Dr. Christopher Thurber is a board-certified clinical psychologist, educator, author, and father. A graduate of Harvard University, Chris created ExpertOnlineTraining.com, the Internet’s most popular and respected educational resource for youth development professionals. Chris also co-authored the critically acclaimed Summer Camp Handbook with Dr. Jon Malinowski and he designed the ACA’s homesickness prevention program, a DVD/CD set for new camper families, entitled The Secret Ingredients of Summer Camp.

Chris has more than 30 years of experience working with camps and independent schools. He has written numerous book chapters and scholarly articles on homesickness and children’s adjustment to separation from home. An award-winning contributor to Camping Magazine, Chris has also shared his youth development expertise on the Today Show, Martha Stewart, CBS Morning News, NPR, FOX, and PBS. His research has been featured in Time, Newsweek, USNews & World Report, Smart Money, Parents, Parenting, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, Family Circle, Men’s Health, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and many local newspapers and magazines.

During the academic year, Chris serves as school psychologist at Phillips Exeter Academy, a private, coeducational, boarding high school. He and his wife, Simonida, an analytical chemist, live in Exeter, New Hampshire with their sons Danilo, born in 2002, and Sava, born in 2004. During the late spring and early summer, Chris conducts staff training and executive coaching with dozens of camps, schools, youth development professionals around the world. He is a favorite presenter and keynote speaker at regional, national, and international conferences. All of Chris’s professional work is guided by the principles of leadership-by-example and social connection. He also believes you should practice what you preach. This will be his 12th year teaching at Exeter and his 31st season at Camp Belknap, where he works as the waterfront director. Chris can be reached at: chris@campspirit.com. His website is CampSpirit.com