Kelly Privitt (she/her/hers), Senior Director of Camping Services

Three years of volunteering with AbilityFirst encouraged Kelly Privitt to make it her career. Since being hired in 1994, Kelly has continually sought to further herself in order to better serve and enrich individuals with disabilities in her program. She’s a certified Girl Scout trainer and has served multiple administrative positions with the American Camping Association, Southern California and Hawaii chapter. She holds a certificate in nonprofit management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where she also earned a degree in Behavioral Science. Management is such a love of hers that she wrote an article, Developing a Strong Staff Team for American Camping Magazine. In 2006, she became Director of Programs at the AbilityFirst, hiring and training management staff, and became even more involved in AbilityFirst operations in 2013, as the Director of the College to Career Program and Senior Director of Quality Assurance and Data Management. In essence, Kelly does a whole lot behind the scenes to make sure AbilityFirst is running top quality programs! Most recently, she is serving as the senior director of camping services at Camp Paivika. Throughout her tenure at AbilityFirst, she has never forgotten that when interacting with others, even something as small as a smile, can make a huge difference. People are drawn to Kelly’s personable nature, with a focus on ethics, knowledge, hard work and her constant readiness to lend a helping hand to staff, participants, and their families. For guidance, she turns to the insightful words of Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Margaret Saunders, Assistant Camp Director

Margaret began her journey at Camp Paivika in 2024 with little camping experience but a deep eagerness to learn and grow. Before joining AbilityFirst, she served as a civil servant for the City of Los Angeles Los Angeles Police Department, where she developed a strong foundation in administration, leadership, and teamwork – skills she brings to every aspect of her work at camp. As Assistant Camp Director, Margaret is dedicated to ensuring every camper and family experiences the magic and community that Camp Paivika is known for. From overseeing camper services and registration to supporting staff and program operations, she is deeply involved in creating safe and enriching camp experiences for all. Margaret’s first summer at Camp Paivika ignited her passion for service and strengthened her belief in the transformative power of camp. She feels truly honored to help lead a place where inclusion, joy, and lifelong memories thrive – year after year.

Kelly Kunsek, Food Service Manager

Kelly began working for the camping program of AbilityFirst as a high school student and has held many positions at both Camp Paivika and Camp Joan Mier (no longer in operation) over the years. She was Camp Paivika’s on-site director from 1995 through 2023. Realizing that it was time for a change, both personally and to bring new energy into the camp leadership, Kelly moved into her current role as Food Service Manager. Kelly is enjoying her position where she can combine her love of cooking and her love for Paivika! Kelly has a Bachelor’s Degree from Cal State Northridge. In addition to her work at AbilityFirst, Kelly has worked in the field of special education for the Los Angeles School District and spent over two years in rural Paraguay working with individuals with special needs as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Alex Zuniga, Facilities Manager

Arriving in 2024 as the Facilities Manager, Alex’s responsibility is the upkeep of maintenance and safety at camp. His favorite part about working at camp is all the visitors who make it such a positive experience. Having been to sports camps before and enjoying the competition and fun activities, Alex chose to work at AbilityFirst for the new experience and a chance to work on the mountain closer to his family. Alex has completed some college credits and holds a certificate in Electronic Programming for the City of San Bernardino. He has over 15 years of experience as a facilities manager in different industries.

Seasonal Summer Staff

Our staff come from across the country and even internationally for the opportunity to spend a summer at Camp Paivika. The majority of our staff are college students who are studying a related field or are recent college graduates ready to begin their careers working with individuals with special needs. AbilityFirst works with exchange programs to offer a select few international college students the experience of a lifetime by spending a summer working in the U.S. at Camp Paivika.

Camp Paivika believes that every participant has the right to a healthy and safe camp experience. All of our seasonal summer staff are interviewed by our Camp Director Kelly Kunsek. Once considered for a position, background and reference checks, criminal background checks and drug screens are conducted. Staff then participate in an extensive, six-day training to prepare them in their roles working with our campers. Training includes all of the fun aspects of camp like campfires and programming, but it also covers providing for the special needs of our campers. Staff are trained in:

• Lifting
• Transferring
• Feeding
• Bathing
• Dressing
• Brushing teeth
• Toileting/Incontinent Care
• And more

They also learn about different types of disabilities, how to handle challenging behaviors, non-verbal communication and even how to “tuck in” a first-time camper on their first night of camp!

Many of our staff return for multiple summers as they just cannot get enough of what we refer to as the “Paivika Spirit.”