Clearwater Camp Foundation Board Member Biographies
The 13 members of the Clearwater Camp Foundation Board come from a variety of professional backgrounds, but share a unique love for the timeless traditions of Clearwater Camp. As campers, counselors or parents, each have witnessed and experienced the profound sense of well being and purposeful maturity the Clearwater experience has offered girls and young women for more than 70 years. The Clearwater Camp Foundation Board is committed to continuing without interruption or alteration the traditions many have come to hold so dear.
Judy Brown Howser - Board President
Sunny Moore - Camp Executive Director
Ruth Igoe - Vice President
Melissa Moore Koengeter - Vice-President
Heidi Nickels Pace - Vice-President
Ian Lambert - Treasurer
Karen Brown Poehlman - Secretary
Grace Moore Palmer
Salvatore F. Polizzotto
Claudia Aho Hoogasian
Sarah Heisler Eberhard
Carol Altorfer Vance
Chriss Renier
Judy Brown Howser
Board President
Judy is a second generation alumna who is currently the parent of a camper. She obtained her nursing degree from the University of Michigan and then later went on to John Marshall Law School. As a nurse, she worked for Children’s Memorial Hospital for a decade in both the infectious disease area and the intensive care unit. After law school, she worked as a trial attorney in medical malpractice for Clausen Miller P.C. , then as an associate University attorney for the University of Illinois specializing in medical and insurance coverage.
Judy also brings to the board an extensive history as a volunteer. She has been a member of the Junior League of Evanston for nearly 25 years, where she served on the executive board and helped raise $2 million in the annual income enterprise. She has served as a volunteer for schools from pre-school through New Trier High School and the Yale Parent Fund Board. She is also working for the Winnetka Board for Northwestern University Settlement House and Rush University North Shore Board. In addition, she has served her church, scouts, sports teams and political and social organizations. She was named Chicago Volunteer of the Year 1995.
Sunny Moore
Camp Executive Director
Sylvia Sommer Moore earned her nickname "Sunny" during her first year as a camper at Clearwater. Sunny continued attending Clearwater for a period of ten years as a camper, leadership, and counselor under the direction of Founder, Sara Holiday Sprague, better known as Halokwe.
At 83-years-old, Halokwe knew it was time to find a successor. She told Sunny in the fall of 1969 that she must be the next director of Clearwater Camp or it would close. With five children, three daughters already at Clearwater, a son at Camp Minocqua, a younger daughter, and a husband whom she loved, the assignment seemed impossible to her. With the support and encouragement of her family, she consented to try it while Halokwe was living so it could be sold as a "going" camp. In 1975 the Moore family and a few other investors purchased Clearwater. The untimely death of Sunny's husband the following year changed their lives and as a family the Moores plunged headlong into the challenge.
With her sense of deep dedication and sincere stewardship, Clearwater has been fortunate to have Sunny provide leadership to Clearwater for more than 30 years. During these years, Clearwater's numbers have increased, facilities have been well cared for and preserved, and Clearwater enjoys a fine reputation in the camp community.
The very same grace, commitment and intelligence that enabled Sunny to accomplish so much has moved the entire Moore family to believe that this timeless tradition carry on as our treasured Clearwater Camp forever. It is with the deepest gratitude that past and present campers and staff look forward to "spanning the generations" with this momentous effort under the stewardship of our beloved Sunny Moore.
Ruth Igoe
Vice-President
A Chicago native, Ruth Igoe was a camper, leadership and counselor at Clearwater Camp for a decade.
After graduating with honors from Georgetown University, Ruth enjoyed a seven-year stint as a journalist for several newspapers, including the Kansas City Star and the Chicago Tribune. Ruth has since shifted to a career in non-profit public relations and management. Previously, she served in various public relations roles, including as the director of communications for Chicago's food bank, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where her duties included managing the Web site, newsletters, media relations, the organization's annual report to donors and other wide-ranging communications activities.
Ruth is proud to be part of a three-generation camping tradition on Tomahawk Lake. Her father, Michael Igoe, was a Camp Minocqua camper from 1940 to 1945. All three of her older brothers followed in his footsteps at Camp Minocqua. Her sister was also a Clearwater camper, as were four of her nieces.
When Camp Minocqua closed in the 1970s, Michael Igoe purchased the caretaker's cabin along with three screened cabins along Junior Hill. Since then - as a tribute to the traditions of stewardship and respect for nature instilled by their shared camping experiences - the Igoe family has donated easements for the wooded property surrounding the cabins to a nature conservancy.
Melissa Moore Koengeter
Vice-President
Melissa Koengeter, Sunny's fourth daughter, had been visiting camp from an early age before becoming a full time camper in 1970. She was a camper from 1970-1976, and a leadership in 1977. As a counselor from 1978-1981, she followed in her sister Marcia's footsteps as head of sailing. She also enjoyed leading long Canadian and Isle Royale trips with her sister, Grace.
Melissa has been active in recruiting and staff hiring with Sunny, and has been employed at camp doing the payroll, accounting, budgeting, and reports. Melissa was instrumental in bringing camp in to the computer age with the EZ Camp system. Melissa has also served as a part time nurse at camp. A member of the Clearwater Camp, Inc. board of directors for many years, Melissa lives with her family next to camp. Her family has been involved in camp in various capacities and they enjoy keeping a close watch on things during the off-season.
Melissa went to the University of Iowa and graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She has been active in nursing since 1982 and works in Minocqua at Howard Young Medical
Center. She and her family have been living in Minocqua since 1985.
Heidi Nickels Pace
Vice-President
Originally from the Chicago area, Heidi attended Clearwater Camp as a camper in the '70s, a leadership in 1977, and as a counselor in the early 80's. She was married at Clearwater's Sunday Service in 1984.
Heidi graduated from Colorado College with an undergraduate degree in history in 1982 and a master's degree in teaching, also from Colorado College in 1984. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Leadership at the University of Denver. Heidi has served as an educator with Academy School District 20 for more than 20 years. She has held positions including teacher, principal, director of human resources, director of organizational development, executive director of learning services and now serves as chief administrator. Heidi and her husband Wes live with their three boys, Dan, Peter and Ben in Colorado Springs.
Ian Lambert
Treasurer
Although Ian Lambert cannot claim to have been a camper at Clearwater, his association with the camp is nonetheless long and deep. His daughter Lis Lambert Thompson attended from the age of eight and is a current counselor. Lis was married this past summer at Clearwater Camp to John-Neil Thompson in a beautiful celebration the entire Lambert family coordinated. In addition to Lis, Ian's two goddaughters attended camp, and now his three nieces are about to become Clearwater campers as well.
Ian is a retired widely traveled corporate executive and active volunteer for numerous organizations. In addition to his work for the Foundation, Ian manages the Web site and other projects for Early Music Now in Milwaukee, and sings in the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. Born and raised in England he received an undergraduate degree with honors from Oxford University and a master's degree in business studies from London University. A chartered financial analyst, Ian and his wife, Kathy, a trusts and estates lawyer, live in Milwaukee.
Ian recognizes the central role that Clearwater Camp has played in the development of Lis' self-esteem, leadership abilities and character and of many girls like her. He is determined to do all he can to preserve and perpetuate Clearwater Camp as a resource for future generations of girls.
Karen Brown Poehlman
Secretary
Camping in the Northwoods is a family tradition for Karen Brown Poehlman. Her father, Tom "T.K." Brown, attended Camp Minocqua for Boys in the 1940s and 1950s, while her aunt, Annie Brown Short was a camper with Sunny and returned in the 1990s as a counselor, since then bringing her indefatigable approach to canoeing and camp craft classes each summer.
Karen herself was a camper in '76, '79, and '80, and a leadership in '83. She returned as a counselor in '85 while studying computer science and mathematics at Purdue University. Karen shares invaluable talents with the board gleaned during five years with Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, and 10 years with Intel Corporation in planning, programming, and managing projects in supply line management and disaster recovery. Today Karen is primarily a stay-at-home mom, a decision she made at Clearwater's Sunday Service. She is able to share her corporate expertise with purposeful projects dear to her heart, from strategic planning for her son's parent advisory board to the Clearwater Camp Foundation.
Grace Moore Palmer
In the midst of Grace's Clearwater camping experience, Halokwe made that historic request of Grace's mother, Sunny Moore, to be her successor. Grace enjoyed seven years at Clearwater as a camper, advanced tripper, and leadership during Clearwater's first transition in directorship.
Grace began sharing her artistic talents as a counselor in 1974 as the head of Arts & Crafts while studying fine arts at Illinois Wesleyan University. She would return three more summers to the Northwoods as the Head Tripping Counselor, in between making time to marry her husband Bill and honk through camp on the way to the reception. Since then, Grace has shared the Clearwater experience with her three daughters, Katie, Molly and Laura, while returning 11 more summers to assist in various capacities at camp, from teaching basket weaving to helping in the kitchen or co-directing with fellow board member Carol Vance. Grace continues to produce artworks that depicting life at Clearwater and in the Northwoods.
Salvatore F. Polizzotto
Sal Polizotto is the parent of current Clearwater Daughter along with being a partner at Gonser Gerber Tinker Stuhr LLP, Naperville, IL for over 20 years. Sal has been providing development consulting services to colleges, universities, independent schools, hospitals and healthcare systems, religious congregations and other non-profit organizations. Services focus on strengthening Board of Trustees; annual, capital, major and planned gift programs; utilization of volunteers, strategic planning, public relations, marketing and other aspects of institutional development. Sal worked with various universities and medical institutes for over 10 years prior to joining GGTS LLP.
In addition, Sal has spent over a decade on the Board of Directors, President of the Alumni Association or Chairman, Board Development Committee for St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. He has also been a member of various other organizations and committees for Chamber of Commerce, YWCA, Chileda Institute for Multiple Handicapped Children and selection committees for United States Military Academies 3rd Congressional District Wisconsin. Sal has a B.A. from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and Urban Teacher’s Preparation Program, Syracuse University.
Claudia Aho Hoogasian
Claudia was a close friend of the late Marcia Moore Dunaway, a friendship discovered through church and encouraged by a common love for Northwoods camping traditions they both shared. As a camper for many years herself at nearby Y.M.C.A. Camp Jorn, where she also serves on the board, Claudia brings an appreciation won only by direct experience of the Northwoods.
Professional experience Claudia also offers the Foundation includes an extraordinary body of legal expertise. Claudia earned her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin Madison and her law degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. She is retired from the Lake County State's Attorney's Office where she was the chief of the Child Support Division. Claudia is the widow of the late Judge Jack Hoogasian, the mother of four children and has three grandchildren.
Sarah Heisler Eberhard
Sarah attended Clearwater Camp as a camper from 1983 to 1985 and worked as a counselor in 1992 and 1993. Sarah's sister, Meg Heisler, was also a camper for several years in the early 1990s.
Sarah graduated from Colgate University in 1994, cum laude, with an undergraduate degree in anthropology and religion. She returned to Chicago to work for The Northern Trust Company in various roles for four years. Sarah then went to Northwestern University School of Law and graduated in 2001, cum laude, and has worked in the corporate finance department of Jones Day ever since. Sarah is married to Jeff Eberhard and has a son, Adam. They currently reside in Chicago. Sarah is also a board member of the American Cancer Society Associate Board.
Carol Altorfer Vance
Born and raised in Peoria, Illinois, Carol Vance is also part of a three-generation tradition at Clearwater Camp. Her mother, Harriett Pearson, was a counselor and Carol started going to camp when she was 10-years-old. During the 1960s, Carol was a camper on the Harbor, Cape and Point. She also returned to be a riding counselor in 1969 and 1970.
A graduate of Pine Manor Junior College and the University of Arizona, Carol is married to Hobey Vance.
When her daughters became Clearwater campers - and her son was at Camp Highlands, nearby - Carol began joining the administration at Clearwater Camp for weeks at a time. It soon became an annual tradition. During her 15-year tenure on the Clearwater Camp management team, Carol served as transportation director, assistant director and on the Clearwater Camp Inc. board. She and her husband also purchased a summer home in the community surrounding Clearwater Camp. Carol is now proud to serve on the Clearwater Camp Foundation board as part of the efforts to continue these traditions for future generations.
Carol is also involved with her church, served on many PTA boards - including two years as PTA Council President - is in involved in numerous other volunteer activities. Carol is now involved in a family own business in Southlake, Texas.
Chriss Renier
Christine Clark Renier is the mother of three longtime Clearwater Daughters, who were campers and counselors. One of her daughters, Chriss notes, still considers Clearwater her favorite place on earth. A native of Peoria, Ill., Chriss graduated with a mathematics degree and earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Chriss's work experience includes positions with the University of Illinois as a research assistant and with the aviation research lab and Honeywell, Inc. as the principle research assistant.
Chriss brings extensive civic experience to the board, including her current involvement as a board member and chair for the Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis, where she lives. Chriss has served as a board member for the Mental Health Association of Minnesota, on the steering committee for the University of Minnesota's new equine center and as a trustee for the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph Minnesota, a college for women that challenges students to live balanced lives of learning, work, leadership and service in a changing world. Chriss resides with her husband, Jim Renier, in Hamel, Minnesota.