Our Team

Zachary Friedman - Director

Zach joined the Camp Emerson community as Camp Director in 2023, and he looks forward to continuing the Emerson tradition of camping excellence. He grew up in the Boston Area and attended his childhood camp, YMCA Camp Coniston, for fourteen summers. Zach has formerly taught middle school science, directed a day camp and community programming on an urban farm, and in 2017 co-founded Eden Village West, a nonprofit farm and wilderness overnight camp in Northern California.

Zach received his B.S. in Chemistry from Tufts University in 2009 and his M.S. in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021. Following graduation at UPenn he continued to serve as an Assistant Instructor for the course Empowering Nonprofit Leaders to Thrive, and has worked with students and nonprofit leaders across the world who are committed to building organizations (like camp!) that support people in flourishing. In his free time Zach enjoys backpacking and mountaineering in the White Mountains, gardening, and playing guitar. He lives with his fianceé, Lucy, and their two cats in the Boston area.

Molly Harvey - Assistant Director

Summer camp has always been an important part of Molly's life - she attended multiple summer camps as a child and teen while growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. Molly then worked at Bethel Horizons in Dodgeville, Wisconsin for 6 summers, eventually becoming the Programming Director Assistant. Molly has spent the last 5 ½ years teaching Preschool at a nonprofit children’s center.

Molly received her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Stout in 2016. Molly and her wife, Katy, are making the move to the East Coast from Madison, Wisconsin, and are so excited to check out all the hiking opportunities, explore new cities and food, and make Emerson a part of their new home!

Our Founders

Camp Emerson was founded by Marv and Addie Lein in 1968. They ran camp for 50 years and eventually passed down the camp to their daughter, Sue and her husband Kevin. Sue Lein and her husband Kevin McDoDonough joined the Emerson team in 1992 and stewarded camp together for 31 years until their retirement in 2023. We are eternally grateful to the Lein Family for starting such a wonderful camp. Their dedication to joy, creativity, inclusivity, and community building can be felt in the traditions we still practice today and the stories we hear regularly from our alumni. The future is bright at Camp Emerson because of the strong foundations they have built over many years.