Jim Patterson began his ten summers on staff in 1986 when he was hired off-the-porch to join the nature staff. He spent the subsequent three summers in the back-country serving as nature director and the first nature-scoutcraft commissioner, a combined position created during the budget challenges in the late 1980s. After spending a summer as business director in 1990, he took two summers off before returning as CIT Commissioner in 1993. At the end of his time on staff, he was program director in 1995 and camp director in 1996 and 1997 when Emerald Bay was run by the scout consortium. It was a challenging time for Emerald Bay after nearly losing the lease for the camp and agreeing to be administered by the Orange County Council-led consortium.
In the fall of 1994 Jim joined the math and science faculty at Harvard-Westlake School, a grade 7-12 independent school in Los Angeles where he still works today. Like at Emerald Bay where his career began teaching in the nature area and ended in a senior management role, Jim moved into an administrative role at Harvard-Westlake after teaching math and science for several years. Since leaving the classroom, he was a dean and college counselor for 13 years, and, for the last 10 years, he has been the director of the Kutler Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research, and, in a return to his camp roots, he is also the director of the summer program. This most recent role at Harvard-Westlake is very similar to working at Emerald Bay. He helps faculty create programs for students outside the traditional high school curriculum and focuses on enrichment opportunities for kids.
Jim met his wife Theresa the night the world was supposed to end (December 31, 1999). They were married in 2003 and have two boys Ethan and Andrew. Neither of his sons participated in the scouting program, but both have been to Emerald Bay for staff reunions. Jim and his family love the beach, and, though they live in Pasadena, they enjoy spending time at the water. Last summer, their family spent 11 days in Bali where Jim and his son enjoyed a morning fishing trip. While they would like to take credit for catching a mahi-mahi, their fishing guide did most of the work.
Jim and Theresa are almost empty-nesters. Ethan currently attends San Diego State, and Andrew will begin college next fall. Hopefully, that means more time back at camp for Jim and possibly the rest of his family as well.