Director - Camp Development & Planning (CampDev)

Zay Thompson went to work as a YMCA camp counselor 30 years ago – while in college, earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara – and in some respects she never left. Today her responsibilities with Gro are exclusively centered on Y camp projects, managing real estate and land use, inclusive design, and facility management. 

With more than 230 overnight camps in the Y movement, she guides the firm in projects where those facilities need to modernize for 21st century camp needs and services. “Camps are very different from YMCA branches,” she says. “I understand camp facilities and challenges, camp operations and culture, have grown camp programming, managed camp capital projects – and know that nothing gets done at a camp without a team of support. That includes staff, camp leadership, the board, and the association.”

Thompson earned degrees in environmental biology (BA, UC Santa Barbara) and multiple subject education (MA, San Diego State University), with work experience as a naturalist (YMCA Camp Jones Gulch, San Mateo), outdoor education (YMCA Camp Marston in San Diego), and as an OE director (YMCA Camp Surf, Imperial Beach, California).

Among her driving objectives are the overall camp look and experience. “I work with the facility, program teams, and volunteers to shape the look of the camp,” she says. Against a harsh oceanfront environment in one project she replaced aging cabins, built a new dining hall, and directed contractors and subcontractors to achieve quality, comfort, aesthetics, and longevity of service of the physical environment. With Gro, she has worked on ten overnight camp projects thus far.

“I am exceptionally proud of our team at Gro,” says Thompson. “They are all so incredibly talented and passionate about the Y. They don't work with clients and buildings: they have relationships and use their talent to build and support health and community. That is what I love about Gro!”

She is an avowed environmentalist who is a vegan, gardener, composter, and community volunteer – and has won several awards for her work and writing. She is a Rotarian and served on the Board of the California Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education. Additionally, her husband Mark has spent much of his own career largely in local and regional Y leadership. Their son is an environmental scientist.