Meet the Directors
Catherine Lemel
Director
Catherine grew up attending Keystone for seven years as a camper. She then returned as a summer staff member for four years before earning a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Barnard College of Columbia University. Catherine spent three years working in digital advertising in Washington, D.C., including a year and a half at the Washington Post, prior to joining the year-round team in the fall of 2022. Catherine resides in Brevard with her dog Millie. She brings a love of the outdoors, hiking, and all things evening programs to the team (anyone up for some gold rush?).
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Kendall Thomas
Associate Director
Kendall hails from west Georgia, and is a 2025 graduate of Georgia Southern University with a degree in Recreation and Tourism Management. Throughout her college tenure, she worked for the University’s outdoor recreation program, Southern Adventures, leading trips for Georgia Southern students all over the Southeast. After spending two summers at Keystone as the head of climbing and Head Counselor, she joined the year-round team in the fall of 2025. Kendall resides in Brevard with her dog Baxter. She enjoys rock climbing, camping, and all things outdoors.
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Laney Goodrum
Associate Director
Laney’s journey at Keystone begin in 2014 when she came to camp as a first-time camper from Austin, Texas. For the next 10 years, she filled many roles around camp – she’s a proud former wind team captain, head of dance and drama, and cabin counselor to many elves and pixies! In the spring of 2026, Laney graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in Art History and English. She returned to camp, spending the summer as the Evening Programs Coordinator before transitioning into a full-time role as an Associate Director in September. She is delighted to be back in Western North Carolina and can be found playing with all the camp animals, attending local concerts and gallery shows, and engaging with the wonderful food scene Brevard has to offer.
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Jessica Page
Director of Equestrian Programs
Jessica has long standing roots at Keystone, having worked every summer during her high school years in our horseback riding program as one of the barn managers. After graduating from Martin Community College with a degree in Equine Technology, and training and showing horses for several years, Jessica’s roots called her home to Keystone, where she has served campers for nearly 20 years. In the off-season, she enjoys teaching riding lessons to area riders and training her own horse. Jessica and her husband, Jason, enjoy the “camp life” here at Keystone with their German Shorthaired Pointer Beckley.
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Melissa Blender
Nursing Director
Melissa has been enjoying summer camps on and off since 1995. She first came to Keystone in 2008 during her summer break from teaching high school chemistry and physics. That first summer, she helped with everything from answering phones in the office and completing levels cards to driving tubing trips and helping Ms. Bertha in the kitchen on Sundays. She returned the following two summers, including serving as staff director in 2010. She took a break from the summer camp world to lead international trips with students and to enjoy her own travels. Melissa then made the transition from teaching to nursing, working in adult critical care and now the pediatric operating room. She has been a nurse at Keystone since 2023, and assumed the role of Nursing Director in 2026. Melissa’s home base is Charleston, SC, where she can be found keeping three plants alive when she’s not on contract as a travel nurse.
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