Year-Round Staff

Paul Sheridan

Executive Director

Paul has made a career of working with children in the outdoors. He leads Four Winds * Westward Ho with an eye towards carrying on its tradition of creating a supportive and challenging environment for children and a place focused on simplicity, community, and creativity.

Paul discovered summer camp as an adult, while working for a traditional camp in Wisconsin as a wilderness trip leader during the summer after his graduation from Columbia University. One summer turned into many after Paul discovered the magic of children’s self-discovery in a supportive and beautiful outdoor setting.

In between that experience and coming to Four Winds * Westward Ho, Paul earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and worked for a wilderness therapy program in Northern Idaho.

Paul came to Four Winds in the winter of 2004 as Camp’s Assistant Director. The Four Winds community and its commitment to children impressed him. Five years later Camp’s Board of Trustees asked him to step in as the Director. Paul believes that leadership is about service, and he takes the responsibility of caretaking the traditions of Four Winds seriously. Affectionately known as “Redbeard” during the summer, Paul considers himself a Four Winds lifer. Paul and his wife Linda live year-round in Ruth Brown’s home, Hilltop, with their kids and dog. They feel privileged to call Four Winds Camp home.

Paul is actively involved on the local and national level with the American Camp Association, the Camp Owners and Directors Association, and the Western Association of Independent Camps, where he previously served as WAIC’s President. He also serves locally as the treasurer of the Orcas Island Education Foundation, and as a trustee and chair of the Investment Committee for the Orcas Island Community Foundation.

Diana Huff

Associate Director

Diana Huff discovered her passion for youth development and transformative power of summer camp in 2010 at an American Camp Association (ACA) conference. After graduating from the University of California, San Diego, she worked as the Summer & After School Director at a private school in Orange County before becoming the Summer Camp Director at AstroCamp, a mountain science camp, in 2018. There, she saw firsthand the impact of the overnight camp experience in fostering social skills and personal growth for both campers and staff.

Diana is actively involved in the camp community, serving as an ACA accreditation visitor, instructor, and Professional Development Chair for the ACA Local Council of Leaders. She has also held the role of Education Chair for the Western Association of Independent Camps (WAIC).

Now thrilled to join the Four Winds community as Associate Director, Diana looks forward to contributing to its rich legacy. When not in camp mode, she enjoys traveling the world and spending time with her niece and nephew in Bend, Oregon.

Macie Swanson

Program Director

Originally from Bellingham, Washington, Macie “jumped the Sound” and began her Four Winds journey as a camper at just 10 years old. She grew up through the Four Winds leadership program as a CT and Helping Hand, later becoming a counselor and eventually Head of Four Winds.

After graduating from the University of Portland with a degree in Environmental Science, Macie spent several summers working at other camps before moving to Wyoming to lead education programming at a science center. Ultimately, Four Winds called her back home.

During the off-season, Macie lives in Casper, Wyoming. Outside of camp, she enjoys puzzling, gardening, spending time with her dog, and seeking out new mountain trails. She’s always eager to try something new and is on a mission to learn just about every outdoor sport she can.

Scott Cann

Carlyn Captain

Captain Scott has held a USCG license since 2000.  In the summer of 2024, he returned to Four Winds * Westward Ho after nearly a 10-year hiatus. He lives in Seattle with his wife Kristen and their two children, LeRoi and Gracie.  He also has a heavily used library card and enjoys spending time with his dog, Kima.  He is adept in designing and installing marine electronics.  He looks forward to every summer because he gets to inspire a love and respect for the Salish Sea and maritime culture in the campers that sail aboard Carlyn.

Joe Goldsmith

Boatwright

Daphne Opperman

Director of Family Experience

Daphne grew up in San Francisco and began her Four Winds experience at the age of 9. She was a camper, CT, AC, Counselor and Head of the Garden during her years at camp. Daphne attended Scripps College in Claremont, California, and spent a wonderful year abroad in Florence, Italy. Before joining the Four Winds year-round team, Daphne was an Executive Assistant for the Vice President of KNTV Sales in San Francisco, the Admissions Director at Mount Tamalpais School in Mill Valley, California, and most recently an Insurance Underwriter for a California based Insurance Company. Daphne and her husband Matt live in Erie, Colorado, and have three boys, two of whom are current campers. Daphne is with her boys on Orcas during the summer months and works remotely from Colorado during the school year.

Linda Sheridan

Special Projects Manager

Linda Sheridan has been a familiar face around Camp since 2005 when she moved here with her husband Paul. She joined the year round staff, as Camp’s Special Projects Manager, in 2013 and she loves being involved with the camp community. Prior to joining the year round staff, Linda worked at Moran State Park as the Interpretive Specialist, Orcas Rec as the Director, and Children’s House Preschool as a teacher. When Linda is not working she is usually hanging out with Paul, their daughters Emma and Elizabeth, and the family dog Piper. If she is really lucky she is out snowboarding, hiking, riding a horse, or traveling with her family.

Caleb Weichert

Head of Maintenance

Caleb grew up in the small town of Waterford, California where he lived for almost 30 years. After graduating from college he got the travel bug and went backpacking through Europe and explored several US states and National parks until he finally found his way out to Orcas Island and Four Winds Camp in May of 2016. He served as Camp’s Maintenance Assistant until June of 2020, when he stepped to lead the Maintenance Department. During his free time Caleb enjoys hiking, sightseeing the islands, practicing photography, and serving as volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Orcas Fire Department.

Ciarán Willis

Development Director

Ciarán (pronounced key-ron) spent his first summer at Four Winds in 2004 and has remained connected to camp ever since. As a camper, there was no better place in the world. As a staff member, camp led him to profound personal growth and a career dedicated to helping others learn. Ciarán served on the summer staff from 2010 to 2017 as an assistant counselor, counselor, trip leader, and head of counselor trainees, ending with two years as the head of Westward Ho. After camp, Ciarán lectured English at the University of Finance and Economics in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia before seeking more expansive classrooms at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). At NOLS, Ciarán led mountaineering expeditions in the high mountains around the world with organizations as diverse as the United States Naval Academy, Summer Search, and C5. During the pandemic, Ciarán founded and led A Place Beyond (APB), an alternative learning community that used vacant summer camps to provide small, covid-safe, in-person college campuses for students unable to return to their home campus during the 2020/2021 academic year. Just prior to joining the year round team, Ciarán served as the Director of Operations at Deep Springs College. Ciarán has a degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan.