Camp is Not Just for Kids: Campowerment for Grown-Ups with Tammi Leader Fuller

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/k34ban/tammifinal_-_7_1_21_420_PM6qg90.mp3

EPISODE SUMMARY:

For many people, life is spent worrying about and taking care of others, leaving us little time to truly connect with ourselves and our own passions. Campowerment, founded by former The Today Show producer Tammi Leader Fuller, is a place where people of all ages and walks of life can unwind, have fun and find a sense of purpose. In today’s episode, we spoke with Tammi about everything Campowerment, from locations to guest speakers to what a typical day for a Campowerment participant looks like. First, we asked Tammit to describe what Campowerment is. Having developed the program in 2013, Tammi said that Campowerment is a place for people to learn, grow and find purpose in power in who they are going to become. A mixture of emotional depth and playfulness, Campowerment helps campers find power in a sense of community. Tammi had been obsessed with summer camps ever since she was a child, and as an adult, she wanted to find a way to bring the magic and adventure of camp to an older demographic. She started by renting out children’s summer camps to host Campowerment at, and eventually, she was able to find a base for camp in Malibu.

During quarantine, Campowerment could not host sessions in person, but after receiving numerous messages requesting for it to resume, Tammi and the staff decided to try moving Campowerment onto Zoom. It was a huge success, with people nationwide signing onto Zoom to connect with others and learn about a myriad of topics and lifestyle tips. Zoom sessions are still being offered, with a list of them available via Campowerment’s website. We then asked Tammi about the various experts and topics discussed during activities at Campowerment. Campers range anywhere from 20 to 85 years old, so for Tammi, it was important to offer a wide range of activities that would cater to everyone. She asked campers what specific topics or issues they’d like to learn more about and used their feedback to find experts from hunderds of different fields. Through her job as a producer on The Today Show, Tammi was able to form connections and find professionals willing to lend a hand and help lead different Campowerment activities. When asked how she went from an aerobics teacher to a producer, Tammi said that she originally went to school to work in production. After college, she got an internship at ABC station and even worked writing obituaries for the deceased on the news. She also started a founded for abused and neglected children with her mother, and eventually, she created Campowerment.

We then asked what a typical day at Campowerment looks like for a camper, and Tammi walked us through an average schedule at any of the Campowerment locations. When you wake up, you can either do breathing and meditation exercises, work out or choose to sleep in. At 9 A.M., after breakfast, activities start and are structed to be a “choose your own adventure” style. Campers can choose what lectures and activities they wish to attend, and there are a variety of choices, such as classes dealing with relationships to money, love, sex, and more. There are breaks for coffee and snacks, more activities and free time. Campowerment is meant to be structed like a real summer camp: relaxed and fun with a plethora of different activities and classes provided. Finally, we asked Tammi what the easiest way to find out about and sign up for Campowerment was, and she let us know that all information regarding Campowerment is available via Campowerment’s website.

Tammi Leader Fuller

From her website:

After three decades as an award-winning Television Producer, she took a leap of faith to found Campowerment, in an effort to reimagine her childhood happy place, summer camp, where “grown-ups” could grow into their full potential. Only this time, it’s studded with experts, and produced for grown-ups, with a game-changing program that’s helping people get real, to connect and, ultimately, re-ignite their lives and organizational cultures.

Tammi embarked on this journey to help propel others forward in 2005, when she partnered with five accomplished South Florida businesswomen — known as the “Miami Bombshells” — to co-author “Dish and Tell” (Harper Collins), a book of anecdotes to help women understand they are not alone in their struggle to juggle all that life throws their way. Unbeknownst to Tammi at the time, all roads led to Campowerment, and when the time was right to shift gears, she jumped.

With extensive roots at The TODAY Show, NBC News, CBS News, America’s Most Wanted, and EXTRA TV, Tammi dipped into her rolodex and put her pedal to the metal, building Campowerment’s transformational programming in collaboration with nearly 100 leaders across many disciplines to wrap the expert-led curriculum in PLAY.

Fueled by her passion for and experience with building like-minded communities, through exploration, competition and celebration, Tammi has taken her storytelling and her novel idea to the stage. Her totally immersive workshop presentations inspire individuals and groups to rise and connect on purpose, to create their grandest ideas from a blank piece of paper, and to start creating the future we dream about, NOW. Tammi leads sessions on strengthening a resiliency muscle (why failure is a blessing); how to create the legacy you want to leave; and how to think like a publicist to get the world to take notice of the gifts that are uniquely yours.