Team

Adam joined the Glisson staff in May 2014. As a maintenance team member, Adam is responsible for working to keep all facilities at Glisson in their best shape. Adam enjoys all outdoor activities including rock climbing, kayaking, and fly fishing. Adam lives in Dahlonega with his wife, Amy, and daughters, Charlotte and Chloe.

Bryant joined the year-round team in March 2018. As a Facilities Assistant, he’s part of the team responsible for keeping camp ministry facilities and vehicles and the Glisson grounds in great shape. Bryant enjoys spending time outdoors, and lives in Dahlonega with his dog, Rosco.

Blake first joined the year-round team as a Facilities Assistant in July 2015, and began serving as Director of Facilities in November 2020. Blake has overall responsibility for keeping camp ministry grounds, facilities, and vehicles in their best shape. Prior to his time at NGCRM, Blake worked in commercial construction. He enjoys many outdoor activities but can most often be found camping or fishing with his family. Blake lives in Dahlonega with his wife, Shana, sons, Hank, Bo, and Gus, and daughter, Annie.

C. Russell Davis is Executive Director of the North Georgia Conference Camp and Retreat Ministries, Inc., in his fifteenth year serving the churches of our conference. He leads a team responsible for the ministry and facilities of Glisson Camp and Retreat Center, for Grow Day Camps and the Experiential Leadership Institute and for the newly launched Shoreline Camps, that have the capacity to provide life-changing experiences for over twelve-thousand children, youth, and adults each year.

In his twenty-eight years leading camping ministries, he has served camps in Virginia, Oklahoma, and South Carolina prior to coming home to Georgia. He has served as Chairperson for the Association of United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries, has led and designed workshops and events for a variety of United Methodist and American Camp Association regional and national conferences, was a visitor for the American Camp Association for twelve years, and served as a representative to the ecumenical Outdoor Ministries Connection. He attended Georgia Southern College in Statesboro during the Erk Russell national championship years and attended seminary at the Candler School of Theology at Emory.

He is married to Rebecca who is a development professional consultant, currently working with Prevent Blindness of Georgia. They have two adult children, Sam and Libby.

(Updated – October 2021)

Bio coming soon…

Some people collect baseball cards; Cameron collects camp job titles, apparently. After multiple summers as a Glisson camper and then Counselor in ’05, Cameron came back to camp for a summer as Challenge Course Director in May of ‘08 and never really left, winding up on the year-round team as a Program Intern (’08-’09), Day Camp Director (’09), Project Manager (’09-10), Worship & Media Coordinator (’11), Director of Communication & New Initiatives (’11-13), Director of Emerging Ministries (’13 to ’15), Director of Communications (‘16-17), and Co-Director of Grow+ELI+Shoreline (‘18-19). His latest title is Director of Communications & Program Advancement for NGCRM’s family of ministries. It’s a bit long-winded, but so is Cameron. He’s hoping this one might last longer than the others since it captures what he’s been up to all along: sharing camp’s story and dreaming up ways to help make camp even more impactful and possible for more people in more places.

Prior to his time on staff, Cameron served in youth ministry and worship leadership roles at United Methodist Churches while studying at the University of Georgia, then later on at Georgia State. He and his wife, Britt, live in Decatur with their two children and are members of Decatur First UMC.

Autumn began her Glisson journey as a camper in 2005. She went on to participate in ELI and Crew. In 2016, Autumn served on Summer Staff as a Village counselor and a Site Director for Grow+ELI+Shoreline from 2017-2019. Autumn graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Leadership and Psychology. She returned to North Georgia Camp and Retreat Ministries in 2020 as a Program Intern focused on Grow+ELI, then joined our year-round team as a Camper Coordinator in September 2021.

Laura joined the NGCRM staff in January 2017. Glisson has been an integral part of her life since she was in her early teens. Both of her now-grown daughters were highly involved in Glisson beginning in the 4th grade. Amanda was a counselor and Summer Leadership Team member for several years before serving as a program intern for two full years. Emily attended the LIT program and was a Crew member, then served as a counselor for several years. Laura comes to NGCRM from Carrollton, GA where she retired from the University of West Georgia after 32 years of administration including positions such as Assistant Registrar and Associate Director of the Advanced Academy of Georgia. As Executive Assistant for NGCRM, she works closely with Russell Davis while also managing donations and working on special projects.

Audrey’s experience with camp ministry began as a Glisson camper with Village and Outpost, then continued as an ELI participant in 2012-2013. She served on Summer Staff as Crew in 2014, Counselor in 2015, and Sparrowwood Co-Director in 2016-2017. After graduating from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Recreation, she joined the year-round team as a Grow Site Director and Program Intern for the 2018 and 2019 summers. After a few years away working as a teen and young adult Program Coordinator for a disability services nonprofit in Atlanta, Audrey is excited to be back as a Program Director here at camp! Audrey’s primary focus is on coordinating our Outpost programming leading up to and during summer. Audrey and her basset hound, Murphie, live in Dahlonega, GA and enjoy visiting local parks and hiking trails in the North Georgia mountains.

Ian first worked at camp in 2015. In 2020, Ian joined the year-round NGCRM team as a Camper Coordinator.

Ian and his wife, Stephanie, live in Dahlonega.

Stephanie joined the year-round NGCRM team in 2015 as Director of Grow+ELI+Shoreline after having served on summer staff with Glisson’s summer leadership team (’09, ’10, ’12, ’13) and then as a program director for Grow and ELI (’14, ’15). Stephanie’s role with NGCRM includes coordinating all aspects of our Village, Outpost, and Sparrowwood programs. Prior to her time at NGCRM, Stephanie taught high school science and Spanish in North Carolina and Georgia. Stephanie and her husband, Ian, live in Dahlonega, and enjoy every opportunity to get out and explore God’s Creation.

Rachel first heard about camp while attending school at UNG Dahlonega. She claims her new friends were telling stories in the dining hall about their recent summer and “wouldn’t stop talking about their first summer on staff at camp.” She had always dreamed of being a camp counselor, but now she had to see for herself what all the hype was about. She served on summer staff with Village and Sparrowwood as well as Grow+ELI+Shoreline from 2016-2019, getting to work alongside some of her best friends, heroes, and dance partners. In 2019 she graduated from The University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. After graduation, she returned to the beautiful North Georgia mountains to serve as a Program Intern for NGCRM. Rachel now lives in Dahlonega and serves as Assistant Director of our Village and Sparrowwood programs. She enjoys the public library, a good road trip, and being with friends and family.

Bio coming soon…

Will joined the year-round team in 2017. He was a long-time Glisson camper and served as a part of the Summer Team as a Crew member in 2011, a counselor in 2013, Crew Director in 2014, and Resident Camp Assistant in 2015. He is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism. Will’s primary focus as a Camper Coordinator is coordinating and supporting registration for camper families of Glisson’s summer programs. Prior to his role with NGCRM, Will worked for several years as a youth director in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Will and his wife, Hannah, live in Roswell with their two daughters, Addie and Josie, and their dog, Nugget.

Will’s first experience working with camp ministry came as a Glisson Crew Member in 2018. He returned in subsequent summers to serve as an Outpost Counselor (2019) and an Outpost Team Leader (2021). After graduating from LaGrange College with a bachelor’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership (2022), Will served as a Site Director with Grow and ELI. As part of NGCRM’s 15-month internship, Will reprised his role as a Site Director in 2023 before transitioning to the role of Program Intern this fall with focuses on Retreats, Sparrowwood, and Outpost. Beyond his time at camp, Will loves to learn and write music.

Sarah began her camp ministry journey as a Glisson mini camper in the early 2000’s and kept coming to Village with her best friend every summer after that. She later served on Summer Staff in different capacities across programs from 2013-2018. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in English, she served in various campus ministry roles at the UGA Wesley Foundation. Sarah joined the year-round NGCRM team in 2023 as a Camper Coordinator with a primary focus on coordinating and supporting registration for camper families of Glisson’s summer programs. Sarah enjoys hearing people’s camp stories and getting to be on a team dedicated to enabling children, youth, and adults to experience transformation and growth in a camp ministry setting.

Stephen served on summer staff as an Outpost Counselor in 2009, an Outpost Trip Leader in 2010, and an Outpost Co-Director in 2011. After graduating from Kennesaw State University in May 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in History, Stephen married his wife Ellen in July 2012, and then began a year-long internship with Glisson that he completed in July 2013. In August 2013, Stephen became Glisson’s first-ever, year-round Program Director specifically focused on our expanding Outpost program. Stephen’s role with NGCRM includes coordinating all aspects of our Retreats, Grow Day Camps, and ELI. Stephen and Ellen and their sons, Micah and Owen, live in Dahlonega.