Our Staff
Rachel Bynum has served as Camp Director since October 2022. Year-round camp staff includes both the Camp Director and Administrative Director Rob Bannister. During in-camp sessions, 3-4 additional staff help manage the children and camp operations. Our Assistant Director, Nina Anderson, has been on staff since 2018. Gus Garcia has been our Camp Nurse since 2022. Smith Cliffton joined our staff in 2024. On-site staff usually includes at least one younger counselor-in-training. Most of the counselors are former campers.
Rachel Bynum, Camp Director
Rachel Bynum was hired in 2021 to fill the position of Camp Director, overlapping with Founding Director Lyt Wood for three years while she learned the ropes of Camp. Rachel has lived in Rappahannock County since 1999 and runs Waterpenny Farm with her husband, Eric Plaksin. She graduated from Carleton College in 1995, majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Natural History. After college, she worked for four years as an outdoor environmental educator at facilities ranging from nature centers to summer camps to residential outdoor learning centers. She moved to Sperryville to start Waterpenny Farm, after a year working with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as an educator at Clagett Farm.
In Rappahannock County, Rachel has been involved with environmental and arts community organizations in various ways, and she currently serves on the Rappahannock County School Board. She has enjoyed working with kids in the RAAC (Rappahannock Association for Arts and Community) Theatre, as well as leading hands-on lessons in the schools both as a parent and as a volunteer with RappFLOW (Rappahannock Friends and Lovers of our Watersheds), now RLEP, the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection.. She has helped to lead special events like an annual Watershed Field Day, a Kids Butterfly Count at Waterpenny Farm sponsored by Virginia Master Naturalists, and the annual Rappahannock Plant Sale, to name a few. Rachel is also the Piedmont Representative to the Rappahannock County School Board and the Vice Chair.
Rachel sees Rapp Nature Camp as vital to Rappahannock County’s community identity. She values the range of both focused and playful activities in the camp repertoire. Camp can hone campers’ authentic observation skills and help them to learn to express themselves and harmonize with one another and the natural world. She sees that kids are naturally talented at observation and enthusiastic about nature and appreciates the child-centered and discovery-based approach that Camp fosters.
As a mother of two former campers, she sees that having kids at Camp rekindles a spirit of wonder, excitement, and connection to nature, both in campers and in the adults around them. She believes that positive and healthy experiences in nature should be accessible to all and provide grounding for happiness, purpose, and success later in life.
Nina Anderson, Assistant Camp Director
Nina Anderson has been an elementary teacher for nearly 20 years and has a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason University. She lives with her husband and Jenkins, “the best dog ever” in Old Town Warrenton. Nina has two adult daughters who are also “Earth Enthusiasts”.
Nina has been a life-long nature lover and has embraced the opportunity to participate in Rapp Nature Camp. As a youth, she attended Nature Camp in Vesuvius, VA. She is an avid hiker, runner, and reader. Rapp Nature Camp is another opportunity to be actively engaged with youth and the great outdoors. Nina also serves on the Camp’s Board of Directors.
Agustin “Gus” Garcia Prieto, BSN, EMT-B, Camp Nurse and Counselor
Gus has a strong passion for patient care and medicine and is studying Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He is also an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and has volunteered with both the Sperryville Volunteer Rescue Squad since graduating Rappahannock County High School in 2021 and the Richmond Volunteer Rescue Squad since 2022. When he is not too busy with college, he regularly runs calls with both rescue squads as a healthcare provider and loves every minute of it. His role as an EMT includes exposure to patients with simple to complex medical or traumatic conditions both in the adult and pediatric populations. He was recently recognized by the Rappahannock County Fire and Rescue Association and the Rappahannock Emergency Medical Services Council for his contributions to the community.
Gus also loves going bird watching on long hikes whenever he has the chance. His love for nature keeps him coming back to Rappahannock as much as possible to enjoy Shenandoah National Park and the town of Sperryville where he’s lived for the past three years.
He is excited to continue being a part of the Rappahannock Nature Camp community and cannot wait for the experiences to come!
Smith Cliffton, Counselor
Smith Cliffton joined the Rapp Nature Camp staff in the 2025 Summer season. He was born and raised in Rappahannock and is a Rapp Nature Camp alumnus. Passionate for health and fitness, Smith teaches fitness at the Hearthstone School in Sperryville and youth martial arts at Stonewall Abby Wellness in Sperryville. He is currently working toward becoming a nationally certified personal trainer, and he is undergoing training in martial arts. Smith has an Associate Degree from Piedmont Virginia Community College.
He feels truly blessed to be able to live in Rappahannock County, and he loves being able to share that with the next generation.
Rob Bannister, Administrative Director
After retiring from a career in financial consulting, Rob Bannister relocated to Hazel River country. A sense of wonder with nature was critical to his formative years, so Rob was delighted to join the staff of an organization, right in his own backyard, that immerses children in nature.
As Administrative Director, Rob draws on experiences from his professional and personal life. Most recently, Rob was a Managing Director with Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors. He has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School and completed the University of Miami’s Executive Certified Financial Planner program. Rob serves on the basic training committee of the Old Rag chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists, and he’s the Treasurer of the North American Guild of Change Ringers. As a member of the Washington Ringing Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation whose members ring the tower bells at Washington National Cathedral and the Old Post Office Tower, Rob teaches the ancient art of change ringing to young people and the young at heart.
