Dr. Christopher Thurber is a board-certified clinical psychologist, author, consultant, and father. A graduate of Harvard University, Chris created Leadership Essentials, a revolutionary set of online staff training tools.  He also hosts ACA's homesickness prevention DVD-CD set and co-authored the best-selling "Summer Camp Handbook." Chris is widely published in the academic and popular press and has more than 30 years of camp experience.  Chris currently chairs the ACA's Research Committee.  All of Chris's personal and professional work is guided by the principles of leadership-by-example and social connection.

An award-winning contributor to Camping Magazine, Chris has also shared his youth development expertise on MARTHA, the Today Show, CBS Morning News, NPR, and PBS. His ideas on how to maximize the benefits of the camping experience for children have been featured in Time, Parents, Scholastic Parent & Child, Parenting, Good Housekeeping, Women's Day, USNews & World Report, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Wall Street Journal.

During the academic year, Chris works as a school psychologist at Phillips Exeter Academy, a private, coeducational, boarding high school. He and his wife, Simonida, an analytical chemist and loving mother, live in Exeter, New Hampshire with their sons Danilo (born 2002) and Sava (born 2004).

During the late spring and early summer, Chris conducts staff training and consultation with dozens of camps in North America and South America. He is a favorite presenter and keynote speaker at international, national, and regional conferences.  Chris also believes you should practice what you preach. This summer will be his 28th year at Camp Belknap, where he works as the waterfront director.