Our Directors
Meet the Manitou family
Meet our four member director team with over 150 years of combined camping experience.
Chris McKibbin
Director/Owner
Chris first joined Camp Manitou as a counsellor for a summer, then just kept moving up the ranks. He left for a brief 15-year period to teach Physical and Special Education at schools across the Toronto region, but now he’s back to lead our Unit Heads and counsellors.
Chris holds an Honours degree in Sociology from the University of Guelph, a Bachelor of Education from the OISE at the University of Toronto and a Specialist qualifications in Special Education from the Ontario College of Teachers.
Jenny Plume
Administrative Director
Jenny’s Manitou roots go back to 1981, when she first stepped off the bus as a camper.
Fast forward to 2000, when she was living in Nashville as a songwriter and had the summer off to follow her heart back up to Camp Manitou as a tennis staff.
Always hoping to return, in 2005 she found her way to Manitou when her husband Mike started the Rock Music program and together with their daughter Ruby (age 1) they started spending their summers on the shores of Lake Manitou-Wabing.
Ruby, who took her first steps at Manitou, started as a Freshkid , made her way to staff while Mike kept going with the music program and Jenny would visit every chance she got.
Meanwhile, Jenny got her Masters in Music Therapy and worked in Nashville at Vanderbilt Children’s hospital and then at the Stollery Children’s hospital in Edmonton, but deep down Manitou was where she wanted to be.
Whether she has been a camper, staff member, parent of a camper or spouse of a staff member, she has been marinating in camp her whole life!
Even from afar, she has stayed connected to Manitou and has always dreamed of joining the team year round. Her passion for camp, kids, creativity and community runs deep and she couldn’t think of a better place to start her next adventure.
Alec Amato
Assistant Director
From Toronto, Ontario, Alec is our Assistant Director and working full-time during the year in the office. Alec spends time meeting with campers and parents to ensure a positive summer. He works with our Unit Heads and offers advice and support to our campers in all aspects including conflict resolution, self-esteem, cabin bonding, and schedule requests. He continues to be a liaison between camp and you, the parents. If you want to know how your child is doing, just get in touch with Alec!
He led our Leadership Program as our CIT Director for 3 summers, which he redesigned in order to provide better training for our future staff members. Prior to that, Alec acted as our Head of Adventure Park, facilitating team building programs for every cabin in camp and also worked with our youngest campers for 4 summers as a counsellor. Alec is an extremely enthusiastic and universally-loved guy at camp, who provides an unprecedented level of support to our campers and staff. He is also the face behind our social media and our OCA certified Equity & Diversity Ambassador.
Melissa Bruce
Health & Wellness Director, Assistant Director
From Toronto, Ontario, Melissa is our Assistant Director and Health & Wellness Director now working full year in our office. Melissa manages the Health Center, creating an efficient and safe space for all campers and staff. She has revolutionized the way that we deal with health-related issues at camp and we know that she will continue to improve our systems and make camp great like she always does! She is in charge of our Canoe Tripping Program, oversees our incredible Kitchen Staff, as well as planning & managing our Off-Season Facility Rentals & Leadership Programs.
Melissa works to ensure dietary needs are met for campers at meal times ensuring a successful experience for all campers. Melissa’s role also includes hiring many of our amazing staff including all off-season, medical and kitchen staff, as well as teaming up with Alec for our activity staff & counsellors.She is a graduate of York University with an honors degree in Sociology and has worked as a preschool teacher, as well as an art teacher while living in Spain.
As a former Manitou counsellor, Activity Specialist, Unit Head for Seniors and Freshkids, as well as CIT Coordinator, Melissa has seen all aspects of camp and has a way of making everyone who meets her feel appreciated for their role at camp!