Meet Our Staff

Executive Director, Karel Horney

2012 marks Karel’s fifteenth year as Executive Director. Karel and Bob Horney, along with a pediatric physical therapist, founded Adam’s Camp in 1986. Karel volunteered for the organization for 10 years, serving in such capacities as Development Chair, Children’s Concert fundraiser Chair for 8 years, Board President and capital campaign representative. Karel has volunteered with other organizations including the Junior League of Denver, The Women’s Foundation, Susan Komen Foundation and her children’s school. Prior to serving as ED of Adam’s Camp, Karel worked as an event coordinator with the American Heart Association of Colorado & Wyoming for almost 4 years.

In 1996, Karel was the recipient of the Minoru Yasui Volunteer Achievement Award and was awarded the Arapahoe Sertoma Service to Mankind award in 2006. Karel has a bachelors degree in English and Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. She lives in Centennial, Colorado with her husband Bob who is managing the Adam’s Camp Outreach initiative. Son Adam; a 31 year old young man with cerebral palsy for whom the camp is named, is now living independently. Adam’s twin brother, Jared, lives in San Francisco.

Program Director, Lisa Townsend

You may have heard Lisa singing while involved in the Early Start, Mountain Therapy, and Trailblazer programs, or around the campfire at Snow Mountain Ranch. She comes to Adam’s Camp with a background in music therapy and has been working with children, adolescents and adults with special needs and their families for many years. Lisa first joined the Adam’s Camp family in 2007 as a therapist, and became part of the administrative team in 2008.

Lisa is originally from Rochester, NY. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy with a concentration in Psychology from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. She has additional training in Neurologic Music Therapy from the Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University and also received Orff-Schulwerk training at the Eastman School of Music.

When not making music, Lisa enjoys exploring all the mountains of Colorado have to offer.

Billing and Finance Director, Laura Johnson

Laura was initially introduced to Adam’s Camp in 1989 when her son, Erik, participated in the first Adam’s Camp Early Start program. She then served on the Board of Directors and shortly after, worked for Adam’s Camp during its formative years until 1995. After spending time raising her 3 children, Laura returned to work with Adam’s Camp in 2003 and is our Billing & Finance Director.

Laura’s degree in Resource Development from Michigan State University and her experience in the Healthcare Management profession has prepared her to be a valuable addition to the Adam’s Camp team. In addition to the overall financial management of Adam’s Camp, Laura especially enjoys working closely with Adam’s Camp families in putting their funding pieces together for camp.

Laura has 3 children: George, Emily and Erik. Erik, who has Down syndrome, is a regular at Adventure Camp and Emily has enjoyed many years volunteering for Adam’s Camp.

Director of Development and Communications, Sarah Hartway

Sarah’s professional background is in pediatric nursing and nursing administration with an emphasis on care of children with special healthcare needs, working in both inpatient and community settings. She then developed and implemented a healthcare outreach program for a Down syndrome organization, reaching out to providers and students ensuring their access to current information about Down syndrome, developmental disabilities and community resources. Sarah has published articles on these topics and has spoken at national conferences as well. Sarah joined Adam’s Camp in January 2012 after seeing the benefits it provided to her own son, Adam.

Sarah graduated with both a BS and MS from the University of Colorado and lives in Littleton with her husband and three children.

Volunteer Coordinator, Helga Simons

Helga was introduced to Adam’s Camp in 1999 as the parent of a camper participating in the Mountain Therapy session for three consecutive summers. She got hired for Adam’s Camp in November 2004 and has since been responsible for recruiting, training and supervising the various volunteers that are needed to directly support our programs in the spring, summer, fall and winter; as well as recruiting volunteers that indirectly support our ongoing operation in the office. Helga’s previous professional experience was as an Early Intervention Resource Coordinator, connecting families with infants and young children with special needs to community resources and services. She has served as a board member at Denver Early Childhood Connection, and as a Regional Director for the Williams Syndrome Association, where she organized events for the families of children affected by Williams Syndrome in the Rocky Mountain Region.

Growing up in Germany, Helga earned a Bachelor Degree at the College for Business Administration (Fachhochschule fuer Wirtschaft) in Pforzheim, Germany. She experienced living in Paris and New York for some time and now resides in Denver where she lives with her younger daughter Hannah. Nina, her oldest, has ventured out to attend college and experience the world.

Executive Assistant and Office Manager, Shyun Wen Yong

A volunteer with Adam’s Camp since November, 2005, Shyun joined the organization in January, 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language & Literature from the National University of Singapore and a Diploma in Special Education from the National Institute of Education, Singapore. Shyun worked as a special education teacher in Singapore before moving to Denver, Colorado with her husband, Aik Hong in January, 2002.

Truly impressed by the dedication and desire of all involved to work together as a team, Shyun feels excited and blessed to be part of the Adam’s Camp family.

As an integral member of the team, she does a little bit of everything & provides support to everyone in the office.

Assistant Program Director, Margaret Froehlke, RN, BSN

Margaret Froehlke joins Adam’s Camp as the Assistant Program Director. Margaret’s previous experience includes; Executive Director at the Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic; pediatric nursing; non-profit work; corporate Quality Assurance, and advocacy work, with a focus on education and Inclusion.

Prior to moving to Denver, Margaret served in a number of leadership capacities in a variety of community organizations in Michigan including St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Haslett Public Schools, Lansing Catholic High School, and the East Lansing Public Library. In addition to her community work, Margaret served in the Quality Assurance Department at Baxter Healthcare, and as a registered nurse both at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago and the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, as well as worked with the Autism Society of Michigan. Margaret received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Wayne State University.

Margaret and her husband Bob are blessed with four children, one of whom has Down syndrome and Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Insurance Coordinator, Susan Larson

Susan began working with Adam’s Camp as a volunteer when her son began attending Adventure Camp. Shortly after she started volunteering, she became the Insurance Coordinator. In addition to handling insurance claims, Susan also assists Laura in the finance area and Don in the technology area. In 2007 her family moved to Colorado from Tennessee, where they had lived for nineteen years. Susan grew up in Michigan and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Computer Studies.

Susan and her husband Ted are enjoying living in Colorado and raising their two sons, Alex and Scott.