CampSHE: Austin's Summer sisterhood of future leaders.

email: Miranda@CampSHE.com	Austin native, Miranda Hines describes herself as a woman, sister, daughter, wife, musician, entrepreneur, and studier of life. Above all she is a person who loves to learn and to create opportunities that help others learn. Miranda has spent several years developing girl focused after-school programs for local non-profits such as GENaustin and Latinitas. She studied Business Entrepreneurship and Communication Studies at St. Edward's University. She has experience in mentoring and teambuilding, business and non-profit development, youth educational programs, health awareness and natural health solutions. Miranda is also quite the entrepreneur! She created her family’s business South Austin Sno; a local sno cone business, and also runs her own massage therapy studio. In her free time, Miranda plays guitar and is a singer/song-writer. She comes from a close musical family and enjoys playing with her family members in Austin's live music venues. Recently, Miranda was honored as a McNair Scholar, and is pursuing graduate studies in Counseling and Women’s Studies. This Summer, she will be adding to her research in exploring CampSHE as a “Hardiness Zone” for girls. Even as a young girl, Miranda dreamt of creating a place just for girls, where they could grow into the fabulous young woman they were destined to be! In 2006 she joined forces with co-founders Mary DeRosa and Lauren Hermes to finally create her long held dream. CampSHE is a perfect example of how with inspiration, preparation, and a sprinkle of sisterhood -a young girls’ dreams really can come true! Now, Miranda always looks forward to summertime, to new and returning summer sisters, and to her dream job co-directing CampSHE.
email: Lauren@CampSHE.com	. Lauren Hermes is a co-director at CampSHE and directs the 4th and 5th grade camp programs! She is a South Austin native and graduate of Texas State University with a Bachelors of Science in Curriculum and Instruction. She teaches 4th grade at Kocurek Elementary where she too attended as a child! Lauren's enthusiasm for bringing education and empowerment to children's lives drives her to create fun and meaningful experiences for them. Lauren's mission in life is to spread positive self image to women and girls through educational programs like CampSHE. Her favorite part of camp is seeing the moments when the light turns on in the eyes of her campers. "I love it when they realize that their body is perfectly created for them and caring for it and accepting it is the ultimate love you can give yourself," says Hermes. Lauren has spent a majority of her life working with and for women and girls because she considers it getting a head start on all of her aspirations. She has helped develop afterschool programs for GENaustin, volunteered for community organizations through Texas State University, and has worked as Vice President of her college dormitory. Currently, Lauren chairs Kocurek's Science Committee which recently earned her a gracious "Teacher of the Month" award.
email: Mary@CampSHE.com	Mary Mary DeRosa, Co-Director of CampSHE, is a third grade teacher at Science Hall Elementary School in Kyle. She moved to Austin in September of 2006 from Long Island, NY where she grew up. Mary has always had a true passion for educating young people. She trained in ballet for several years at a dance school in New York where she also volunteered teaching 3 year old girls. She appreciates the value of learning through movement and ties this into her teaching. Mary considers herself very lucky to have always been surrounded by exceptional women. She loves sharing positive experiences with others, especially her 'sisters'. She believes we can work together in our sisterhood to crush negativity and spread positivity! Mary says, "Sisterhood is about lifting each other up and finding inspiration within one another and ourselves."
	Chaya Sitler is currently a third grade teacher at Science Hall Elementary School in Kyle. She has lived all over the United States, but considers the sunny state of Florida her home. She graduated from Stetson University in 2001 with a major in elementary education and a minor in Spanish. Before moving to Texas in 2002, she taught second grade. For the past six years Chaya has been a third grade teacher in HAYS CISD. She was honored with the “Teacher of the Year” award in 2006. Chaya has also been fortunate enough to travel around the world. One of the greatest lessons she has learned through traveling is that there are incredible young women all over our planet! Chaya says, “It is amazing to see that girls in a small village in Guatemala have similar dreams, hopes and aspirations as the girls living in the big city of Madrid, Spain.” She believes that by offering a safe, fun, nurturing and loving environment girls from all walks of life will have the opportunity to feel empowered and to be the best they can be.
	Sumeet Bakshi currently teaches biology and anatomy/physiology at Keller High School in Keller, Texas. Prior to teaching in Keller, Sumeet taught 8th grade science and was the science department chair at Bailey Middle School in Austin, Texas. Sumeet recently received her master's degree in science education from the University of Texas at Austin. While working at Bailey Middle School, she enthusiastically sponsored clubGEN and received the sponsor of the year award. Helping young men and women learn to find the beauty in themselves has always been part of Sumeet's teaching philosophy. She feels very fortunate to have had amazing, empowering female role models. She believes an untapped strength lies in sisterhood and hopes the campers grow to share this value!
	Claire Dunn is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin currently pursuing a double-bachelor's degree in Radio-Television-Film and Speech-Language Pathology. She also works for the University as a Teaching Assistant in the UT School of Information and plans to obtain a Masters in Educational Media after graduation. Claire's involvement with CampSHE began as an interning filmmaker but she couldn't resist immersing herself in camp activities and became an Assistant Counselor at the end of Summer 2007. Claire has spent several years actively involved in youth-empowerment organizations, as both a school-program facilitator and community sponsor with GENaustin and working as a first-year mentor for UT. Claire is an active member of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and enjoys participating in their different community service projects. Drawn towards the world of media, one of her primary focuses is to enable and empower young women to tell their own stories both behind and in front of the camera. Claire says her favorite times at CampSHE are when the girls get to really exercise their imaginations and share their unique perspectives. "Nothing beats seeing the eyes of a young girl light up with ingenuity and pride that comes from discovering something truly and fantastically original.
	Kristina is an Austin native and current student at Saint Edward’s University. She is pursuing a degree in Sociology and a minor in Women’s Studies and plans to devote her future to working with and for women and children. For several years she has served as an advocate for children and mentor to young girls through her volunteer work within the community. Kristina brings her cheer and compassion to CampSHE through her optimistic outlook on life. It’s no surprise that Kristina’s favorite ways to pass time are enjoying sunny days and special little moments in life. She believes that every girl has a unique potential, which can be found through self-confidence and understanding that being the best you can be amounts to everything.
	Caroline is an Austin native who makes her living as an artist and yoga instructor. She earned her BA in Visual Art and Art History from Brown University, and spent two years after college living in France. Caroline found the experience of learning a new language and assimilating into a different culture both humbling and enriching. She worked in the industries of fashion and costume design, before recognizing painting to be her true calling. Caroline finds the means to express her own truth in her art through yoga. She believes that by using the breath and body to calm and energize the mind, we can connect to our true selves, who are deeply creative beings. Caroline has played the cello since age 3, and plays with the local band Mediums. She loves finding new forms of expression and helping others to find the creativity and the beautiful voice within!