Meet Our Executive Steering Committee
Walt Windley - Director
Coming to work for Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region in 2012, Walt immediately got involved in Chameleon’s Journey, with staff members joking that he looked more like a camper than a staffer. In many ways, Walt has grown with the camp, overseeing our oldest students through their journey of grief over the last decade. He comes with an extensive background in summer camp experience, directing Passport Camps for both children and youth across the Southeast, often housed on college campuses and putting students to work volunteering in local not-for-profit service agencies. Walt currently serves as Sr. Director of Spiritual Care and Grief Services for VIA Health Partners (formerly known as Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, or HPCCR), providing education and direction to our chaplains and grief counselors located throughout the organization’s 32-county service area.
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But for Walt, Chameleon’s Journey is much more personal - having lost his father when he was a teenager, Walt understands the importance of building a community of support and meeting students with an openness to their grief and expression of pain. Walt loves those moments when campers begin to open with one another, watching instant connections and friendships form that will last a lifetime. As a part of camp, Walt also pushes for education around responsibility – responsibility to self, responsibility to each other, and responsibility to the world through one’s actions and choices.
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Walt is originally from Gastonia, NC, completed an undergrad degree at Furman and attended grad school at Mercer University, Emory University and Belmont Abbey. He has advanced training in grief theory from the Center for Loss and Life Transition, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and Play Therapy. Walt has served as a chaplain and spiritual care preceptor, holding ordination through a national faith body.
Dan Morris - Assistant Director
Dan Morris is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Advanced Palliative Clinical Hospice Social Worker-Certified. Dan received his Bachelor of Social Work from Xavier University in 2001 and his Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan in 2004. He has been a Medical Social Worker with VIA Health Partners since 2010. Prior to joining VIA, Dan worked as a child and teen bereavement coordinator with Arbor Hospice & Home Care in Ann Arbor, MI, and Midwest Palliative Care Center in Chicago, IL. In 2024, Dan is excited to join the Bereavement team at VIA with a focus on child and teen bereavement and will be serving as Assistant Camp Director. He brings a wealth of clinical experience perfectly mixed with empathy and compassion that leaves both campers and staff feeling valued and affirmed in their individual journeys. Affectionately known around camp as “Dan the Man,” we look forward to his transition into this new role and the continued leadership that he has already been providing behind the scenes.
Dan has been a counselor at Chameleon's Journey every year since joining VIA in 2010. What keeps bringing him back year after year is the chance to be a part of the positive transformation and healing that takes place within the campers. Dan enjoys working as a team with the other counselors and volunteers to create a safe and healing environment. Also, Dan loves coming to camp to have fun and rarely misses participating in all the activities alongside the campers!
Rebecca Tucker – Curriculum and Service Project Chair
Rebecca has been with VIA Health Partners since 2021, joining as a counseling graduate intern before moving into the role of grief counselor on our Lake Norman Team. Rebecca is now our Lead Grief Counselor, helping to provide leadership and oversight within the grief department as well as still providing counseling care and services to individuals, families, and groups. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Family Development, both from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Prior to her role at VIA Health Partners, she served as the Director of Youth Ministry in a local area church, working with 6th-12th grade students, as well as an early childhood special education teacher. When not at work, Rebecca enjoys spending time with her family, yoga, good food and the occasional bad karaoke night.
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Rebecca grew up as a “camp” kid, attending a summer church camp every summer, then working at that same camp in high school and college. Camp is a place full of possibilities, growth, and companionship. When she learned of Chameleons Journey, she knew she wanted to be a part of this incredible opportunity. It was the perfect pairing of her passion for working with grieving families and her love of all things camp! Rebecca strives to make camp a place where barriers are broken down between kids by having each kid’s grief be witnessed, not just by adults, but by kids who are going through similar situations. Grief can be so isolating, but the bonds made at camp help to remind the kids that there truly is someone out there who just “gets” it. While camp can’t bring their loved ones back, it does give them a chance to flow freely between grieving and simply being a kid. Rebecca leads our efforts in creating counseling curriculum around our theme of “The Grief Bridge.”
Anita Gluodenis – Social Media and Party Chair
A native New Yorker, Anita escaped the cold and has made Charlotte home for the past 30 years, spending the last 17 as an employee at VIA Health Partners. She started as a Volunteer Manager, ensuring our community partners and much beloved volunteers were well positioned to meet the needs of our patients and families throughout our service area. Her warm smile and charismatic nature immediately sets all at ease, providing a sense of compassion and attention to detail that keeps us running efficiently with much grace and intention. Most recently, Anita has taken on a new challenge as one of our Business Office Managers, providing that same genuine nature and love for our work in her guidance of staff and back-office procedures. In her spare time, she enjoys reading a good book or picking up her crotchet hooks. Anita loves a good walk with her rescue dog and finds balance in life through an active Yoga practice. She is also a mom to two adult children, taking great pride in letting them loose in the world and watching them grow through their grand adventures!
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Anita joined Chameleon’s Journey about five years ago, wanting to give back to VIA HP and pursue her love of working with children. She finds the courage and strength of Chameleons Journey campers inspirational, giving her the impetus to process her own grief while growing holistically as a person. Anita gives oversight to all things media and party related at camp, bringing an important element of fun and connectivity.
Colleen Ferry – Group Logistics Chair
Colleen is one of VIA Health Partner’s most seasoned social workers, journeying with countless families through their hospice experience in the Mecklenburg area for more than two decades. She is highly respected by her peers, brings a wealth of knowledge to the interdisciplinary team and is often working behind the scenes to provide exactly what her patients and families need even before they know what that may be! Colleen is originally from New Hampshire where she remained until attending college in Pennsylvania and later Washington, DC, to complete her Master’s Degree in Social Work. She and her husband relocated from Marblehead, MA, in 1997, after 3 feet of snow in April had them seeking both better weather and an improved quality of life. After working at a local hospital for a year, a friend mentioned a position with the children's program at what is now known as VIA Health Partners. Twenty-six years later, following the opportunity to work with both children and adults, raising her 2 children and experiencing her own personal losses, Colleen still finds this work incredibly rewarding. Her work as a bilingual LMSW has allowed for both advocacy and education. Families often rave about her ability to make quick connections and help them feel at ease, providing a sense of strength and stability on the most difficult of days.
Colleen states that one of the most fulfilling aspects of her years at VIA Health Partners continues to be her involvement with Chameleon's Journey Grief Camp. As one of the founding members of Chameleon's Journey, she continues to be grateful for the opportunity to witness the benefit our program provides to families experiencing loss within our community. Ultimately, it's the campers that keep her involved in camp; their tears, their laughter and the resilience that allows them to grow through their grief! Colleen is incredibly skilled in all things related to logistics and details, providing the very framework from which a successful and fun camp is born.
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