A new chapter at Camp North Star

A New Chapter at Camp North Star

Camp North Star has a new ownership and leadership team, and we’re heading into a milestone year: our 100th season in summer 2027. The camp you know isn’t going anywhere. Poland is still home, the traditions are still ours, and the friendships made here will still be the best part of every summer. We wanted to take a minute to introduce the people leading North Star into its next hundred years and to tell you where we’re headed.

Meet Jonathan and Alyssa Caflun

Jonathan and Alyssa are North Star’s new directors. They’re new to this community, but they’re not new to camp or to the traditions of summer camps in Maine.

Jonathan spent more than 20 summers at Camp Wekeela as a camper and counselor, and then more than 10 years as its Assistant Director. Along the way he held almost every role camp has to offer: Landsports staff, Cabin Leader, Operations Coordinator, Leadership-in-Training Coordinator, Program Director, and Head Counselor. He oversaw all of Wekeela’s staff hiring, because he believes the counselors in a cabin matter more than anything else at camp. He holds a degree in Hospitality Administration from Boston University and is deeply involved in several ACA New England and Maine Summer Camp committees. He’s a camp person to his core.

Alyssa has spent the past 13 summers at Wekeela in a range of roles, most of them focused on building future leaders. During the year she’s an occupational therapist and the founder of Nest & Nurture OT, a practice that supports postpartum mothers and their young children. Her background in child development shapes how she thinks about every camper’s experience, especially for kids spending their first summer away from home.

Jonathan and Alyssa met on their very first day at BU in 2013 and were married in 2022. Their son, Noah, was born in April 2025, and he’ll be spending plenty of summers on the North Star waterfront.

Meet Sam and Max

Sam is North Star’s year-round Assistant Director and Programming Director. Like Jonathan, Sam grew up at camp as a camper then counselor, so he knows firsthand what a great summer means to a kid. Sam was a waterski staff, cabin leader, culinary arts department head, and Director of Kitchen Management in the camp world. He’s a trained chef with a degree in Hospitality Management from Penn State and experience in luxury hotel management. If you look hard enough you may even see him on Disney+ with Gordon Ramsay, or cooking on Netflix. Sam founded a company that runs food operations for summer camps and is committed to enhancing the North Star food service as part of his presence on camp. At North Star, Sam oversees activity programming, operations, and the departments, as well as working with Max to hire our incredible staff.

Max is North Star’s other year-round Assistant Director and our Head Counselor. He started going to summer camp at age 10 and has been part of camp life ever since. Over the years he worked his way from junior counselor to cabin leader, sports staff, and head of the sports department, and he spent the past three summers in an upper administrative role. Off the field at camp, Max stayed in the basketball world. He earned his undergraduate degree at Hofstra University and then became a Division I basketball coach at Bryant University, where he specialized in analytics and scouting. At North Star, Max oversees transportation, day-to-day operations, and part of our hiring. During the summer he leads cabin relations, making sure every bunk is a community where campers can unwind, connect, and feel at home.

What We Stand For

Stepping into this role is both an honor and a responsibility we take to heart. Our priorities come down to three commitments.

The first is safety and care, without compromise. Every camper should feel secure, valued, and free to try new things in an environment where they’re safe and included.

The second is honoring tradition with fresh energy. The traditions your kids count down to every year are staying, and alongside them we’ll bring new ideas and perspectives.

The third is an open partnership with parents. You’re our most important partners, and we want the lines of communication wide open. If you have a question, an idea, or a concern, we’re here for it.

Where We’re Headed

Our mission is simple to say and takes real work to live up to: Camp North Star nurtures campers from every background in a community where they truly belong. Through lifelong friendships and independence, they grow into courageous, confident, creative stewards of kindness and understanding for their future beyond camp.

Looking ahead, we want North Star to set the standard for how a summer camp supports a child’s growth, and to be a place families trust with their children year after year. That means raising the bar every summer in our programs, our people, and our place, while holding on to the traditions that make North Star home.

Right now our focus is on listening and learning. We’re working closely with our leadership team, reviewing operations, and preparing our staff to deliver an unforgettable 100th summer. Some of our plans are longer term, including a new dining hall we’re excited to share more about soon.

Hitting the Road

We don’t think you should have to get to know us through an email, so we’re coming to you.

This year we’re traveling to meet North Star families in person. For current families, that means visits, get-togethers, and a chance to tell us what you love about camp and what you’d like to see us do better. Your kids are the heart of this place, and we want to hear from them and from you before next summer.

We’re also out meeting new families up and down the East Coast at camp fairs, school and community events, and parent Q&A sessions. We’re heading west too, and even overseas, to introduce North Star to kids who don’t know yet that they’re going to love it here.

If we’re coming to your area, we’d love to sit down with you. And if you’d like us to visit, just reach out. We’ll make it happen.

Enrollment for 2027 is open, and we can’t wait to welcome campers and staff back to Poland for our 100th season. See you on the road, and see you next summer.