HSL Youth Foundation Inc. is pleased to welcome Steve Townley as the new Executive Camp Director of Hermann Sons Life Camp, bringing with him more than four decades of experience working with children, youth, families, educators, and summer camp programs.
For Steve, coming to Hermann Sons Life Camp continues a journey that began at summer camp more than 40 years ago.
Steve began his camp career in 1985 at Camp Langston in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. Over the next 20 years, he served in nearly every aspect of camp life, including as a cabin counselor, lifeguard, assistant director, and co-director. Those years gave him the opportunity to grow up in camp leadership while learning firsthand the lasting influence that a strong summer camp experience can have on a young person.
In 2005, Steve became director of Frontier Lodge Summer Camp in St. Hermenegilde, Quebec, Canada. He served there until 2016, leading a residential summer camp program that welcomed children and young people from both Canada and the United States.
In 2016, Steve returned to Camp Langston and served as its director through the camp’s final season in 2020. Returning to the place where his own camp career began brought that part of his journey full circle.
Alongside his work in camping, Steve has spent much of his professional life in education. He has served as a classroom teacher, instructional leader, and school district administrator. Most recently, from 2016 through 2026, he served with Trinity Basin Preparatory, a Texas public charter school district, where his work took him from the classroom to district-level leadership supporting teachers and schools.
Steve holds a doctoral degree in education. His professional work in education and his years in camping have shared a common purpose: helping create places where young people can learn, grow, build confidence, develop relationships, and discover what they are capable of becoming.
“I started working at camp when I was a teenager, long before I ever imagined it would become such a big part of my life,” Steve said. “My career eventually took me into education, but I never really lost my connection to camping. The opportunity to come back to camp at this point in my career was pretty hard to pass up.”
As he begins his work with Hermann Sons Life, Steve is looking forward to learning the traditions and stories that have made HSL Camp meaningful to generations of members and campers. In the months ahead, he hopes to spend time visiting with members and lodges, meeting former campers and staff, and listening to the stories that make up the history of camp.
“I am excited to become part of the Hermann Sons Life family and to learn from the people who know and love this camp,” Steve said. “There is a tremendous history here, and I look forward to listening, learning, and becoming part of its next chapter.”
