Chris Chisholm, Founder & Lake Sammamish Camps Director
Chris officially founded Wolf Camp in January of 1997, and started writing his Wolf Journey Earth Conservation Course series in 1998. He grew up in the north woods of Minnesota, spent his high school years in Germany and tromping around the Alps, studied in the Ecuadoran Andes for his college junior year abroad, and moved to the west coast after earning a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1991.
From 1992-95, Chris worked as a Level II Certified Youth Counselor at Sea Mar Community Health Centers. He taught Spanish from 1995-97 at the Whatcom Hills Waldorf School, and was an active member of the Whatcom County Chapter, Washington State Music Teachers Association from 1996-2003. In addition to running Wolf Camp & School of Natural Science, he has taught for the The Mountaineers, North Cascades Institute, Sierra Club and various other organizations up and down the west coast. Chris is considered an inspirational storyteller, musician, teacher, counselor, outdoorsman, conservationist, cooperative businessman, and friend to all who have shared time with him at Wolf Camp.
Chris has received training in Wilderness First Aid and Site/Risk Management over the years from the Wilderness Medicine Training Center, most recently with another WFA Certification in May 2024, American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification in June 2016, and Emergency Medical Training (EMT) in 2009. He was certified as a basic tracker by Joel Harden Professional Tracking Services and was an active member of Snohomish & King County Search & Rescue tracking teams throughout 2009-2010. He also earned a Level II Wildlife Trailing Specialist Certificate from Cybertracker, Int’l in 2012 with a score of 87% and also holds a one day Cybertracker Track & Sign Certification.
Kimberly McKillip Chisholm, Puyallup Camps & Health Director
Kim grew up in Puyallup, Washington. She is a delightful teacher with a B.S. in Wildlife Science from the University of Washington College of Forest Resources where she specialized in corvids and birds in general.
Kim was a member, trainer, and past president of King County Search Dogs, a unit of King County Search & Rescue, of which she and her late border collie, Skye, were active members for 12 years. Among other certifications and accolades, she received her Permaculture Design Certificate through Sustainable Tacoma-Pierce in 2010, her most recent Wilderness First Aid certificate in May 2024, and Cybertracker Level I Trailing Certification in November 2023 and Track & Sign Certification with a field evaluation score of 87% in the fall of 2013.
Wolf Camp & School of Natural Science operates its home office at Kim’s late grandparent’s old farmhouse next to Clark’s Creek & Park which includes rare artesian springs surrounded by lowland old growth forest on Washington State Fish & Wildlife lands.
In Memoriam: Lily, Blue Skye Farm Camp Dog
Lily McKillip Chisholm, also known as Silly Lily Dilly Bean, Lily Blue, Lilikoi, Love Dog, Lil’, Dil’, Doogus, Dillus Maximus, Dancing Dog, Pumpkin Muffin, Princess and other terms of endearment, was a daddy’s girl as well as our camp dog from 2013-2025 who, in addition to being a counselor specializing in homesickness prevention, was also our best wildlife tracker. She’s was also our most experienced survivalist on staff, having spent the first 4 years of her life on the streets, surviving as the “omega” around other dogs and people. She came to us with the perfect temperament for kids, the elderly, and staff members to all grew to love her. Lily’s spirit will remain with us forever.
In Memoriam: Skye, King County Search Dog
Skye McKillip Chisholm was adopted into Wolf Camp when Kim and Chris got married in 2009. Skye was an active member of King County Search Dogs from 2000-2012, training more than weekly and going on searches more than monthly throughout her life. She was an instant star at Wolf Camp, and we named Blue Skye Farm in honor of her. Skye’s spirit continues to shine as an inspiration through our seasonal adventures.