General Camp Director

Along with graduating as the Valedictorian of her University class in 2005, Ann Louise's claim to fame (or failure?) is that she has gained and lost over 100 pounds since she was a teen.

Growing up as an only child to two full-time working parents, Ann Louise, better known as "Fitzy" to camp friends, fell prey to fast food, TV dinners and late night snacking. Nearing 200 pounds in the eighth grade, Fitzy turned to fad diets and quick fixes, none of which ever yielded satisfying or long term results. After years of dieting on grapefruit and binging on baked goods, Fitzy shifted her focus from the numbers on the scale to fitness and nutrition.

She joined a weight management group, attended regular meetings and began to educate herself about proper diet and exercise. Fitzy not only shed 40 pounds, but she improved her self-image and boosted her confidence. These changes prompted her to give up her couch potato lifestyle and start pursuing the activities she enjoys—tennis, aerobics and swimming.

From her personal success, Fitzy felt compelled to help other overweight children by sharing her knowledge of body image difficulties and her experiences with lifestyle changes. After years as a counselor at a day camp in Toronto, she turned her focus to working with overweight children and spent two years as a division leader, and then as a Girls Camp Director. She earned a degree in social anthropology and devoted much of her research to examining social factors that lead to obesity in teenagers.

Fitzy returns for another summer as Camp Director, and is thrilled to be working with Keith Zucker to create new traditions, while delivering the same attention, kindness and excitement that Keith's camps have brought to thousands of campers. For those of you who know her for her tie-dye pajamas, '80s prom dresses, and Super Mario costumes…Fitzy already has a dozen silly and preposterous costumes prepared for another summer of fun!