Who We Are

Our History and Staff

First conceived by the office of the Indiana State Fire Marshal and Riley Hospital for ChildrenHoosier Burn Camp was founded in 1997 to extend physical and mental rehabilitation opportunities to severe burn survivors in Indiana ages 8 to 18.

Our programs were developed to combine the fun of summer camp with opportunities to build life skills that kids need to fully recover from the trauma of their burn injuries. Since 1997, we have grown to provide 12-15 programs throughout the year to burn survivors from infancy through young adulthood. Many of these programs support the entire family as well.

Many of our campers are referred to Hoosier Burn Camp through our partnerships with Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis and St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne, but our programs are open to any young Hoosier who has experienced a burn injury or has been treated for burns requiring hospitalization in our state.

In the first 15 years, our camp programs had positively impacted the lives of 250 young campers and thousands of their family members and loved ones.


Staff

Mark Koopman, Executive Director
markkoopman@hoosierburncamp.org
765-242-9501

Valerie Fitzgerald, Office Manager
valerie@hoosierburncamp.org
765-490-6378

Caitlin Dougherty, Program Manager
caitlin@hoosierburncamp.org
317-937-7355

Abby James, Program Manager
abby@hoosierburncamp.org
765-567-0115

Our Board

  • Fred Hines

    PRESIDENT

    Retired Seymour Fire Chief

  • Dr. John Coleman

    BOARD MEMBER

    Plastic Surgeon - Riley Hospital for Children and IU Health

  • Tony Collins

    BOARD MEMBER

    Carmel Firefighter

  • Larry Curl

    BOARD MEMBER

    Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association

  • Kelly Rowls

    BOARD MEMBER

    Senior Partner - Riley Hospital for Children Burn Unit

  • Jim Greeson

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Retired Indiana State Fire Marshal

  • Frank Runion

    BOARD MEMBER

    CFO - Riley Hospital for Children

  • James Strenski

    BOARD MEMBER

    Attorney at Law - Paganelli Law Group

  • Joel Thacker

    BOARD MEMBER

    Executive Director - Indiana Department of Homeland Security

  • Jill Williams

    SECRETARY

    HR Coordinator - Heartland Food Product Group

  • Jeff Saturday

    HONORARY CHAIRPERSON

    Retired Indianapolis Colts Center and Ring of Honor Member

  • Karen Saturday

    HONORARY CHAIRPERSON

    Philanthropist

  • BOARD MEMBER

    State Fire Marshal Stephen Jones

    BOARD MEMBER

    State Fire Marshal