About us.
Way back in 1980, Steve and Kate saw kids’ precious independence slipping away. (Yes–Steve and Kate Susskind are real people!) So they set out to do something about it by creating a summer camp. Today, we’ve spawned more than 70 glorious islands of freedom from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach. Learn more about how we got started, and what we’re up to today.
Our story in 100 words.
It was 1980.
Steve sported denim shorts as a religion and Kate rocked Reeboks to aerobics. Both had a passion for camp, but traditional camps had two crucial flaws–kids participated in activities based on age, not interests, and parents had to pay non-refundable fees. Camps weren’t responsive to people’s actual needs. So they built a camp where kids were in charge of their choices and parents could buy any number of day passes, attend camp any time, and get automatic refunds for any unused passes. Campers no longer tie dye, but we are still just as obsessed with addressing individuals’ needs.
Keepers of the flame
Even though Steve & Kate no longer work with us, their vision is carried out through our VPs, Kevin and Mike. These guys have a combined 55 years of Steve & Kate’s work experience—47 of them alongside the founders Steve and Kate. They’ve done virtually every job there is at camp, and lead our team today with the camp’s original philosophy as our north star.
Mike started as a counselor at Steve & Kate’s in 1998, and he’s been here ever since. Now he keeps the vision alive for new generations of campers — including his own freedom-loving kids. Kevin is a Steve & Kate’s camper turned Steve & Kate’s operations whiz. He really blossomed when Steve and Kate invested the same belief in him as a manager that we invest in our campers.
MEET OUR TEAM
OUR PHILOSOPHY