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An Immersive Professional Development Experience for Summer Camp Leaders 

One city. Three days. Infinite inspiration. 

Campy Camp is a different kind of professional development experience built around the idea that some of the best learning happens when you get out of the ballroom, experience unforgettable moments together, and have time to actually talk about what you learned. For three action-packed days, we’ll use Austin as our learning lab. The group will be immersed in the city, engaging in brand studies, field trips, hands-on adventures, and conversations about what makes experiences truly memorable. Then, the cohort will connect those observations directly back to camp. Because the very best ideas rarely happen in Ballroom B. 

Wednesday, April 14
Howdy, Campers!

Campy Camp begins with connection. We’ll get oriented, meet the cohort, and start experiencing Austin together. Wednesday schedule highlights include:
 

  • Welcome Roundup: Opening reception & orientation
     

  • Experience Lab: Twilight in Texas
     

  • Culture Case Study: Texas Honky-Tonk

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Wednesday Suggested Attire:

Western Wear

Thursday, April 14
Level Up!

We'll learn how to take camp to the next level through team-based challenges and a little friendly competition. Thursday schedule highlights include:​​

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  • Street Study: South Congress Scavenger Hunt
     

  • Experience Lab: Retrolympics
     

  • Brand Study: The Business of Fun

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Thursday Suggested Attire:

80s/90s Retro

Friday, April 16
Bring It Home!

We’ll turn the ideas from Campy Camp into meaningful traditions, practical next steps, and momentum to bring home. Friday schedule highlights include:​

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  • Making Camp Magic: Tradition and Talisman Lab
     

  • Working Brunch: Implementing Ideas
     

  • Closing Keynote: From Austin to Action

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Friday Suggested Attire:

Rep Your Camp

Intentionally small for maximum impact.

Sure, everything is bigger in Texas. But Campy Camp is small by design with extremely limited enrollment. A purposefully intimate group size allows us to shape the experience around the people in the room, create space for meaningful conversations, and build real connections that are harder to find in a crowd. Think a dozen people around a table, not a hundred people in a ballroom. Through Campy Camp, we’re developing a group of peers you’ll still be learning from, calling, texting, and trading ideas with long after the trip to Austin ends.

Designed to change the way you think about camp (and see the world).

At Campy Camp, we learn by doing, and we solidify those lessons by reflecting on the experiences with each other. The goal isn’t to leave Austin with 35 pages of notes you’ll never look at again, it’s to leave seeing your program differently, and to train your mind to find campyness everywhere you go.

From Austin to action. 

Campy Camp turns three days of hands-on learning into practical strategies you can apply immediately. Participants will leave better equipped to strengthen program quality, sharpen brand differentiation, build belonging and loyalty, and make more intentional decisions about the experiences they create. By the end of Campy Camp, participants will be able to:

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  • Audit the participant experience and identify high-impact opportunities for improvement.

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  • Translate brand values into tangible program moments, traditions, and touchpoints.

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  • Use recognition, ritual, and shared identity to strengthen belonging and engagement.

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  • Evaluate real-world brands and experiences for ideas that can be adapted to auxiliary programs.

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  • Design memorable experiences with greater intentionality, without relying on bigger budgets.

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  • Build a practical implementation plan for bringing new ideas back to their organization.

Welcome to our downtown basecamp

Home base for Campy Camp Austin is the Cambria Austin Downtown, located in the energetic Rainey Street Historic District. Steps from some of Austin’s favorite spots, we have positioned the central “cabin” for Campy Camp to be walkable to the majority of our off-site excursions.

Attendees will have access to a special Campy Camp room block, with a nightly rate of $160.

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Meet your Campy Camp Counselors

Campy Camp is co-hosted by Michael Carmody and Katie Peterson.

Michael Carmody is a Brand Identity Developer for summer camps and auxiliary programs. After earning his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Michael transitioned into the camp world, serving in a leadership role with Rally Camps and later directing the auxiliary programs department at Fort Worth Country Day. In 2024, he founded Make It Campy, using his decade+ of experience in camp program development and design to elevate branding and operations for camps and schools. 

Katie Peterson just completed her 21st summer with Breck Summer Programs, where she began as a counselor in 2006. She became Director of Summer Programs in 2012 and now serves as Director of Auxiliary Programs at Breck School. Katie is passionate about camp culture, building community, sparking joy, and creating traditions that keep campers and staff returning year after year.

Michael and Katie have spent years collaborating, swapping ideas, building exeriences together, and challenging each other to think differently about camp. Their collaboration has included national conference presentations, workshops, classes, creative projects, and constant conversations about what makes programs more memorable, meanginful, and fun. In addition to elevating each other's work, Michael and Katie are the co-hosts of Campy Hour, a conversational podcast for leaders in the world of summer camps and auxiliary programs. 

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Join the roundup.

Registration is $1,250 per attendee and covers the full Campy Camp experience in Austin, from the first welcome to the final sendoff. We’ve built the experience to keep things seamless, immersive, and full of moments worth stealing for your own programs.

Your registration includes:

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  • Wednesday welcome reception

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  • Wednesday dinner

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  • Thursday brunch

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  • Thursday dinner

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  • Friday brunch

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  • Admission/activity fees for all field trips and off-site events

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  • Transportation to off-site field trips that are outside of our urban hike radius

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  • Campy Scoutbook learning guide and field notes journal

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  • Campy Camp Austin swag bag courtesy of Make It Campy

 

Enrollment for Campy Camp opens at 12 Noon EST on Friday, October 16. Spaces in Campy Camp are extremely limited.

Join the early access list below and you’ll receive your Campy Camp registration link 24 hours before registration opens to the public.


No commitment required. We’ll only use this information to send Campy Camp updates and early registration access.

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