowship in the outdoors is the basis for the summer camp industry, and Sylvaneers is excited to build a program that fosters those opportunities. The organization was established in late 2024 with the purpose of becoming Camp Santa Maria’s operator for the 2025 season. While Santa Maria has been operating since 1930, Sylvaneers is excited to build an organization and program that highlights and takes advantage of the beautiful property that has been cared for by the Mary M Dower Benevolent Corporation for nearly 100 years.
Full Time Staff
Founder, Executive Director & Board President: Johnny Domenico
Johnny Domenico began his camp staff career at 16 years old cleaning toilets at Geneva Glen Camp. He worked his way through high school and college in a variety of seasonal leadership positions at Geneva Glen before finding a full time role at Sanborn Western Camps as an Outdoor Education Instructor and Summer Camp Program Director. After a brief stint as a Youth Activities Counselor on board the Disney Magic cruise ship, learning The Ways of The Mouse, Johnny found himself back at Geneva Glen Camp in a full-time role, learning under longtime Directors, Ken and Nancy Atkinson as they prepared for their eventual retirement. Starting in 2020, Johnny was hired as the Managing Director for Rocky Mountain Kids’ foothills area before/afterschool programs and day camps, growing the region from one site, to 14 different licenses serving 8 different schools in the area. Johnny’s dedication to the camp world continued throughout his professional journey in volunteer roles with the American Camp Association as an accreditation visitor, and a member of the National Conference Planning Committee since 2014. He was recognized with ACA’s National Service Award at the 2024 National Conference. Johnny is excited to take what he’s learned from so many camp experiences to build something around the unique beauty and character of Camp Santa Maria. He plans to leverage the relationships he has built in the industry over the years to ensure Sylvaneers and Camp Santa Maria are known to be high quality, and forward-thinking examples of exemplary summer camp programming.
Camp Director: Ashley Hermes
A social worker since 2011, Ashley has extensive experience working with children and families. She has worked with a variety of agencies statewide, providing resources to families in communities whose resources are scarce. Prior to her work in social services, Ashley worked as a professional nanny and a camp counselor/wrangler on a ranch in Colorado, which was a life-changing, and therapeutic experience. After seeing how impactful outdoor recreation can be, Ashley aspired to connect youth in need with nature. Ashley’s passion and purpose is to create a harmonious camp environment for children to be their authentic selves while connecting with nature. Aside from social work, Ashley is the owner of a youth mental health business that focuses on mindfulness and healthy coping strategies for children during stressful times. Ashley is a Certified Health Coach and certified in Neuro Linguistic Programming. She is an expert in child safety and healthy child development and thrives working in environments where she can support youth in building self-efficacy while experiencing nature.
Board of Directors
Board Secretary: Ozzie Baron
Ozzie is the Co-Founder and Deputy Director of Project:Camp, an emergency response nonprofit that provides free, trauma-informed day camps for children impacted by natural disasters. A native Coloradan, Ozzie spent 15 summers at Geneva Glen. He and his family now live in Minnesota, but his heart lies in the Rockies.
Board Member: Kendra Happ
Owner of Progressive Media, Inc. a full-service marketing agency with over 20 years sales and marketing experience. From research, production, sales, to marketing Kendra understands what it takes to maximize ROI. She is an expert in creative collaboration, element production, media strategy, planning, negotiation, placement, and management for all media types and all industries. She has been a member of the Conifer Community for over 12 years and a Colorado resident for 17 years. Before Colorado, Kendra lived on the East Coast where she was born and raised working for an NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, FL. She enjoys time with her 8-year-old Daughter Kaylyn, riding her horses, fishing, hunting and hitting the ski slopes. If she could spend all her time outside she would!
Board Member: Jo Burns
Jo Burns (CTRS) is known for her work bringing together professionals from parks, recreation, public health, built environment, libraries and health-related non-profits. Jo was a camp director and therapeutic recreation specialist serving people with disabilities and chronic illnesses for over 20 years. She is the CCCO for Jo Burns Connects, LLC and Director for the Colorado Public Health/Parks & Recreation Collaborative. Jo’s superpower is helping people discover and leverage the health benefits of belonging and connection. She is a skillful connector with experience in community, camp, professional trade association, and higher education parks and recreation settings. Jo brings a plethora of camp, non-profit development, grant writing, partnership building, leadership and place making skills to the Sylvaneers board. The first place Jo felt like she truly belonged, where her wonderful weird and bountiful energy was welcomed and accepted was at camp.
