Administration & Professionals - "Red Shirt Staff"
What does our "Red Shirt Staff" do?
Besides coordinate and communicate with families and staff, Red Shirts design curriculum, supervise "Blue Shirt" student volunteers, model best practice instruction, counsel campers, act as cheerleaders and play!
Join our "Red Shirt" Professional Staff as an:
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Speech-Language Pathologists/SLP Supervisors
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No CFY positions
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AAC experience preferred
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SLP CFY or CF ok for Social Skills Instructor positions!
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Occupational Therapist/OT Supervisor
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for Fieldwork I Graduate Students
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Physical Therapist (part or full time)
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General Camp Class Instructor
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Masters Level Teachers and SLPs Preferred
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SLP CFY or CF ok for Social Skills Instructor positions
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Explorers Program Instructor
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Masters Level Teachers Preferred
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Middle School teaching experience preferred
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Special Education experience required
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Yak Apprentice Program Instructor
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Masters Level Teachers and SLPs Preferred (CF SLP Welcome!)
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High School Teaching/Intervention experience preferred
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Special Education experience required
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Admin & Support Staff - "White Shirt Staff"
Join our "White Shirt" Staff as an:
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Admin Support Person
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Office work
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May get pulled to sub as a 1:1 or instructor to fill an absence
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Staff Support Person
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Set Up and Break Down Drop Off & Pick Up of camper areas
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Work at recess helping to run stations
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May be pulled to be a 1:1 if there is a need
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Going to graduate soon with your Masters in Speech Pathology?
We would love to have you at camp!
Here are the steps to securing your Conditional License from the Oregon Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology before working with children at our camp.
Camp Yakety Yak Leadership Staff
Heather Eason, MS, CCC-SLP, she/her
Camp Director
Heather started at camp as a volunteer, then served as a Clinical Supervisor, Clinical Director, and now holds the position of Camp Director. Heather is a school-based speech-language pathologist in a rural, bilingual school district. In addition to her state licensure, she holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the National Governing Board, ASHA, and has completed two additional graduate-level certificate courses of study in Autism and High-Functioning Autism. Heather is a New Jersey native who has loved living in Oregon for the past 25+ years.
Elise Renning, M.Ed Special Ed
Teen Voyagers, Yak Apprentice and Instructor Coordinator
Maggie Jennings, SLP, she/her
Explorers Coordinator & SLP Supervisor
Maggie first learned about camp in a student's annual IEP meeting and she has looked forward to spending her summer with the CYY family ever since. Maggie is a school based speech language pathologist working in SW Washington. She is passionate about supporting children with complex communication needs as well as introducing graduate clinicians to the world of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). In addition to her state licensure, she holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the National Governing Board, ASHA, and a certificate in assistive technology
Joseph W. Vera, MA/MPH, CCC-SLP, he/him
Yak Apprentice Lead, SLP Supervisor
Joseph W. Vera is a fifth year PhD student at Portland State University with a focus area on disability justice, particularly dedicated to young autistic adults. He has a background in both speech pathology and epidemiology, obtaining a master’s from Louisiana State University and the University of North Texas Health Science Center, respectively. Originally from Dallas, Texas and now living in Portland, Oregon, Joseph enjoys the many colors the Pacific Northwest has to offer in their plant life (and the incredible foods that come with it!). In his free time he enjoys playing videogames and boardgames, and hiking the many mountains around the area.
He has been with Camp Yakety Yak for 4 summers and has been with the Yak Apprentice program for every one of those summers. He is dedicated to using contextualized learning to build job skills and social communication skills for the Yak Apprentices.
Monica Smiley, she/her
Executive Director
Monica has a decade of experience in leadership roles as an Executive Director and fundraiser for nonprofit, environmental organizations including Tualatin Riverkeepers and Friends of Tryon Creek State Park. Monica also works with sustainable companies in the tech industry like Camp Yakety Yak Sponsors–ChipDrop and Freeya in a business development role. New to camp in 2025, Monica looks forward to getting to know the community and working collaboratively to grow capacity, involvement and support for camp. Monica lives in Multnomah Village with her family and many pets. You'll see Monica and her family at camp as son Erol is a camper and Oscar is the grant writer.