Jenn Lamb

Jenn and her family moved to Manchester, Iowa in 2021. She grew up in Marshalltown and Des Moines, but then attended and graduated high school in Dubuque. Her husband, Nathan, is a Presbyterian pastor, and they have two daughters, Izzie and Aurora. Also in their home is their rescue dog named Carli (9 pounds of sass and fluff). They enjoy hosting international exchange students as well. Jenn chose to serve on the Camp Wyoming board because it is a way for her to give back and serve the big “C” Church in a way she hasn’t been able to for a local congregation as the spouse of a pastor.

While Jenn has little previous experience at Camp Bear Creek, she says, “Camp was important to both mine and my husband’s families growing up and we’ve worked to make it important to our kids. Our kids had previously attended Lakeshore Center at Okoboji when we lived in Minnesota but we wanted to get involved with our local camp, so kids attended Camp Bear Creek this year. They loved it and are excited to go back!”

Jenn is the Director of Supportive Services at the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership. She describes her job, saying, “I work with communities across a 30 county region in southern Minnesota to find and develop housing solutions for people with high barriers to housing, including homelessness and disabilities and supervise a team who provides supportive services for some of these residents. I also do grant writing, and oversee a program we administer which uses arts and cultural strategies in community development work.” As if that doesn’t keep her busy enough, Jenn is also a high school large group and theater coach where she coaches mime, musical theater, and radio news. She’s also the co-chair of the Board of Directors for the Department of Public Transformation, a women led, rural arts nonprofit.

In her free time, Jenn likes to live theater or concert shows. She and her husband are partial to 80s glam rock/metal concerts and they enjoy taking the kids to musicals or the symphony. Jenn and her oldest daughter have even performed in the theater together! She also enjoys relaxing by reading or painting. When she has a free evening, she loves to curl up on the porch swing next to their fire pit and just savor the night.

There are a lot of things that Jenn appreciates about Camp and Bear Creek. She says, “Camp Bear Creek has a lot of similarities in look and programming to the camps I grew up at. Because camp was so important in my formative years, I want to participate in the work being done to preserve and expand on these opportunities for future generations.”

Jenn’s favorite Bible passage is Matthew 25:35-40: “‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”