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. In the offseason he lives in SE Minnesota with his German wife Zar and son Finn. 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 assists with meals. She is essential in keeping Camp running smooth from behind the scenes.
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. In the summer you can find him supervising sports and helping with media projects.
Chris Smith
Senior Counselor
Chris Smith, also known as Smitty, is a 2nd generation Voyageur who loved his time at Camp in the 1990s so much that he married Michelle, the Director’s daughter. Chris’s favorite activity at Camp is being a Cabin 1 counselor and taking our youngest boys on epic fishing trips.
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 third 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.
Paula Hill
Nurse
This is Paula’s 11th 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.
Mike Whaley
Trip Director
Mike recently graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. As a returning camp counselor, he is working as Trip Director this summer and is most alive out on the trail. When he’s not outdoors, you can usually find him listening to rock music or moving heavy things in the Rec Hall.
Jackson Murphy
Counselor
Jackson is STILL a mystery. He reckons this joke is pretty funny. The editor disagrees.
Asher Taghizadeh
Counselor
Asher Taghizadeh, a longtime camper and first-time counselor, is excited to carry on the magic of Camp. The Phoenix native enjoys wilderness trips and fishing. Outside of camp, he enjoys playing football and watching basketball. After the summer, Taghizadeh plans to attend UC Berkeley in the College of Letters and Sciences. Asher is currently amidst the whirlwind romance of reading Twilight for the first time.
Bryce Commerford
Counselor
This is Bryce’s 9th year at Camp Voyageur. He is going into his 3rd year of college at St. John’s University, where he is studying Environmental Studies. Bryce’s hobbies included lifting, wrestling, canoeing, painting, and woodworking. After college, he plans to serve in the Minnesota Army National Guard. Bryce can’t pick a favorite color but he does have a favorite number; 3. Bryce is unsure if that was the correct use for a semicolon. Bryce doesn’t care.
Patrick O’Connell
Counselor
Patrick brings energy, creativity, and a strong sense of teamwork to every camp experience. As a biology student at the University of Chicago, he’s passionate about nature and fostering curiosity in young campers. As a former camper, Patrick focuses on inclusivity and challenges for young campers.
Wesley Wankel
Counselor
Wesley has just graduated from Montana State University with a degree in wildlife habitat ecology. This is Wesley’s first year as a camp counselor and his first time being in the Northwoods. He is passionate about conservation and appreciates the beauty of our wildlands. Wesley is also a music-head, though he can’t play any instruments. He loves listening to GOOD music (“good” according to him, that is). Wesley loves the outdoors and hopes to spot his second favorite animal while in the Boundary Waters, the wolf.
Elias Snyder
Counselor
Eli is a first-year counselor. Being an outdoor enthusiast, his loves include hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. After Camp, he will be obtaining his peer specialist certification and going back to school for a degree in education. His salt & pepper locks and wise monologues make us think he’s working secretly for Big Yoga to infiltrate boys’ summer camps.
Stan Wills
Counselor
The rugby-mad Australian buck of our counsellors, Stan is spending his first summer at Voyageur as part of a global adventure. Planning to study a doctorate of philosophic literature and major in contemporary screenwriting at Oxford, Stan is working as the Paddle Post editor this year. He loves using over-complicated words Alex Kvanli can’t understand (Stan doesn’t care for Hemingway). He’s also been known to eat kangaroos.
Nolan Mussay
Counselor
Nolan is a first-year, 2nd generation counselor from Northern Illinois and has been coming up to the Northwoods since he was 10 years old. His love for the woods is equal to his hatred for Black Flies. Outside of the woods, Nolan loves to watch all sports and loves to play basketball and golf.
Matt Chromy
Counselor
Matt is a first-year counselor from New Prague, Minnesota. He is currently studying to become a music teacher at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. Matt’s strong passion for musical theatre means he’ll weave sonic magic with campers throughout the summer, lighting up the peninsula with creativity.
Adrian Gutierrez
Counselor
Climber of rocks, rider of roads, and proud user of ChatGPT—that’s Adrian. Born and raised in Mexico City, he’s currently studying finance at university. But don’t let that fool you—his heart races fastest on two wheels or halfway up a cliff. His summer goal? Simple: have fun, keep moving, and chase every thrill the season throws his way.
Gavin Leighton
Counselor-in-Training
Gavin recently graduated from Maple Grove Senior High and is excited to return for his fifth summer at Camp Voyageur. He’s looking forward to helping lead wilderness trips, reconnecting with returning campers, and welcoming new faces to Camp. This fall, Gavin will begin his college journey at Creighton University, where he plans to study business with a focus on finance.
