Meet Our Team

I'm the director of DA Summer and a graduate of Durham Academy. I earned a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in social foundations of education from the University of Virginia. I have 19 years of experience at U.S. and international boarding schools — most recently at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where I served as director of activities, trips and summer programs, history teacher, dorm head and field hockey coach.

I love new technology, backpacking and learning new skills — and I especially love to cheer on local sports teams. Summer and education are passions of mine, and I am excited to meet new campers and their families!

Contact info: 919-489-3400 ext 6114, email

Read more about Katie Kantz

I lived in San Diego, California, my whole life until my wife and I relocated to beautiful Durham in Fall 2020. For the last 15 years, I have worked in the nonprofit sector serving youth communities, specifically in athletic programs. Of that time, eight years were spent working as the athletic director of my local Boys & Girls Club. Simultaneously, from 2016–2020, I served as the varsity head coach for the women’s basketball team at Sage Creek High School in Carlsbad, CA.

Upon moving to Durham in 2020, I began working at Durham Academy as the assistant coach for the varsity men’s basketball program. I’m excited to take part in summer programming at Durham Academy! I have a goal in mind to ensure all campers have a joyous and productive Summer 2022!

I am an athletic trainer at DA, and I moved here from Maryland summer 2021. Growing up, I was never a part of any athletic clubs throughout the summer, so I would go to basketball summer camps. These camps had kids from other schools around my region that I would only get to know and catch up with during the summer (phones and social media were things kids did not have back then)! I have not yet had the opportunity to work DA Summer yet, but I am excited to get to know all of you a little more as the summer goes on!

With over 20 years in human resources in the manufacturing sector, I decided to change careers with my love for numbers and completed a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2019.  This is my second year with DA Summer. Along with serving as business operations manager for DA Summer, I also work as the payroll administrator for Durham Academy and enjoy the diversity of both roles. I am most excited this year for DA Summer to bring back a sense of normalcy for the kids and to see their faces again!

I have worked summer camps for over 30 years and have always loved the energy that is associated with them. Playing and competing in the sunshine, forging new relationships, and working with great people make it a great job. During the school year, I teach fourth grade at Durham Academy.

My name is Erika Kim, and I’m a Senior Teaching Fellow from Elon University, studying Elementary Education and Spanish. This is my second year at DA Summer, and I’m ecstatic to be back! My favorite part of my experience last summer was the amazing community DA Summer fosters between DA students and families, the staff and the community. Such a wonderful place to be with equally amazing people!

I didn't do a summer camp experience like DA Summer when I was a child. However, I did enjoy my summer sports camp experiences when I was playing volleyball and basketball. My favorite memory was competing in a talent show with my team members and we actually won! I worked DA Summer last year and what I enjoyed the most was making great connections with the kids outside of DA and kids who go to DA. My favorite memory was my cabin splashing me with water during our water days, while they caught me off guard. The look on their faces was priceless. What I'm most excited about for DA Summer 2022 is to bring a camplike experience for children who haven't gotten to experience it yet. I want to make sure they leave camp with a smile on their face, because they know they had a good time.

I came to DA in January 2013 fresh out of UNC-Chapel Hill, where I majored in exercise and sport science and minored in Spanish for medical professionals. At DA during the school year, I serve as fitness director. This summer, I am most excited to see all of the cool new things kids are doing in their camps this year.

I was a student at DA for 10 years and graduated with the Class of 2021. I was a camper myself for many years before I started volunteering at DA Summer camps the summer after seventh grade, and have been working here every summer since. I love being a part of the DA Summer team and getting to form connections with new campers and counselors every summer. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, watching sports, and being outdoors. This summer, I am especially focused on our outdoor education program for all ages and our new Night Camp. I can't wait to meet all the new campers and families!

My name is Talbot Waters. I have been at Durham Academy since Pre-K and am a part of the class of 2022! From the ages of 7 to 15, I attended a camp in the mountains for 5 weeks every summer. After I completed my final camper summer, I came to work as a counselor at DA Summer. Being a camper was one of the most valuable experiences I have ever had, and I want every camper to have the opportunity to find something that they are passionate about. I am so excited to continue helping campers learn, grow and achieve! I love playing sports, the outdoors, UNC, and spending time with my friends and family. I am so excited to be working with DA Summer again, and I can’t wait to meet all of the campers!  

I am a kindergarten teacher at Durham Academy and an alumna of the school. I worked with DA Summer last year as a dance enrichment instructor and loved seeing students shine on stage and find their inner dancer!

My name is Julia Clark, and I am from Charlotte, NC. I am currently a senior at N.C. State University studying elementary education. In my free time, I love eating sushi, going to concerts (pre-COVID), and watching Survivor!  This summer, I am most excited to create an engaging and fun experience for all campers.

I am so excited for my second summer at Camp Evergreen! I have been certified to teach children’s yoga since the fall of 2020. I love not only expanding my own yoga practice but now enjoy creating fun and exciting yoga lessons for children.  

Summer camp is all about the fun and making memories. It was such a wonderful experience last summer to teach all of the different age groups yoga. Watching all of the campers participate in my lessons and make the poses their own was so amazing and the highlight of my summer! 

My name is Amalie Keefe. I graduated in 2021 from Durham Academy. I love the community that DA fosters, despite only being here for four years. I am passionate about baking and sports such as field hockey. One of my favorite memories from my own summer camp experience as a child was learning new things that were not offered in school. More specifically, I took a forensics summer camp, where we solved mysteries by dusting for fingerprints, learning some of the chemistry behind crime analysis, and other fun activities! This summer camp not only introduced me to new people, but also developed my love of science. Last year, I had the incredible opportunity to work at DA summer, and the atmosphere was incredible. Having the opportunity to hold camp in person was beneficial for the staff and campers, and the interactions with the campers was a highlight of my summer. I am so excited to work DA Summer 2022 and help campers explore their own interests!

I began teaching art classes in 2007 and have been teaching art and cooking in the Preschool at Durham Academy since 2011.

Mixed media is an exciting form of fine art because it involves the fun and challenging process of combining the various art mediums we know about. In this camp, we will learn how to combine media together with an incredible, colorful outcome. Students will explore an array of art media like pastels, clay, fiber, water color, pencil, glue, tissue, collage, and more!

I am a professional musician with over 15 years experience playing and teaching all over the world. I hold a Bachelor of Music from Ternopil Pedagogical University, Ukraine. Since moving to North Carolina in 2004, I have shared the stage with some of the greatest musicians in the area and released my first U.S. album. Along with teaching music summer camps and group classes, I am a band director at Immaculata Catholic School in Durham. To learn more about me, visit www.muzicexperience.com

I teach Chinese and coordinate the Chinese exchange program at Durham Academy Upper School. I am the current president of the Chinese Language Teachers Association of North Carolina. In Fall 2019, I was honored as the FLANC (Foreign Language Association of North Carolina) Teacher of the Year (K-12).

I was a student at DA for 10 years and graduated with the Class of 2021. I was a camper myself for many years before I started volunteering at DA Summer camps the summer after seventh grade, and have been working here every summer since. I love being a part of the DA Summer team and getting to form connections with new campers and counselors every summer. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, watching sports, and being outdoors. This summer, I am especially focused on our outdoor education program for all ages and our new Night Camp. I can't wait to meet all the new campers and families!

As a student, I excelled academically. I earned high scores on both sections of the SAT and was admitted out of state to UNC-CH. I then went on to earn an MA from Middlebury College. I have nearly 20 years of professional experience in schools here in the United States and Europe. I have taught multiple English literature classes and currently teach Academic Writing at Hill Learning Center, next door to Durham Academy.

I’ve worked with a variety of age groups, class sizes (including one-on-one tutoring), nationalities and abilities on subjects ranging from Algebra and Geometry to Humanities. Students characterize me as patient and understanding, knowledgeable and precise. 

I am excited to be a part of the Durham Academy community!

I have served as DA's Middle School Drama Teacher and Director since 2016. I have extensive experience in directing young people in theatre and musical theatre, having worked professionally as a director and performer in NYC for over a decade prior to moving to Durham. I hold an M.A. in Applied Theatre, M.A. in Teaching, and a B.F.A in Theatre.

I have taught Lower School physical education at Durham Academy since 2006. In 2015, I became head coach of the varsity boys and girls varsity cross country and track programs. Since that time, the boys XC team has won four state runner-up finishes, and the girls XC team has won two state championships. A 1998 graduate of Durham Academy, I ran eight seasons under legendary coach Dennis Cullen. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I majored in psychology and minored in coaching. While at Carolina, I played on the JV basketball team. I earned a master’s degree in teaching physical education from the University of Pembroke in 2018.

During the school year, I serve as a second-grade teaching assistant and Middle School PE teacher. In addition, I coach JV volleyball and Middle School girls basketball. I hold a B.S. from Illinois State University and an M.Ed. from DePaul University. 

We had such a great time with swim camp last year and are looking forward to doing it again.

During the school year, I teach physics and chemistry at Durham Academy Upper School, and I serve as assistant coach of the DA Middle School Science Olympiad team. I hold a B.S. from Furman University and an M.S. from UNC-Chapel Hill.

I am a mother of three young children and vice chair of the Emily K Center Board, working to ensure equity in college access for students in Durham. I also teach youth after-school classes in board/card games with a focus on strategic thinking and additional after-school classes in teamwork/leadership. In the summers, I offer these two curricula as summer camps in addition to the youth summer basketball programs I lead alongside my husband, ESPN college basketball analyst Chris Spatola. I have written two books on leadership and team building with my father, Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, and am at work on an independent children’s book project.

A graduate of West Point, I am sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list and am the school’s all-time leader in free-throw percentage. I spent six seasons as a member of Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching staff at Duke and am currently a college basketball analyst for ESPN and a radio personality for Sirius/XM. I have run basketball camps for more than a decade.

I was born and raised in Durham and am a graduate of Durham Academy. I graduated from Duke University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in psychology, and I was a member of the varsity women’s soccer team at Duke. During this time, I played with the U.S. youth national soccer team (under 14-under 23), winning the U20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2012. After college, I continued my soccer career, playing professionally with the Boston Breakers, NWSL and Apollon FC Ladies, Champions League.

In 2016, I retired from professional soccer to pursue my passion for physical therapy and sports rehabilitation. I earned a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of North Carolina in 2019. My professional interests include prevention and rehabilitation of athletic injuries, with a special focus on ACL injuries in youth soccer players.

As an undergraduate, Robinson studied writing and literature in Villanova University’s honors program, then studied creative writing and poetry in graduate school at the University of California, Davis. But it was working at Kaplan Test Prep between Villanova and UC Davis that led her to teaching.  Robinson came to DA in fall 2018 as a long-term substitute teacher in fifth-grade language arts and accepted a position teaching eighth-grade language arts the following year.

“I feel if you create a warm and loving community in your classroom, your students will show you who they are, and so often they are awesome.”

My name is Reilly, and I study outer space, planets, and the stars they orbit! I am currently working toward my Ph.D. in astrophysics at UNC Chapel Hill, where I use telescopes all around the world searching for clues to understand how planets evolve in their earliest stages. When I am not carrying out my duties as an astronomer, I like to play guitar, skateboard, and shoot film photography!