Alex Martone-Jackson

Camp Director

With nearly three decades of unwavering commitment to camp life and positive youth development, Alex is the driving force behind our year-round operation, ensuring that every summer at Runoia is filled with magic and growth.

A cherished member of the Runoia family since 1995, Alex originally hails from the Greater Manchester area of England. Her journey into the world of American summer camps began as a first-year counselor in Maine while pursuing her BSc in Physical Education and Sports Science. Alex found Camp Runoia while still a student, and ultimately made her full-time career here, building her Director role out of her passion for providing safe spaces for growth and learning, and her belief in the value of an uncomplicated, joy-filled summer. Her twenty-five plus summers at Runoia, including over a decade as a Director, exemplify her unwavering commitment to camping excellence.

Despite her demanding role, Alex still finds time to be hands-on, teaching campers at the ropes course, serving meals, or leading adventures by the lake. She gets to know each camper and their families, building our Runoia community year after year. With both her house and her office right in the middle of camp, Alex draws her energy from the buzz of camp during the summer months, and particularly enjoys the unplanned moments of connection with campers and staff.

Beyond the summer months, Alex leads and guides our year-round team, continuing to connect with families and overseeing camp upgrades and program design and improvements. Her meticulous attention to detail and dedication, in collaboration with the Leadership Team, ensures Camp Runoia’s spot as one of the country’s premier overnight camps.

A prominent figure within the camp community, Alex is not only a member of the Maine Summer Camps board but also actively contributes to the Maine State trip leaders committee. She has a Masters degree in Camp Administration and Leadership from Touro University; as one of Maine’s longest-serving American Camp Association Standards Visitors, she helps other camps be their best and uses that knowledge and experience to ensure Runoia exceeds expectations for safety and quality in all areas of camp.

Her dedication to upholding camp traditions while infusing a progressive spirit embodies her vision for Runoia’s longevity and excellence. With Alex at the helm, Camp Runoia continues to flourish, providing campers with unforgettable experiences and cherished memories year after year.

Colleen O’Malley

Assistant Director

A true ‘camp kid’ at heart, and a member of the Runoia community since 2018, Assistant Director Colleen supports the year-round team as our master of communications and community building.

Though she currently lives in Denver, Colorado during the off-season, Colleen is an East Coast gal at heart. She hails from Upstate New York, where she discovered her love for the outdoors and camp early on, then earned her BA in Biological Sciences and MAT in teaching biology at Binghamton University. Thinking she’d sneak in one final summer of camp between her undergrad and grad school, she found her way to Runoia in 2018. Five magical summers of camp and a few school years of teaching high school biology later, she clearly couldn’t stay away! Runoia captured her camp-loving heart with its down-to-earth community and impressive and nurturing leadership – the rest is history.

Camp is a constant in Colleen’s life that has helped her understand both the camper and counselor perspectives. She spent seven formative summers at her camp in New York, where she went on to complete a two-summer CIT program. She worked at Runoia as a cabin counselor, waterfront instructor, and trip leader for two summers in 2018 and 2019, and joined the leadership team in 2020 to help Runoia successfully provide camp when it was most needed.

Now, Colleen supports our community year-round by spearheading our communications, media, and marketing efforts. She is the first to welcome our newest families to the Runoia community, and serves as an on-going support for those families around the calendar. In the summer, she ensures that our families are connected, supported, and well-informed while their child has the summer of a lifetime. She also supervises our amazing seasonal residential life team and photographer during the summer. You can still find her on Great Pond at least once a day, connecting with and coaching campers in our waterski program.

Colleen is quick to teach a song, grab a lifeguard tube, and lend a listening ear to campers and staff. When she’s not at camp, typing at her oversized monitor, or chatting on the phone with families, you can find her road cycling through Colorado with her fiancee, sewing up a new outfit, snuggling with her bunny, Basil, or cozied up with a good book.

New families interested in the Runoia magic can find Colleen at colleen@runoia.com.

Mindy Martone-Jackson

Assistant Director

Mindy is Assistant Director and Head of Harmony Land Camp, our program for younger campers at Camp Runoia! With 5 incredible summers under her belt and a deep connection to Runoia, she’s here to make your child’s camp experience unforgettable.

Camp is more than just a job for Mindy. It’s a passion deeply rooted in her personal life and values. As a devoted mom of five, all of whom have experienced the magic of camp, including her youngest who thrived at HLC and is now a full-summer camper at Runoia, she understands the unique needs of both campers and parents.

Mindy is no stranger to life at camp. Starting as a cabin counselor when she was a college student, she fell in love with Camp Runoia’s mission and community before pursuing her professional degree in law. She returned as a full-fledged adult when her daughter was old enough to attend, and is thrilled to be back on Great Pond at the camp she loves.

Mindy excels in building strong relationships with parents and families, ensuring open lines of communication throughout the summer. Her vision for Harmony Land Camp reflects her dedication to creating a nurturing, inclusive, and fun camp-within-a-camp experience. She believes in fostering each camper’s unique talents and interests, helping them grow and flourish, and giving them a safe and warm introduction to the Runoia community. She also provides support and guidance for our summer HLC staff.

Mindy resides outside of DC with her partner, children, and a menagerie of pets and farm animals. She thrives on adventure, enjoying rock climbing, scuba diving, and exploring new places. She also loves fabric arts, reading books, and visiting any good farmers market.

With Mindy at the helm, Harmony Land Camp is a extraordinary and unique place for our youngest campers to make friends and unforgettable memories. Join us for an extraordinary summer adventure!

Pam Cobb

Director Emerita

After nearly 40 years of working to carry forward and nurture Camp Runoia’s legacy, Pam became Director Emerita in the fall of 2022. Pam continues her work with the mission-driven Camp Runoia Alumnae Organization (CRAO), championing Camperships and the Diversity Advisory Committee. She also will stay connected to the Maine camp community, including as a board member of the Maine Youth Camping Association and as a member of Maine Summer Camps, Maine Camp Experience, and a member of a long-standing camp director’s round table group. She has been appointed to the Maine Governor’s Task Force on Invasive Aquatic Plants and Nuisance Species and will serve with Maine EPA’s biologists and other interest group representatives.  Pam and Mark relish being the camp grandparents to not only their own camper grandchildren but all campers in camp during the summer! With director Alex Jackson and the Runoia leaders supporting the day to day operations, Pam and Mark can enjoy the camp summer helping with sailing and waterskiing and other activities around camp.