the board

President (2015 - present)
Camper: '75 - '80; Staff: '84 - '85, '87

“The greatest job I ever had, and ever will have, was being a counselor at Camp Thunderbird.” Boone’s nine summers at Camp – six as a camper and three as a counselor – helped teach him a respect for nature and a love of camping which continues today and which he has passed on to his children. “Thunderbird has changed so little over the 40 years since I began as a Crow Village camper. I love that my kids were able to have the same camp experiences I had.” Boone loves remaining close to Camp through his involvement, since 2004, with the Foundation. He served as Vice President from 2004 through 2014 and has been President since 2015.

Boone lives in Sawyer, Michigan, with his wife, Allison. Their two kids, Jacob (25, a 7-year camper and 2-year counselor) and Chloe (22, a 6-year camper) each live in New York. Boone is the prinicpal/owner of the Law Offices of Daniel L. Baskes, a transactional real estate law practice based in Chicago, and spends his free time traveling, drinking wine and riding his bike.

Vice President (2015 - present)
Camper: '77 - '83; Staff: '84 - '90

Lynn spent the most amazing summers of her life at Thunderbird and was fortunate enough to watch her son and daughter do the same. "There is nothing like the excitement of heading down the camp road after being away for the long winter. Almost 40 summers after that first trip down the Million Dollar Mile, the thrill is still there."

These days, Lynn lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband and works as the Director of Client Services for a priviate education company.

Vice President (2020 - present)
Camper: '75 - '80; Staff: '81 - '86

Akorn, then known only as Alan, left for his first eight weeks at Camp Thunderbird for Boys in 1976. He was shy, a bit nervous and homesick from the beginning-- eight weeks was such a long time. He came back home at the end of the summer, however, sad to leave, dirty from head to toe, full of stories and wishing for a 16 week option. Akorn spent eight more summers at Thunderbird as a camper and a staff member. In 2011, he sent his then 10-year-old boy Benjamin to his first eight weeks at Camp Thunderbird. Just like his dad, Ben was nervous and homesick. No surprise, Benjamin came home at the end of the summer, sparkling, full of stories and covered in sand. Benjamin, who is now known as Little Tree, spent 6 summers at camp as both a camper and staff member.

Akorn has been the Treasurer and now Vice President of Non-Profit Relations since 2010.

Secretary (2004 - present)
Staff: '89 - '90, '92 - '99

Lucky to have been hired by Shady to work in the office at Boys' Camp, Chilly worked her way to full-time employment with Camp in St. Louis as the Office Manager and Assistant Director at Boys' Camp. "Camp Thunderbird has given me amazing friends, lots of laughter, wonderful work experience, and a fun life of great experiences."

​Chilly works with nonprofits at a Minnesota-based organization helping them create efficient CRMs. Lots of hands-on experiential work - much like Thunderbird's philosophy.

Treasurer (2020-Present)
Camper: '81 - '86; Staff: '92 - '93

Jonathan "Clavin" Zucker started at Thunderbird in 1981 and spent six summers as a camper, most of it in a canoe. He was part of the "first Sioux 5 day" canoe trip in 1983 and, but for gall stones would have been on 1986's super trip. He would have you know that moose are adorable from a distance, but terrifying up close, which he learned on the 1986 Isle Royale hike he joined (less a gall bladder) as his final trip as a camper. He returned in 1992 for two seasons on staff, mostly teaching Outdoor Living Skills (whatever happened to "Campcraft"?).

These days Clavin is a political fundraising technologist, focusing on innovative ways to engage more people -- particularly small donors -- in campaign finance. He recently founded Every State Blue.

Past President (2004 - 2014)
Staff: '73 - '92

Kathy “Scout” Rauch discovered Camp Thunderbird in 1973, the summer of her freshman year at Mizzou. Nicknamed “Scout”, she began as a cabin counselor when she was 19 and moved into roles as C.I.T. leader, Program Director and Assistant Camp Director of the Girls' Camp. After 20 years at camp, she and husband, Michael “Shady” O’Grady left camp to raise their own family. Both sons, Zack and Luke, have happy memories as toddlers at camp, and spent two summers as campers. Scout and Shady's younger son, Luke, touts being born in Bemidji shortly after final banquet at the close of camp in 1990. Known as "Bucher", he has spent 4 summers following in his parents' footsteps. Scout has remained actively involved in camp by serving as President of the Foundation from its rebirth in 2004 until 2014.

Kathy currently resides both in Bemidji and in Woodstock, IL. She continues her work part time and virtually with the Family Health Partnership Clinic.

Camper: ’86-’91; Staff: ‘92

Laurie spent seven summers at Camp Thunderbird and attributes many of her happiest memories, values, and lifelong friendships to those times. Amongst the countless highlights she participated in the first girls Pacific Northwest Trip, the trip she admits changed her life. Laurie is now thrilled to have had all three of her children experience camp with the youngest still continuing her journey. Returning for parents weekend each year is always the best part of her summer!

​Laurie currently lives in Deerfield, Illinois with her husband and three children and works as the Director of Social Emotional Learning at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.

Camper: '93 - '00; Staff: '01 - '08

Jesse "Chino" Lewin spent a total of 16 summers at Thunderbird (1993-2008); eight as a camper and eight as a staff member as sailing instructor, Crow Head Counselor and Program Director. His favorite camp memory is passing his trippers canoeing qualification as a Crow and being a part of the first Crow cabin to go on a three-day canoe trip. After Thunderbird, Chino supported national and local media outreach and correspondence for the White House.

Presently, Chino works for McDonald's corporation in Global Communications.

Camper: '70 - '74; Staff: '82 - '83

Mark started his career at Camp Thunderbird from 1970- 1974 as a camper and CIT. He returned in 1982-1983 and worked with the horseback program at Boys' Camp. For a few weeks each summer he would return to help out with horseback until 1992. He developed such a love of Northern Minnesota that he moved to Bemidji in 1993 where he was in private practice as an Ophthalmologist for 14 years.

Shane is still practicing part-time at Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota.

Camper: ’01-’07; Staff: ’08-’09, ’11-’13

Joey “Finchy” Shulman first attended Thunderbird as a 9-year-old in the summer of 2001, where fellow board member Chino was his first counselor. Finchy got his Trippers as a Crow camper and tripped his way through the years to the JL trip of 2007. He spent five years on staff, eventually leading Progressions in 2012 and serving as the Director of Swimming in 2013.

Finchy currently works as a digital product designer at Tock. He lives with his partner Leila in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago.

Camper: '62 - '68; Staff: '69 - '74

Louis “Skip” Weiss is grateful to his parents who took a flyer and gifted him his first Camp Thunderbird experience in 1962. For 12 blissful summers, Skip enjoyed making many lifetime friendships, the freedom to make choices (without consulting his beloved parents)...and canoe tripping…the highlight of which was his co-leading CTB’s first five-week Canadian canoe trip in 1973. Skip shared the joy of CTB with his camper sons Ben (1998-2001) and Nick (“Warden”, 2003-2009).

Currently living in Chicago, Skip publishes Chicago Health and Caregiving magazines.