Meet Team Ihduhapi

Who You Will Meet at Ihduhapi

Because we know staff is the most important part of a camp experience, we take great care to hire and train qualified, enthusiastic staff. We look for leadership skills, prior experience working with children, decision-making capabilities, respect for the environment and safety awareness.

Our team of dedicated year-round staff provides the foundation for our programs. They are supported seasonally by passionate high school, college, and graduate students, as well as other outdoor industry professionals. Get to know our core team below! 

All staff hold certifications in CPR and First Aid. Additionally, our program specialists possess relevant safety credentials including lifeguarding, wilderness first responder, equine skills, challenge course certification, and more. 

Jana Graczyk, Executive Director

Phone: 763-230-9309
Email: Jana.Graczyk@ymcanorth.org

I’ve worn a few hats at Ihduhapi, previously serving as the Day Camp Director and Overnight Camp Program Director, and now Executive Director.

Having the opportunity to attend summer camp truly changed the trajectory of my life – it’s where I gained confidence, met life-long friends (and my husband, Nick), connected with the natural world and built a career! I earned my BA in Hispanic Studies and Biology from the College of Saint Benedict, where I made money tapping trees and boiling sap at the Saint John’s Arboretum. After undergrad, I volunteered as a teacher in Puerto Rico, worked as a Naturalist at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, worked as an Outdoor Instructor at YMCA Camp Widjiwagan and then made my way to Camp Ihduhapi. I also served as the Program Director at YMCA Camp Warren and recently finished my Master of Arts in Education, Environmental Education and Natural Science degree at Hamline University.

Camp Ihduhapi is such a gem, hidden just outside the twin cities. Every time I drive down the camp road, the huge maple tree canopy draws me in and I feel home. I am looking forward to maple syruping this spring, foggy mornings on the boardwalk this summer, brilliant leaves this fall, and skijoring the trails with our pups Tucker and Mai next winter. I cannot wait to continue providing space for growth, friendship, self-discovery and community for future generations to come!

Eric Fallon, Day Camp Program Director

Phone: 763-230-9308
Email: Eric.Fallon@ymcanorth.org

Walker Nyenhuis (he/him), Outdoor Learning Program Director

Phone: 952-403-4797
Email: Walker.Nyenhuis@ymcamn.org

Hello! My role at Camp Ihduhapi centers around one objective: connecting people with each other and the outdoors. I love welcoming groups to camp and facilitating experiences that folks will remember for years. Paddling the St. Croix River and playing Thicket in the forest near my childhood home are some of my oldest and fondest memories, and I could not be more excited to share similar experiences with your group!

Professionally, my life as an outdoor educator began at Wilderness Canoe Base in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. After guiding canoe trips for three seasons and graduating from Luther College in northeast Iowa, I began training as a naturalist at Eagle Bluff ELC and learning about the evolving field of environmental education. I then had the privilege of “coast hopping” between Washington and New York State for three years as I cultivated my teaching practice at YMCA Camp Seymour, Frost Valley YMCA, and IslandWood. Moving back to Minnesota, living and working through a pandemic, and completing my Master of Arts in Education with a focus on Natural Science and Environmental Education have all helped me learn and grow as a youth development professional in recent years.

I love travel (especially by bike or boat), cooking, music, and movies. If I’m not at camp, I am most likely exploring with my spouse Alison and our rambunctious pup River. I hope to meet you at Ihduhapi sometime soon!