Meet the Founders

Project:Camp was founded by Mikey Latner, a camp director with decades of experience in youth education, and Ozzie Baron, a strategy and operations expert who has helped organizations start, grow and scale. Mikey and Ozzie are old friends who both had impactful, transformative experiences as campers and counselors at summer camp. In starting Project:Camp, their goal is to provide the same mentorship, humor and sense of belonging that they associate with camp for kids who need it most. The goal isn’t simply to provide a safe space for kids whose lives have been disrupted, but to help them learn, grow and thrive as a result.

Project:Camp’s MIssion

Care for children, relief for families, resilience for communities.

Our Values:

  • We take a serious approach to fun. We create meaning, ritual, and life-long connections. We focus on making our campers feel comfortable and supported above all else.

  • Community is core to what we do and who we are. We create spaces where deep connections can be forged. We work to understand existing communities, and help them recover from hardship as quickly as possible.

  • We are positive, optimistic and enthusiastic whether we’re at work or at play. We assume positive outcomes, see change as a force of good, and help people to be their best selves. It’s who we are.

  • People are at the very center of Project:Camp. We empower families and communities to bounce back from disaster, and always seek to build people up and make them feel valued. We cherish authenticity and sincerity, and go out of our way to celebrate people for who they are.

  • Whether we’re awash in resources or making use of whatever is at our fingertips, we use our creativity and imagination to find solutions that work. Circumstances often change quickly, but wherever we are, and whatever we have, we create a warm, welcoming environment for kids.

  • We have a deep desire to always be learning and improving. We listen. We evaluate. We look for what we can learn from everyone we interact with. We react to the needs of individuals and communities instead of assuming we know what’s best.

  • We use our talents and resources to help those who need us, whether they’re an individual, a family, or a community. We particularly strive to serve disadvantaged or marginalized communities, and those who need us most.

  • We want to leave a positive mark on every camper, family, volunteer, organization and community we interact with. Even small gestures really matter, so we put extra care and thought into how to help everyone we meet.

2023 Annual Report

Our 2023 Annual Report

If you’d like to see more of how we made this vision a reality in 2023, you can check out our Annual Report here.

Or for a look back, our 2022 Annual Report