Fr. Chris was born and raised in Johnstown, PA, the son of Fr. Donald and Kh. Janet Shadid. He attended St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church where he was active as an altar boy, chanter, choir director, and Teen SOYO leader. Fr. Chris grew up playing soccer and was active in the Boy Scouts, earning the rank of Eagle Scout in 2004. He was always active on the regional and national levels of SOYO, serving as Eastern Region President (now Diocese of Oakland, Charleston, and the Mid-Atlantic) for 2 years, and as NAC Vice-President and President for 1 year each. He also grew up attending the Antiochian Village Camp as a camper from 1998-2005, CIT from 2005-2006, and as a staff member from 2007-2012, serving as a Counselor for 3 summers and as Head Counselor for 3 summers.

After graduating from high school, Fr. Chris graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Business, then attended Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA where he graduated with a Masters in Divinity (MDiv) in 2013. Upon graduating seminary, Fr. Chris spent the summer of 2013 assisting the Archdiocese’s Department of Camping by traveling around to several of the camping programs in the US and Canada, assessing the programs’ needs and reporting on best practices so the Camps could learn from each other.

in 2014, Fr. Chris began serving as an Assistant Camp Director at the Antiochian Village. He also served as the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Camping from 2013-2020, assisting Fr. Anthony Yazge in working with all of the Archdiocese’s camping programs. While working at AV, Fr. Chris returned to the University of Pittsburgh where he earned his Masters in Social Work (MSW) in 2017. He now serves as a Licensed Social Worker (LSW), working with clients of all ages and backgrounds suffering from various mental health disorders.

Fr. Chris married his wife Sophia in 2018, then was ordained a Deacon in April 2019 and a priest in June 2019. In 2020 he was assigned as the Camp Director of the Antiochian Village Camp where he currently serves. He, Sophia, their son Luke, their daughter Nora, and (as of January 2024!) Baby Shadid live at AV with their two adorable puppies, Belle and Louie.

Cade Scott was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and is the son of Timothy and Lajarle Scott. Cade grew up attending St. John Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Eagle, River Alaska. Faith played an integral role in Cade’s life from the time that he was young, so much so that he attended an Orthodox Christian Private school from Kindergarten to 6^th grade. He credits that strong foundation for his desire to live a life in the Church.

Camp has always been a huge part of Cade’s life, and he attended St. John Orthodox Camp in Willow, Alaska every August. That was where Cade really fell in love with camp, and although the camp he grew up at was much more modest then the Antiochian Village it had just as big an impact for him personally.

After graduating Bartlett High School in Anchorage, Alaska Cade went on to attend the University of Alaska Anchorage on an academic scholarship. Cade always had a love for history and decided to work toward an undergraduate degree in History. After finishing his program and earning an undergraduate degree in 2015, he decided to start at master’s program through the University of Alaska Southeast based out of Juneau, Alaska. Cade was able to complete the program while living in Anchorage and was able to do all his student teaching at Lake Hood Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska. Cade had a focus on behavioral support, and worked with young people implementing different behavioral strategies, which in turn helped them reach higher academic achievement in the classroom.

When Cade was a Junior in College, he met Fr. Chris Shadid while working as a counselor at St. John Camp in Alaska. Fr. Chris was doing work for the Antiochian Archdiocese certifying every camping program across the country. Cade decided to apply for a counselor position at the Village after meeting Fr. Chris and was fortunate enough to get on staff the following summer. After working as a counselor for two summers at the Antiochian Village, Cade spent one summer at our sister camp, Camp St. Thekla in South Carolina. He then came back to the Village in 2017 as the afternoon program coordinator. After the summer of 2017 Cade was offered an internship position with the Village, which turned into a full-time position at the Antiochian Village in 2018, and he has been here ever since.

In Cade’s spare time he loves to go on adventures with his wife Maria Scott, also a former staff member at the Antiochian Village. Cade and Maria love hiking and spending time with their daughter Nina Lucia. He loves to hike, ski, play basketball, and works on keeping up his teaching license and continuing his education. Most importantly he loves working at the Antiochian Village and working with the youth of the Church and helping them on their journey toward the Kingdom. In his mind there is nothing more important. Cade currently is the point person on alumni relations and fundraising, and he cannot wait to work with our wonderful Village Family moving forward.

Ella grew up in Norman, Oklahoma. Her parents, Michael and Katy Powers, were founding members of Holy Ascension Antiochian Orthodox Church, which Ella still considers her home parish. She grew up attending Camp St. Raphael (YABOY!) and loved her time as a counselor—camp was always her home away from home. She was also involved with Youth Equipped to Serve (YES), an Orthodox servant-leadership organization for youth and young adults. Through both camp and service ministries, Ella fell in love with the faith. This inspired her to lead her diocesan Teen SOYO board as President and pursue archdiocesan and pan-Orthodox opportunities, such as IOCC and Crossroad.

Ella attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She completed her B.S. in Cognitive and Behavioral Science with a minor in Poverty Studies. During her free time, Ella served as a volunteer cross country coach. This opportunity ignited Ella’s passion for encouraging children and doing it through a sport she loved.

After college, Ella joined the inaugural cohort of the Orthodox Volunteer Corps. In OVC, she experienced an intensive dive into the Orthodox faith through seminars, living in community with other Orthodox Christians, serving children on Pittsburgh’s north side, and teaching Sunday School at St. Moses the Black Orthodox Church. Through OVC, Ella was placed at The Pittsburgh Project, where she developed meaningful relationships with youth as an after-school program teacher. Ella also programmed activities and helped each child explore their passions.

She is grateful for her past experiences and hopes to continue in service of children through ministry at the Antiochian Village.

Bio coming soon! 🙂

Nick grew up in Vienna, Virginia, a suburb in northern Virginia just outside of Washington, DC. Nick and his family have attended the Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church in Falls Church, VA, since 2004. His parents, Deacon Nicholas and Catherine, both converted to Orthodoxy, his father having done so after a visit to the relics of St. Herman in Kodiak, Alaska.

Nick attended camp at the Village for about 10 years, mostly in Session 2, and was a CIT in 2018. His brother John served on the Village staff as a counselor in summer 2023.

He graduated from the Catholic University of America in 2022 with a degree in politics. He worked at a junk hauling, donation and recycling company for the next year.

Nick continues his internship at the Village in September 2024 and has loved his time here so far. He is currently working in the operations department at the Village.

Ariel Yergo was born the oldest of three and raised in York, PA, the daughter of Dustan and Rebekah Yergo. She grew up going to St. John Chrysostom Antiochian Orthodox Church, where she was active as a choir member and the right hand (wo)man of her mother, the director of Sunday school at St. John’s. She has also recently graduated from Susquehanna University with a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Ariel had been a camper at the Village from 2011-2019 during session one, and although she could not serve as a counselor, that did not deter her from coming back and starting an internship with the Village in 2024.

She is loving her time at the Village. Currently, she is helping Ella with the off-season programs, as well as updating the website, and learning whatever she can from her time here.