Our Staff

Emily Starkie Zbin

Executive Director

Emily has a life-long connection to Camp Natoma. She is the granddaughter of hard-working local teachers, Alf & Alice Starkie, who dedicated their summers in the 1950s as the camp maintenance man and outdoor cooking leader. As a youth camper, Emily’s parents spent many weekends as volunteers helping take care of the camp facility. Emily began her employment at Camp Natoma as a lifeguard and counselor while attending the University of California, San Diego, where she graduated with a BS in Environmental Systems and held the role of captain of the Women’s Swim Team during her senior year.

On her path to becoming the first Executive Director of Friends of Camp Natoma, Emily gained experience and built her passion for providing childhood nature experience and outdoor education through a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course in New Zealand, obtaining a California teaching credential and a Masters in Education, with an emphasis on children and nature. She taught 5th and 6th grades in local schools before assuming her position as Camp Director, where she grew the Camp Natoma program and successfully helped hundreds of new families benefit from new camper experiences at Camp Natoma.

Emily is married to Robbie, Camp Natoma’s Director of Operations. They have 3 children, Lyle, Otto, and Wade, who have had the unique opportunity to spend their early childhood summers living at Camp Natoma.

Emily is committed to expanding opportunities for youth to have the Camp Natoma experience and promoting the value of nature connection.

Robbie Zbin

Director of Operations

Robbie is Camp Natoma’s do-it-all “D of Ops”. He also has a lifelong connection to Camp Natoma - his grandmother was a camper the first year of camp in 1941! His mother enjoyed summer weeks at Camp Natoma and Robbie and his brothers followed, attending together as youth campers. While attending University of California, Santa Barbara and studying Zoology, Robbie spent his summers at Camp Natoma as a nature instructor and leader of the CIT program. He found his passion for teaching science and mentoring teenagers, so Robbie pursued a teaching credential from Cal Poly SLO and taught Environmental Science, Biology, and Chemistry at local high schools.

Robbie’s versatility, problem-solving, and hard work has helped catapult Camp Natoma operations to capacity. Robbie supervises facility operations and site volunteers, camp transportation, directs custom programs, and trains seasonal staff. He’s also very creative - have you heard the hit song “Camp Natoma Road North”? Just ask any camper about the thrills of riding the camp bus and they’ll confirm that this song really sums it up! Robbie loves connecting community volunteers to camp projects and helping campers and staff maximize their summer experience. Currently, he’s working with crews to expand the network of hiking trails throughout Camp Natoma so kids can have more options for exploring!

With Emily, and kids Lyle, Otto, and Wade; Robbie energizes camp staff and volunteers and energetically promotes the happy and safe community that develops at camp each summer.

Dano Bedayan-Costello

Summer Camp Director

Dano received his BS in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Field and Wildlife Biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Dano worked as a wildlife biologist for CA State Parks for 7 years, where he discovered his passion for mentoring and teaching children about anything outdoors/wilderness related. He then earned his single-subject science teaching credential as a Noyce Scholar and STAR Fellow from the teaching credential program at his alma mater.

Dano has taught a large variety of courses within the sciences at the middle school level and loves finding engaging, authentic and fun ways for students to learn, often bringing his classroom outdoors. He has a passion for whole child education, recognizing that each child learns in their own way and has their own story to tell.

Having a combined love for the outdoors and education, Camp Natoma planted a seed in Dano’s heart when he worked as a camp counselor in 2016. Leading overnight camp trips, teaching outdoor skills and helping campers foster a stronger sense of self and community through social/emotional experiences are just a few of the highlights and reasons Dano is extremely excited to be back with the Natoma family. He knew that his connection with Camp Natoma was just beginning and becoming the Summer Camp Director is a dream come true.

Dano’s hobbies are outdoor adventure, travel, cooking and world culture. He has gotten his feet dirty in 40 countries and 38 US states and plunged into rivers, lakes and oceans along the way. During his free time, he can be found in the kitchen cooking or exploring all manner of dirt trails by bicycle or foot with his wife Christy and son Elyan.

Christy Bedayan-Costello

Assistant Camp Director

Christy is an outdoor enthusiast and educator. She grew up with family camping trips, outdoor adventures and attending camps. She understand the power and joy found in a camp experience and she enjoys supporting campers and counselors alike on their journey.

Christy grew up in the Santa Cruz mountains and spent much of her time hiking, playing sports and strengthening friendships. She developed a keen curiosity for the world around her in these hours of exploration and decided to study science. She earned her bachelor’s in Biology and teaching credential at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Recently, Christy has taught Junior High Science and AVID. She loves sharing ideas, igniting passions, being outside and creating bonds with friends of all ages. She enjoys spending time with her husband Dano and two year-old son Elyan, hiking, going on bike rides and playing in the dirt.

Diana Krichevsky

Assistant Camp Director

Diana grew up in Nipomo and started attending Camp Natoma as a camper in 2004, which quickly became her favorite place in the world. Spending her summers under the stars and oak trees for the next nine years helped her fall in love with the outdoors. Diana went on to complete her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at UCLA. After graduating, she spent time as an elementary school teacher in South Korea, but returned to the United States to pursue her Master’s in Education with an emphasis in Education for the Environment and Community at University of Washington. Diana loves sharing Camp Natoma with new campers, giving them an opportunity to laugh, sing, swim, and sleep under the stars.