Michael Brandwein - 5-Minute Fridays Instructor.
Michael Brandwein
5-Minute Fridays
Michael has presented in fifty states and on six continents. He is the number one bestselling author of training and leadership team books in the camp field, including his most recent, Growing Great Qualities in Kids: The L.A.S.E.R.B.E.A.M. Technique for Bringing Out the Best in Young People, and Training Terrific Staff (Vols. 1 2), Skill of the Day: What Great Leaders of Young People Do Say, Super Staff SuperVision, and Learning Leadership: How to Develop Outstanding Teen Programs at Camp. He trains leadership teams and staffs virtually and face-to-face. Michael presented three Emmy® award-winning TV programs on youth communication, has won two ACA national awards, and is a former ACA national board member.
Michael believes that when camps put muscle in their mission, they can be the number one most powerful tool to build great qualities in young people.
One of Michael’s heroes in camp is Larry Bell, director emeritus of Robin Hood Day Camp in Ontario, Canada, and recent winner of the first Legacy Award by the Ontario Camps Association. For Michael, Larry is a model of how asking great questions and carefully listening are the keys to brilliant leadership.
Michael’s 7th and 8th-grade teacher, Ann Bobera, introduced him to the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and he fell so deeply for them that he read all 56 short stories and four novels in one summer. His favorite Holmes quote: “I see no more than you, but I have trained myself to notice what I see.”
Michael is a non-stop reader of both fiction (loves mysteries) and non-fiction (loves history and biographies). Watching movies with his wife Donna is a favorite activity.
Michael is a passionate professional magician. He has written and performed several magic shows for children to develop life skills. His favorite trick was at a summer camp where he escaped from a real straitjacket while hanging upside down over the deep end of the pool.
Check out Michael in our 2021-22 5-Minute Fridays program