Emily Kohlberg-Field Producer at ABC News Studios-Coniston: 2010-2017
How old were you when you started Camp?
I was 13.
How were you introduced to Coniston?
Lots of kids from the town I’m from (Arlington, MA) started going to Coniston around the time I was in middle school, and word spread!
Did you attend college, and if so, what did you study?
I went to Villanova University, and studied Communications with minors in Peace & Justice and Global Health.
What is your current job?
I’m a Field Producer at ABC News Studios. Studios is the Longform division of ABC News, and my team produces documentaries and news-adjacent series and specials for both Hulu and the ABC network. My job is to go out into the field and produce shoots: I conduct interviews, collect b-roll, manage camera crews, scout locations, handle on-set logistics & more.
“Fake it til you make it” is the number one mantra I use when I’m in the field. When I have multiple 16-hour shoot days in a row, I find myself having to dig deep for energy and slap a smile on my face until I trick myself into believing it… just like fourth session. Also, this sounds crazy but I have to use my “counselor voice” on set constantly (let me tell ya it really feels different when you’re in the real world and not corralling middler girls).
Yes!! I’m still very (very) close with lots of people from Coniston. I think all the time about my summers at camp and I’m so lucky that there’s such a strong NYC contingent. One memory I’ll call out is the last period of the last day of fourth session my last summer as a counselor. A snapping turtle and the thickest most massive leech I have ever seen showed up to gfro within 30 seconds of each other and the campers went nuts. I think about that every single day. It’s a great metaphor for producing tv actually.
Girls Camp Director – Meg Davis’ Favorite Summer Memories
Our 2022 Girls Camp Director, Meg Davis, reflected on her favorite memories of the summer.
Summer 2022 was one of the best summers I have ever had at camp. I loved having a more influential role in both staff and camper’s experiences all summer and it was incredibly rewarding to watch everyone fall more and more in love with camp every day.
This summer gave me a unique opportunity to see parts of camp I had never experienced before and think of things in a different frame of mind. Some of my happiest memories from this summer were planning activities to help staff bond, giving vespers, playing in the camper staff soccer games, cheering people on in the triathlon, sitting on program porch or main lawn and watching everyone in program areas, and watching the CITs and international staff run into the lake.
And when I wasn’t always having the usual camp fun, I also genuinely loved being someone others came to for advice, providing support to campers, and critically thinking about how to best solve problems in order to improve the overall Coniston experience. Summer 2022 will forever go down as one of my favorite summers at Coniston and I feel so lucky to have had such wonderful staff and campers to make incredible memories with!
In Memoriam: Jessie Milne Freeman
(1978 - 2022)
It’s with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to Jessie Milne Freeman. Jessie was a camper in the 90s and then went on to become a beloved staff member. Jessie continued her work with children at Sunapee elementary school, and most recently at James House, in the preschool of KRSD.
Many people have since donated to YMCA Camp Coniston in her memory. We were truly honored to have Jessie be a part of our community and we will miss her dearly.
“Naming Camp Coniston as one of Jessie’s suggestions for gifts in her memory was an apt memorial for our daughter, who died in June at the age of 43. Camp is the opportunity for kids to discover that they can conquer their fears while sharing outdoor fun with others. Coniston does this masterfully.
Jessie was a fourth child and only girl who followed her older brothers to Camp Coniston as a camper. She loved swimming, dancing, riding and singing at Camp, but even more so, she bonded with her fellow (cabin 8) campers as sisters.
When she returned a decade later as a counselor of riding, Jessie loved her job, helping kids learn to have fun and be safe with large animals. She was a cautious instructor who encouraged the riders in her care to consider the horse or pony as their partner in learning. The experience colored her life’s journey toward teaching, the study of human development, and motherhood. She often spoke of her campers’ successes and felt honored to be connected to Coniston in two ways.
After her initial diagnosis of melanoma 16 years ago, Jessie attended two retreats for cancer patients and survivors herd at the Kripalu Yoga Center. A favorite counselor there was Dr Joan Borysenko of Harvard, who credited overnight camp “under the pine grove” as one of her most important formative experiences. As she studied and taught, Jessie followed Dr Borysenko’s writing and research on the mind-body connection, gently guiding children through challenges at school and her son at home.
It is her family’s hope that Coniston will continue to give kids and young adults camaraderie and a strong start to productive, nurturing lives.”
– Dale Milne, Jessie’s father

Reflections From a CIT Parent

Coniston magic explained though a thank you note from a Camp parent…
“Every summer after we pick up our boys from camp we intend to write to you and tell you with our whole heart how incredible their time at camp is year after year. Somehow summer turns to fall and the whole cycle begins and then we are again reminded of the incredible gift that is Coniston. After this summer we were reflecting and honestly feel like of all the things we have done for our boys, sending them to Camp Coniston is literally the best thing we have done for them. We felt it was important that we finally let you know that, and that we are so incredibly grateful for the opportunities Conisiton provides for them. So THANK YOU for giving our boys this experience that has helped them become caring, engaged, reflective, inquisitive, risk taking boys.
In a time when being a teenager is even more challenging in every aspect, we feel that the camp experience is more important than ever. It is an escape from technology, a chance to make authentic caring friendships with new people, and an opportunity to try new things and take risks. Our oldest son, who is now a sophomore in college, told us after his last camper year that he was going to try to be his camp self in life more. And our youngest, who loves to meet everyone and connect with as many people as he can, just transitioned to boarding school and said that it was so easy because “I learned how to do all of that at camp mom.”
This year we are the most grateful for our son’s experience as a CIT, which he said was the “best month of his life.” It was a really challenging year for all of us, and to be honest getting that CIT application done was really difficult for him during that time but we also knew it could be one of the best things for him. We are so grateful that the camp gave him that opportunity and it was all that we hoped and more. He already had a lot of help and was doing much better, but Camp reminded him how to connect fully with people, how to open himself up, how to do hard things and also just what value he can bring to a group and to situations. We just read his college essay and he wrote about being a CIT and the incredibly transformative experience it was. His CIT directors were both amazing mentors to him and he has approached the end of high school/start of college with a fresh outlook and new goals and interest as a result. We could not be happier and more grateful for this.
We know through all of your outreaches, letters and other communication that you know how special camp is. But truly, it has been life changing for our kids. We want you to know how incredibly appreciative we are, and that you are changing lives.”
Kelly Williamson Polanco-Head of People and Culture for Aktis Oncology-Coniston: 1980s
How old were you when you started Camp?
I was 12!
How were you introduced to Coniston?
Together with my best friend.
Did you attend college, and if so, what did you study?
MS in Organizational Dynamics and MBA in International Business.
What is your current job?
I am the Head of People and Culture for a small biotech. This role incorporates all aspects of HR. My favorite part of my role is coaching new managers.
Coniston gave me many opportunities to step up and be a leader among my peers as well as a team player. These are lessons you value for life.
The ability to take feedback and turn it into positive steps forward is a continuous skill that is reinforced at Coniston. It is a nurturing environment to learn new things, fail at times, and then pick yourself up and try again.
My time as a CIT was invaluable. I still cherish the friendships that continue to today along with leadership lessons.
Program Director Hayley Horton’s Pitcher Plant Research
We recently interviewed one of our 2022 Program Directors, Hayley Horton, who has been undertaking Biological research this summer in Camp Coniston’s very own bog.
What’s your name, age, hometown, and what did you do at camp this summer?
Hi Coniston, my name is Hayley. I am 20 years old, this my 12th year at Coniston. I am from Chelmsford Massachusetts, and this past summer I was full-time Program Director and part-time bog researcher.
What did your research entail?
The research I was working on this past summer was in collaboration with a professor at the University of Vermont, which I attend during the school year, specifically working with pitcher plants; they are one of two carnivorous plants found in the bog. What we were aiming to do is get preliminary data on how different antibiotics affect microbial communities within pitcher plants.
Pitcher plants provide a very interesting mode of research; within the pitchers themselves are their own ecosystems that can be manipulated much easier than a full forest or full ocean when trying to manipulate with something like antibiotics.
Coniston was one of three sites where research was being done this summer, and I was working with one of three different antibiotics that were being tested. We are hoping this data will lead to the discovery of which antibiotic should be used for a larger trial. Currently we are looking at the data to see the degree to which the microbial communities were knocked down, which microbes were affected and which were still present.
As for the procedure I was actually conducting over the summer, every third morning for three weeks, I would go out into the bog and dose twenty plants (ten control and ten experimental) with either de-ionised water for the control plants, or with the antibiotic solution for the experimental plants.
At the beginning and end of the experiment I took morphological measurements, basically physical measurements of the plant, measuring the entire circumference of the plant, from top to bottom and measuring pitcher opening. I also took fluid parameters to see the amount of dissolved oxygen, the temperature, and different traits of the liquid within the pitcher. At the end of the trial we wrapped up by taking that morphological and fluid data again, while also collecting fluid from each pitcher to be analysed in the lab.
Where did your passion for Biology begin?
I am currently a Biological Science major at the University of Vermont, and I can really trace that passion for Biology back to my time at Camp. I had always been interested in science at school, but found that at camp I had the space to really be inquisitive and connect closely with nature in a way that education doesn’t often provide.
Through the Ecology programme area, I was encouraged and excited to be inquisitive and free to question and interact with the nature around me without any looming pressure of grades or deadlines. That really connected me to the field, and has led to where I am today.
How has Coniston influenced your interest in this area?
Specifically in the research I have been assisting with, Camp was a huge help in getting my foot in the door. This past year I took a class called ‘Ecology and Evolution’ with the professor I have been working with, and he talked about his past research, a lot of which was done with pitcher plants. Right off the bat, I was very interested given my connection with Camp and my interest in pitcher plants through the bog and through Ecology.
When I was drafting my email to his asking if I could help with his research, I spoke about how I had learned a lot through this camp and grown a really hearty interest in the system that he was working with. I expressed that I had that hands-on knowledge that maybe other undergraduates wouldn’t have walking into his lab. I was really excited about the prospect of turning this childhood interest of mine into a college prospect.
What were the most interesting discoveries you made whilst conducting your research this summer?
The research has already yielded so many interesting discoveries, and will continue to as we analyze the data further, but I would like to focus on two interesting discoveries in particular:
Firstly, I was very interested to find just how alive the inner system of the pitcher plant was. I had never had the opportunity to remove the fluid from a pitcher and actually see what was going on inside; there was so much life which was really cool to see. This very acidic environment that basically acts as digestional fluid still had mosquito larva and flesh flies inside. On top of that, there’s an entire microbial community that is too microscopic to even see, but I knew I would be able to view the data once it had been sequenced.
One of the more touching discoveries was seeing how excited campers got when seeing this research being done. I was not on Ecology staff this year, but I would hear about the bog walks they would do, and sometimes campers would seek me out after to ask me about my research. 2 campers in Session 1 were really interested to hear about every part of the process, and were so passionate in a way that I recognised in my younger self. It was so cool and very impactful for me to see the research I was doing ignite curiosity with these campers.
What future plans do you have for this research?
As for the future of this research, I am taking undergraduate research credits, and assisting with the analysis, planning and write-up for next steps of this project. We are hoping that the data will be solid and that we are able to propose and conduct a full-scale experiment to dig deeper with what we have already found. I, personally, am hoping to pursue an accelerated masters at UVM using this project as my thesis.
How would you describe your overall experience of being a Coniston staff member this summer?
Being on Coniston staff this summer was incredible. I felt very fortunate that I didn’t have to compromise both my future aspirations for my career and my current aspirations for camp. I was provided with the opportunity to do both at once. I feel so grateful that the staff and the campers at Camp welcomed my project with such open arms; the Camp director John Tilley was especially excited at the prospect of me doing this research and was so consistently interested in what I was doing, asking some really insightful questions. He was so excited to see what it provided for me as well as what it provided for the campers.
As for my main job on Camp this summer, I was Program Director, who plans the evening programs and helps a lot with the camper scheduling, making sure the day-to-day fun at camp runs smoothly, including the wonderful programme areas such as Ecology. I loved my job this summer, and how much it allowed me to interact with the staff and how they were each running their own aspects of camp, making sure their little corners of the world ran smoothly, while also being able to plan these big evening events and see how much fun the entire camp had with an idea that Carolyn (my fellow Program Director) spent a lot of time planning.
I feel so grateful to be both a research assistant this summer and spend the time in the bog, whilst also learning so much through my job as Program Director. There is a lot of overlap in these two jobs; I learned how to work with other people, I learned how to admit that I didn’t know how to do something, how to search for help in those areas. In so many ways these roles bolstered each other, allowing me to have a truly incredible summer.
If you had a message for budding scientists who are thinking about coming to Coniston, what would it be?
If I could relay any message to budding young scientists who are thinking about coming to Coniston, I would first of all say do it! There are so many great opportunities to become independent, inquisitive, and confident person, all these things that will help you in any career. I would also encourage them to consider where they might find inspiration and opportunities for knowledge in potentially unexpected places.
You may not think that coming to camp will lead to a scientific career; we focus a lot on fun and friendships and trying new things, which a lot of the time doesn’t seem to naturally pair with science’s pursuit of knowledge and procedure. However, in my experience the fun that I had at camp led me to want to continue having fun and learning through that fun. The friends I made at camp helped me to understand what I wanted out of life and my career, helping me every step of the way when it seemed scary to put myself out there. Trying new things is the root of science, and the root of becoming a person who is comfortable asking questions. Maybe you don’t see learning how to shoot an arrow as the same thing as being able to come up with a new scientific hypothesis, but it all feeds into building a well-rounded person that is capable of doing what the world of science requires in a way that feels fun and rewarding.
I would encourage anyone to not just consider the traditional paths that might make preliminary sense in becoming a scientist. I didn’t have to attend a Math or Science Camp to get where I am today. I was able to use my experiences at Camp Coniston to find meaning in what I learned, and express that meaning to people who could provide me with opportunities. I am so excited for each and every camper to know that whatever you are interested in, be that the Sciences or Humanities, there is a lot of potential with coming to Camp and I wish them all the very best in their learning.
Camp Winning Spirit celebrates 25+ years

This summer we celebrated 25+ years of Camp Winning Spirit!
Our annual Labor Day Weekend event, partnered with New Hampshire Childhood Cancer Lifeline, welcomed 28 families who have been affected by cancer. The weekend was full of classic Winning Spirit activities like kickball, pirate night, s’mores and campfire skits!
On the Sunday, we invited Winning Spirit alumni families and staff to join us for a day of celebration. The day ended with a beautiful firework show to commemorate 25 + years of this special weekend and to honor all of the families that have attended.
Noah Kahan performs at Coniston

This summer, we were excited to have Noah Kahan, musician and Coniston alumnus, revisit Coniston and perform for our staff. He was welcomed back with open arms, and all staff were very excited to meet him and see him play live.
American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan released his first single ‘Young Blood’ in 2017. Since then, his music career has taken off with Noah collaborating with artists such as George Ezra, James Bay and Dean Lewis. He released his first album ‘Busyhead’ in 2019, taking his music on a world tour in the same year. In 2021 Noah headlined his ‘I Am / I Was’ tour, and after releasing his latest song ‘Stick Season’ this year, Noah treated the crowds at Red Rocks to a powerful set showcasing his new music.
Before his performance for our staff, Noah took a trip down memory lane, exploring the grounds, revisiting his old cabins and spending the last day of Session 2 with campers. Noah joined in on all the traditional closing night activities, including attending John Tilley’s vespers. He was particularly thrilled to walk down the staff trail to Boys Vespers. It was a magical moment when Noah joined us for dinner in the dining hall and the whole of Camp sang one of his songs at the top of their lungs! Noah even attended closing campfire and played guitar while campers sang. He also joined our staff in performing traditional Camp songs at our closing candlelight ceremony.
Noah performed an acoustic set of his music, featuring songs such as ‘Stick Season’ and ‘Young Blood’, as well as treating the staff to a first performance of an unreleased song. Amidst his lakeside show, he invited staff member Grace Ferguson to join him onstage to sing Noah’s song ‘Hurt Somebody’ as a duet. This was a very special moment not only for Grace, who shares Noah’s passion for music, but for the entire camp, seeing alumni and current staff coming together and giving a heartfelt performance that was met with excited applause from other staff members.
Noah’s passion for music was clear back when he was a camper from age 8 to 15 (2005-2012), as he often performed in our talent show. On his visit, he spoke about his experiences performing in the talent shows: “My first time I ever played an original song was at the talent show, and it was really cool ‘cause everyone here was super supportive of it… I got inspired to write more.” “I came second place every year to the kid who made car noises”. He was delighted to finally receive the 1st place award staff members had made for him, presenting it to him after his moving performance.
Noah’s music paired with the Coniston scenery created a truly spectacular experience for all, and we very much hope that Noah will be back. His career success is no surprise and we were very grateful he took the time to revisit us here at Camp.
Nicole Reiss-Brattle Book Shop Manager and Chair of ABAA Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair-Coniston: 1988-2002
How old were you when you started Camp?
I was 9 or 10!
How were you introduced to Coniston?
A family friend told us about it, but their child did not end up going. Luckily I had the opportunity and was at Coniston for 15 years.
Did you attend college, and if so, what did you study?
I went to Boston University and my major was Archaeology with a minor in Spanish.
What is your current job?
I am the manager of the Brattle Book Shop in Boston, MA. It is one of the oldest and largest antiquarian book shops in America. I’m also the Chair of the ABAA Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair.
Being in leadership roles (’98 CIT Director, ’99 LIT Dir., Girls Camp Dir.) at Coniston helped me hone my management style. It is a lot easier to manage 8-10 book sellers than all of Girls Camp!
I hire a lot of young folks who are looking for a job right out of school. If I see that they have camp experience on their resume, I usually set up an interview. I know they are flexible, can creatively problem solve, good dealing with all types of people, and can think on their feet.
I am still great friends with many of my fellow ’92 CITs and also a few other people that I was on staff with. They are “my people.” I’m so fortunate to have found such wonderful life-long friends at Coniston.