Skylake's Director and Staff

Skylake Yosemite Camp has had only three directors since its founding in 1945. The current owner/director is Jeff Portnoy. Jeff has been the director since 1995. In addition to the four staff members that work during the entire year, the summer staff consists of 7 administrative staff, 65 counselors, 15 kitchen staff, 3 housekeepers and a rotation of four nurses. Our staffing creates an excellent staff to camper ratio of 1 counselor/administrator for every 3 campers.

Jeff Portnoy is the co-owner and the Director of Skylake. Jeff graduated from U.C. Berkeley (’69) and the University of Santa Clara Law School (’72). He has been involved with Skylake since 1984, first as a parent when his daughters began to attend Skylake as campers, and then as the owner/director since 1995. Jeff resides in Marin County with his wife Bonnie during the off season. Jeff has three primary goals as the director: Every child is safe both physically and emotionally in their camp experience Every child experiences the simple and pure joy of a true summer camp experience Every child returns home happier and more confident

Adrienne Portnoy-Durgin is the Assistant to the Director and currently serving as the Program/Personnel Director. Adrienne has lived, breathed, and dreamed Skylake most of her life. She first attended Skylake as a 9 year old camper and spent the next 15 summers at Skylake as Camper, CILT, Jr Staff, Counselor, and CILT Trainer. After graduating from the University of Arizona, Adrienne relocated to Lake Tahoe where she currently lives with her husband Mark, and sons Jacob and Miles. Adrienne returned to her roots at Skylake in 2010 after a career in Event Planning and Hotel Sales and Marketing.

Jon Moore, Family Camp Director, first came to Skylake in 1971. His intimate knowledge of all that is Skylake comes from over 25 seasons as a camper, a counselor and a director. He did his undergraduate studies at Pomona College and earned a master’s degree in physical education from California State University - Fullerton. He currently lives in Alameda, California, with his wife, Beth, and two daughters, Emma and Abby.

Natalie Monsalve is the office manager and registrar for Skylake. She is the “Voice of Skylake.” Natalie will most likely be the person you speak with when you call the office. Natalie has been with Skylake since 2003. She resides at Bass Lake and is in the camp office every day.

Administrative Staff

Megan Carpenter spent her first summer at Skylake in 2008 as the Head Girls' Counselor and loved it so much she's come back for her fourth year straight. Megan is a graduate of California State University with both a B.A. in Fine Art and an M.A. in International Relations. Megan is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Buckingham in England, where she is working on completing her research in European politics.

Joe Sullivan, or “Aussie Joe” as he is more affectionately known, returned for his third year as the Head Boy’s Counselor. Joe's passion for working with kids excelled and excelled over the years and he is now in the process of studying to be a full time elementary school teacher. Joe's other passion is traveling. In the off seasons Joe has been traveling the world and ventured into many countries, experiencing new cultures. Although he lives in Australia, his home will always be at Skylake.

Luke Booker returned to Skylake as Activity Director for 2011. Luke joined Skylake for the first time in 2010 as an Out of Camp Trip Leader and as Activity Director made quite an impact on our Special Days with wonderful themes and direction. Luke also was hugely popular as the DJ for camp dances. Luke made sure all of the activities were fun and meaningful this past summer.

Sarah Mann returned to Skylake as Trip Coordinator this summer after having been a counselor for two years and a camper for many, many summers. Sarah coordinated all of our back pack trips, day trips to Yosemite, special trips to Oakhurst, and organized airport runs.

Kate Barker returned to Skylake in 2011 as the Waterfront Director. Kate took control of the waterfront and was responsible for the overall safety and wellbeing of the waterfront. Kate also organized our Width of the Lake and Length of the Lake swims.

Earl Quinlan returned to Skylake this summer as the P.M. Director. Earl was responsible for making sure camp ran smoothly from 4:30 p.m. until his final rounds, turning off the lights and locking the gate at 12:30 a.m.

Counselors
Skylake will have 65 counselors this summer. Counselors are required to have obtained their lifeguarding, first aid, and CPR certifications. In addition all staff attend 6 days of on-site staff training immediately preceding the arrival of the campers. Skylake counselors have both the responsibility of being cabin counselors for the 32 cabins and for running a specific activity. All of the Skylake counselors are college students or who have already graduated. The hiring process includes interviews, reference checks, and full criminal background checks.