Leadership & Staff
Our energetic and experienced staff make camp rewarding for everyone.
Deb Erdmann
Camp Voyageur has been owned and operated by the Erdmann family since 1951. Brother and sister team John and Deb Erdmann direct camp and want to help you decide if Camp Voyageur is a good fit for you or your son. Contact them with questions or to discuss your summer camp options.
John Erdmann
Director
Since the summer of 1984, John Erdmann has continued the family tradition founded in 1951. “Kids grow in ways not possible at home during each summer in the great Northwoods.” John spent two years in the Peace Corps in Venezuela after graduating from DePauw University. He draws on work experience in higher education and the corporate and business worlds for managing the family’s boys camp. John’s first of nine grandchildren became a Voyageur camper in 2017. Connect with him on Facebook.
Deb Erdmann, M.S.Ed.
Camp Manager
Deb Erdmann has spent nearly every summer here since she was 3 months old. She puts her Experiential Education degree to good use daily at Voyageur. “Camp provides an opportunity to affect people in a special way. Camp is my life work.” Deb manages communication with families, meals and logistics. She and her husband Jeff take care of camp in the off-season. Contact Deb for all your camp needs.
Alex Kvanli, M.S.Ed.
Assistant Director
Alex is our year-round assistant director, blog editor, and fitness guru. He is a teacher with a Masters in Experiential Education, an avid world traveler, and enthusiast for all things outdoors. Alex’s favorite activity at Camp is catching bass on wacky worms.
Bill Burgman
Program Director
Bill first worked as the tennis instructor here in 1972. He coordinates Camp staff for the morning, afternoon and evening programs. Bill taught high school, coached college tennis, and administered fitness and wellness centers.
Vicky Erdmann Burgman
Logistics
A retired elementary teacher, Vicky coordinates supply runs and assisting with meals. She is essential in keeping camp running smooth from behind the scenes.
Bryan Halverson
Co-Progam Director and Counselor
Longtime veteran counselor Bryan Halverson is returning to CV this summer in an expanded leadership role as co-program director. When not at camp, he guides for nearby Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge on White Iron Lake. Bryan holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and a B.S. Biology degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Dylan Jackson
Trip Director
Dylan is returning for his tenth year at camp and first year as Trip Director. Hailing from the Twin Cities, he is currently a senior at the University of Wisconsin - Stout studying Computer and Electrical Engineering. In his free time he loves to tinker, design, and make everything from canoe paddles to custom circuitry.
Charlie Erdmann
Senior Counselor
Charlie was born in Ely and helps out with camp year round. Each year he helps edit and lay out the Paddle Post newspaper. You can find him supervising camp sports, skiing, or sailing and helping with camp media projects.
Liz Cody
Girls Counselor
Liz is a Nebraska native and veteran CV camper and Counselor. Liz has led many memorable CV trips since 2014 and is an ACA-certified Canoe and Kayak Instructor. Liz completed her undergraduate degree at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Her graduate research at the University of Nebraska has focused on Immunology and Microbiology, as well as Community Planning and Disaster Recovery. When not at Camp, Liz can be found leading canoe, kayak and biking trips in Southeast Nebraska and working with rural communities and agencies as a grant-writer, administrator and development specialist.
Harrison Pratt
Counselor, Sailing Instructor
Harrison returns to camp for his tenth summer, eight of those were as a camper. He is a junior at Hanover College. He hopes to share with others his love of fishing, kayaking, and waterskiing. He hopes to help others become more confident and self-reliant, by working as a team and overcoming the challenges of the great outdoors.
Dan Pfotenhauer
C.I.T and Media Coordinator
Dan is back as a counselor-in-training for his ninth year at CV. He has vast experience with wilderness tripping and loves staying in shape. He hopes to use his passion for exercise to help campers stay healthy, achieve their fitness goals, and get into the best shape of their lives!
Aaron Torres
Counselor, Archery Specialist
Torres has been with CV both as a camper and counselor since 2016. He lives in South Bend, IN and is currently in his second year at IU Bloomington at the Kelley School of Business.
Thomas Thao
Counselor
Thomas Thao is a Minnesota native from Brooklyn Park. He graduated from Hamline University with a major in Environmnetal Studies. Thomas’s favorite things to do in his free time are fishing and roller blading.
Ryder Price
Counselor and Media Coordinator
Ryder is a first timer at camp. He is a Colorado native who loves the outdoors and helping people. Ryder goes to Miami University and is studying kinesiology, neuroscience, and pre-med.
Nate Comacho
Counselor
Nate is in his first year at CV. He is a junior at Indiana State University studying music education. He is looking forward to the new summer experience. Nate likes hiking, canoeing, and kayaking.
Dean Fry
Craft Shop Counselor
Returning from Kansas for more Voyageur fun. Dean, an Art Education major at Emporia State, is here to promote creativity and fun in-camp and on the trail.
Finn Wilson
Counselor
Finn the magician has been around camp since 2015. He loves to entertain kids onstage and run the evening programs. He is studying history and paramedicine at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Cameron Mussay
Counselor
Cameron is a first year counselor from Grayslake, Illinois. Cam’s father is a former camp counselor and his family has been visiting camp since he was young. He will be entering his junior year this fall at Miami of Ohio majoring in Architecture with a minor in Sustainability. Cam and his fellow counselor Ryder play club hockey together for Miami.
Davis Bain
Counselor
Davis is a first year counselor at CV. He is a senior in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota and has experience leading trips in the BWCA.
Kyle Emmans
Counselor
Kyle Emmans is a first year counselor at CV, but has spent the last two summers leading Boy Scout trips into the BWCAW. He has a Associates of Applied Science in Wilderness and Park Management and plans to work with the Forest Service in the near future.
Ethan Biederman
Counselor
Longtime camper and counselor, Edy Biedy works as a wilderness emergency medical technician in Montana in the offseason. He loves to bike and make his own gear in his spare time.
Lorraine Thedinga
Nurse
Lorraine, otherwise known as Mama T, has worked as a nurse for 40 years. She is a mom of three boys. She also coached high school cross country and track for many years. She loves long walks on the beach!
Kevin O’Kane
Aquatics Director
Swimmer by day, aviator by night, CV alum Kevin was a camper in the 60s and 70s and a counselor in ‘74. Kevin’s wife, Joan, who he married in 1974, also helps around camp each summer.
Dave Gossage
Cook
This is Daves second year as the camp cook. Dave learned to cook from former CV chef Bernard Herrman. Dave was a dog sled guide for 25 years at Wintergreen. He also worked for Outward Bound as well as Wilderness Inquiry.
Bill Defenbaugh
Cook
Bill has been helping off and on since 1970 as a counselor and cook. Bill learned to cook in college while studying law and has carried on since.
Paula Hill
Nurse
This is Paula’s tenth year at CV. She is a local who loves the area and when we she saw camp, she wanted to be apart of a program that got kids into the wild. The CV spirit and the Erdmann family vision is contagious to Paula.
