Camp Nakanawa
Camp Nakanawa Board of Directors
The mission of Camp Nakanawa is to provide an overnight summer camp to educate girls and young women through outdoor experiences to gain confidence and reach their full potential. By supporting the Spirit of Nakanawa the board of directors seeks to provide the Camp Nakanawa experience to as many girls as possible – because we know it makes a difference in their lives and they will make a difference in the world.
President
Wyeth Outlan Burgess
Nashville, TN
Wyeth Outlan Burgess grew up in West Tennessee just outside Memphis. After attending Nakanawa through Tent Row, she was a Junior Camp riding and cabin counselor, an experience which confirmed her pursuit of a teaching career. Educated at Hollins College and Emory University, Wyeth has taught English and writing in settings ranging from university classrooms to magnet schools and after-school youth programs.
After her daughter Goodwin completed her own Tent Row summer, Wyeth returned as a Junior Camp riding counselor and has enjoyed eleven summers there. She teaches at Belmont University in Nashville and has volunteer board experience with alumnae, church and community organizations. Wyeth joined the EMCT Board in 2021.
Vice-President
Ginny Bass Carl
Oklahoma City, OK
Ginny Bass Carl, Founder and CEO of Giving Well LLC, is a 5th generation Oklahoman and a licensed attorney in Oklahoma, Texas and Hawaii. She received her law and accounting degrees from University of Oklahoma. Combining her years of working for nonprofits, including Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Oklahoma Hall of Fame, nonprofit board service, training, and passion to change the world, she started her own business to scale philanthropy and ensure greater impact for nonprofits. In 2019, she achieved her Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) designation.
Currently, Ginny is the Executive Director of Community Cares Partners which administers the pandemic emergency rental relief for the state of Oklahoma.
Ginny joined the founding Board of Directors for Camp Nakanawa upon its conversion to a nonprofit in 2021. A member of Tent Row 1979, she attended camp for six summers (when it was still seven weeks!) and all her TR reunions.
Living in Oklahoma City, she has two grown children, Collin Groves of Houston and Rachael Groves of Oklahoma City (10 years a Nakanawa camper, Tent Row 2014, and one year a counselor). Ginny is married to Peter Carl.
Secretary
Georgia Graham Mattern
Hendersonville, NC
Georgia comes to the board of directors for Camp Nakanawa as a long-standing member of the Elisabeth Mitchell Charitable Trust Board of Trustees. She and Tent Row 1981 created the Friends of Camp Nakanawa to celebrate and honor the 75th anniversary of camp. Together they created a mailing list to reach alumnae and raise monies for the Elisabeth Mitchell Charitable Trust. Georgia embraces all that camp has to offer in the shaping of values, good moral character, and abiding team spirit.
What she gained from Nakanawa she attributes to her successes as an adult. One of her achievements was serving as a past president to the Junior League of St Petersburg. Through her voluntarism, she has navigated waters for fundraising, collaborating with other nonprofits, recruitment of volunteers, project research & development, and leading projects from beginning to end. Today, Georgia is a realtor where she enjoys assisting her clients with their real estate needs. She also enjoys time on golf courses, playing euchre with friends, and looking forward to the next TR reunion time or the annual Service Weekend at Camp.
Georgia’s camp experience includes being a camper for 8 years, TR 1981, and riding counselor on senior for 1-year for a total of 9 years. Her daughter, Emily Virginia Mattern also attended camp for 10 years and was part of TR 2016.
Treasurer
Pamela Griffith Pabian
Louisville, KY
Chairman-Finance Committee
Pamela coordinated the corps of volunteers for the Nakanawa Centennial Reunion in 2019 and was elected to the Elisabeth Mitchel Charitable Trust (EMCT) Board in spring 2021. That board subsequently transitioned to the Camp Nakanawa Board of Directors for which she serves.
Pamela attended the University of Kentucky and majored in Biological & Agricultural Engineering and has worked in the pharmaceutical industry since graduating from college. She currently works as a Senior Quality Assurance Manager at Talaris Therapeutics, a small cell-therapy biotechnology company in Louisville.
Pamela resides in Louisville with her husband and daughter Caroline. Caroline will be attending her second summer in Junior Camp in 2022.
Board Member
Mary Shearer Baker M.D.
Norfolk, VA
Board Member
Jeff Blake
Oklahoma City, OK
With years of outstanding construction experience, design excellence and creative non-profit leadership, Jeff Blake stands out among his peers. Add to the mix a devoted Camp Nakanawa dad and husband to Emily Richardson Blake (TR ’89), and we are fortunate indeed to welcome Jeff as our new Facilities Chair. The ongoing waterfront construction projects on Lake Aloaloa owe much to Jeff’s engaged listening, practical approach and hard work on the Dock Committee. We have only just begun! As President of Gumerson Blake Design Build in Oklahoma City for almost two decades, Jeff brings management ability, accounting expertise and community engagement to the Board. Thank you, Emily, and daughters Annie and Lucy for sharing Jeff with our Dear Red and Blue. Fortunately for the Valkyries on the board, Jeff will bowl for Team Valk. Will that finally end the Amazon’s winning streak?
Board Member
Amanda Forgason Dempsey
Dallas, TX
Marketing Committee member and leader Amanda Forgason Dempsey was elected to the Nakanawa Board in October 2022, our second year, for a two-year term to serve as the Board’s Marketing Chairman. Amanda’s fifteen-plus years in strategic corporate marketing include branding, sponsorship and special event success on the national level for companies such as Red Bull, The North Face, Gatorade and Dr. Pepper Snapple. Enjoying a new look with recent Camp accessories? Thank Amanda for her generous merchandising work. A Nakanawa alumna and member of the SMU Division I women’s soccer team in college, Amanda brings her passions for women’s athletics and business leadership to the Board.
Amanda spent nine summers as a camper followed by two summers as the head of canoeing. Mother of Junior camper Payton, Amanda is passionate about continuing the legacy for young girls to benefit from all the Nakanawa has to offer.
Amanda currently resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Jay and their two children, Payton (TR 2029) and Liam.
Board Member
Alex Seblatnigg
Atlanta, GA
Alex Seblatnigg, TR 1988 and former Nakanawa counselor, makes her home in Atlanta, GA. We know Alex as an effective, flexible leader of our volunteer corps at Service Weekends in May, but she is a true professional in the field.
As Director of Volunteer Services and Internal Engagement at Shepherd Center in Atlanta for ten years, Alex implements all aspects of volunteer service in Shepherd’s unique hospital community. Her impact is both external with community service groups and internal among employees. Alex consistently leads employee giving to more than $200,000 annually with 80% or more staff participation, a stellar average.
Alex’s extensive non-profit board service and leadership has received recognition at community, state and national levels. She coordinates personnel and team evaluations, edits newsletters, stages national conferences and reassigns Nakanawa alumnae in a chilly downpour (no small feat!). Alex is a doer and a builder who brings both unity and purpose to her work. Outside of Nakanawa, the annual Georgia 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer is close to her heart.
Board Member
Sally Tubb Welch
Austin, TX
Chairman – Communications Committee
For Sally, it all began in 1973 when she reluctantly went to Nakanawa for the first time. Her mother, Suzanne Smith Tubb, and Sally’s two Aunts had all been campers. In fact, Sally’s maternal Grandfather had been the camp doctor for several summers. But it took a lot of cajoling on her mother’s part to convince Sally that “there is a spot we all hold dear.”
Sally was a camper for four summers and a counselor for one and could have kicked herself for not going sooner. It did not take long for her to realize that Nakanawa is a magical place. And it was a beautiful escape from the heat of Texas in the summers. To this day, Sally still has many close friends from camp and always welcomes the opportunity to walk through camp smelling the pine trees and hearing her shoes crunch across the gravel. Sally’s two daughters, Lucy and Lilly were campers and counselors as well and they truly understand that Nakanawa is a cherished gift that keeps on giving. Learning how to be compassionate, loving, inclusive and recognizing the value of teamwork are the cornerstones of camp. And are very positive attributes you can take with you out into the world beyond camp.
Sally resides in Austin, TX with her husband, Tom and their dog Olive.
Camp nakanawa
Elisabeth Mitchell Charitable Fund
- Mary Shearer Baker M.D.
- Lyn Brantley
- Wyeth Burgess
- Georgia Graham Mattern
- Pamela Griffith Pabian
- Pepe Perron
- Sally Tubb Welch