Laurie Palagyi (She\Her) | Executive Director

WEHGC is led by Executive Director Laurie Palagyi who joined the camp in April 2013. As a former educator, Laurie earned a Master’s degree in Experiential Education from Wheaton College, and later turned her focus to mental health earning a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Laurie has extensive experience working with youth, children, and families in multiple settings including outpatient and in-home therapy, residential therapeutic homes, wilderness trip leading, adventure challenge programs, and summer camps. Laurie is passionate about creating innovative outdoor experiences where girls can flourish and be empowered.

Betsy Brown (She/Her) | Camp Director

Betsy Brown joined WEHGC in 2013 managing our Food Service and her role increased over the years encompassing every area of the WEHGC program.  She returned in 2023 as our Camp Director.  Betsy has a degree in Education with a minor in Native American art from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Betsy is a Wilderness First Responder and holds an American Red Cross Lifeguarding and Serve Safe Manager certification. She has worked with children and youth for most of her career as an educator, 4H leader, camp counselor, and camp director. Betsy has a heart for campers and families and has earned the nickname “Camp Mommager”.  Betsy was born and raised in Maine and strongly believes that the woods and waters of Maine are a place every child should be able to experience and explore.

Isabel Snyder (She/Her) | Program Director

Isabel Snyder is WEHGC’s Program Manager. Deeply committed to camp, Isabel has deep roots to West End House and is a fourth generation West Ender: her great-grandfather grew up in the West End of Boston; he, his brothers, and their boys attended the boys’ camp, as did Isabel’s father and uncle. Growing up as a camper and counselor in Maine for ten years, Isabel came to West End House Girls Camp in 2017, taking a year off in 2019. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in American Sign Language - English Interpretation from Rochester Institute of Technology. Professionally, in addition to her camp work, she is an Interpreter in Education in the Worcester Public Schools, working with K-12 students. Isabel believes that summer camp can change people’s lives and is passionate about ensuring that any child who wants to go to camp is afforded the opportunity to do so.

Reba Hatcher (She\Her) | President

Chief of Staff, Butcher Box

Reba Hatcher serves as the Vice President for WEHGC and joined in March 2022. With a degree in Sociology & Accounting from Boston College, Reba combined her skills to serve as a change manager in consulting and then as Chief of Staff at an ecommerce meat delivery company. Her experience with leadership teams, boards, and individual coaching will further the camp’s strategic growth and mission. Reba avidly seeks to help provide opportunities that allow girls to see the beauty in inclusive connecting spaces.

Mary Anne Tate (She\Her) | Clerk

Chief of Staff/Merchant Customer Experience, FIS

Mary Anne Tate is joining the board as Clerk and will sit on the Fundraising Committee.  She brings her over 30 years’ experience in client and customer experience roles to our West End House Girls Camp board.  Mary Anne has a BS Degree in Marketing Management and has a track record of being an executive driver with proven results while leading in a culture of change, with leadership experience in sales, operations, client relations, vendor management and target marketing.  Mary Anne is dedicated to the advancement of women and serves on the steering committee for her company’s women’s empowerment network.

Guhan Mohan (He\Him) | Treasurer & Strategic Planning

Head of Strategy, MassMutual Financial Advisors

Guhan Mohan joined WEHGC Board in April 2022 as our Treasurer and Strategic Planning leader.  Guhan began his career at Bain & Company as a management consultant, serving clients across Asia, Middle East, Africa, and the U.S.  He is currently the Head of Strategy for MassMutual Financial Advisors, where he leads a team of strategy, finance, and analytics professionals.  Guhan’s prior volunteering experiences include Horizons for Homeless Children, and Board positions at South Asian LGBTQIA organizations (SATRANG in Los Angeles, and MASALA in Boston).

Guhan’s beliefs around the power of intentionally-curated experiences in developing one’s self-confidence and self-empowerment stem from his personal experiences around navigating challenges as a first generation college goer and as a new immigrant.

In addition to his electronics engineering and business degrees, Guhan also holds the professional designations of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Chartered Life Underwriter®.

Laurie Kaplan (She\Her) | Founder

Retired, IBM

The WEHGC founding was spear-headed by Laurie Kaplan.  She brought together a committee that created the camp, found the site, helped build the facility and determined its values and direction.  She served as WEHGC Board President for the first years of its establishment.

Laurie grew up in the Boston area and her family was very involved in the WEH Boys and Girls Club and the WEH Camp for Boys.  Laurie, herself attended camp as both a camper and counselor for 10 years and found it a life-changing experience.  Given Laurie’s focus on women’s and young women’s causes, and this camping experience, Laurie would say the WEH and camping is in her “DNA”.

Laurie spent 35 years working for IBM in various technical and management positions. Since her retirement she has been on not-for profit boards, continued her education, and has tutored reading- with the WEHGC as her major focus.

Heather Luciano (She/Her) | Marketing & Social Media

Marketing Segment Leader, Digital Science

Heather Luciano is a marketing segment leader at a pioneering technology company working to make research more efficient by investing in innovative businesses and technologies which make all parts of the research process more open and efficient, and has spent her ~15 year career in the educational publishing/technology industry across various functions: editorial/publishing, marketing, sales/business development, and strategy/innovation. She recently served as a Cares Champion for her former office where she oversaw philanthropic, community service, and fundraising activity for ~350 employees. For this work, she has been recognized in Publishers Weekly Star Watch (2019), a Humanitarian Award Winner from the Healthcare Marketers Exchange (2019), and a RELX Recognizing Those Who Care Award Winner (2018). She holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business with specializations in Marketing & Strategy, a M.A. in Liberal Studies from CUNY Graduate Center, and a B.A. in English & Philosophy from James Madison University. She has been a co-chair and fundraising chair for the literacy nonprofit, Behind the Book, is a member of the fundraising & scholarship committees of Women’s Media Group. Her interest in service began at a year-round camp for people with disabilities in NJ, and she is proud to again be part of an inclusive, transformative camp experience at WEHGC.

Ann Murray (She/Her) | Leadership

Ann Murray has been on the board for 10 years.  She worked for technology companies in the Boston area in Sales and Marketing positions, retiring in 2013.  In 2014 she joined the staff of Year Up in a part-time unpaid position leaving in 2020.   Year Up’s mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences and support that will empower them to reach their potential through careers and higher education.  While there she worked with the mentors and students to help ensure that the relationship was beneficial to both.  Both of Ann’s daughters attended camp and she is a strong believer that camp offers girls the opportunity to learn new skills, gain confidence and learn to work as part of a team.  She is happy to be part of the WEHGC Board whose mission is to offer this experience to all girls regardless of their family’s ability to pay.  Other than a strong interest in helping girls experience camp, Ann brings business and marketing experience to the Board.  For 21 years she has biked in the Pan Mass Challenge fund raiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  When not biking she loves to spend time with her five granddaughters.