Meet The Humor Camp 2026 Team
Kermit Cole
NOTE: Kermit will be presenting at Humor Camp 2026 in Jamestown, NY. Kermit Cole has had an active interest in humor since an early age, noticing that it arose, even and perhaps especially, in the hardest of times. During his first career (in film and television), Kermit explored this interest in “Before Comedy,” about the discovery of comedy by prehistoric clowns, and in “Living Proof: HIV and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Exploring how we face fear with laughter from these two divergent perspectives, Kermit was drawn to work deeper with people in extreme crisis, obtaining undergraduate and master’s degrees from Harvard, focusing on Psychology and Philosophy, and a post-graduate certificate in Marriage & Family Therapy from the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. Working with people in extreme states of trauma and psychosis (and their families) for 20 years, Kermit has developed his theory of why laughter arises – and how to use it – at critical moments of healing… and of being human.
David Jacobson
David Jacobson, MSW LCSW CHP, was one of Banner University Medical Center’s “Top 10” leaders as their Director of Behavioral Health Case Management. He served as Executive National Director of Marketing, Federal Chief of Service for the VA and as Manager of Social Work at UMC where he worked with patients and families of traumas including the tragic shooting event in Tucson (January, 2011) for which he was personally thanked by President Obama for his assistance. Diagnosed with a severe form of arthritis at 22 and through years of struggling with chronic pain, David has developed humor techniques that help him endure the hard times. The owner of Humor Horizons (his professional speaking/consulting business), David is the author of several books on therapeutic humor and has been featured internationally, but usually only on uneventful, slow news days.
Dr. Renee Cohn Jones
NOTE: Dr. Renee will be presenting at Humor Camp 2026 in Jamestown, NY. Dr. Renee is a Clinical Psychologist and motivational speaker who helps organizations build cultures of connection, resilience, and humor-infused leadership. With a background in emotional intelligence and inclusion, she’s known for her ability to connect across generations, industries, and backgrounds. Her work bridges emotional insight with lively storytelling, energizing teams, inspiring leaders, and sparking meaningful change. Dr. Renee dreams of a world where humor is recognized not as a distraction from serious work, but as a powerful tool for doing it better. As “Jalapena the Clown,” Dr. Renee has spent over three decades helping people laugh, connect, and heal. She’s performed for audiences of all ages and even traveled to Russia with Patch Adams, using laughter as a bridge across pain, language, and culture.
Anne Pratt
Anne Pratt took the long and winding road to become Executive Director of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy and the Lothian and Red Skelton Gallery of Fine Arts. She began as a kindergarten teacher in suburban Chicago where she quickly learned that everything you truly need to know really is taught before recess. After 4 moves, 4 children, and the heartbreaking loss of her husband at 43, Anne chose resilience over retreat and relocated to Indiana to be near family. Armed with a can-do spirit – and zero museum experience – she stepped into leadership at the Red Skelton Museum Foundation. Fifteen years later, she’s still proving that humor heals and laughter connects visitors from around the world.
Patrick McNeil
Having spent 27 years in the U.S. Navy as a Master Chief Petty Officer, Patrick’s basically seen everything, fixed most of it, and learned to laugh at the rest. He now channels that experience as Co-Founder & COO of The Center for Leadership Capacity™ where he is a thought partner who helps organizations identify and recover lost performance through the elimination of Capacity Leakage™. Patrick’s favorite 20th-century philosopher is Mary Poppins who wisely said, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” He’s built his entire career around proving her right. Play works! Armed with a Master of Arts in Organizational Development and Leadership from Fielding Graduate University, Patrick uses tools like LEGO® Serious Play® — because, yes, building with LEGO® is a legitimate leadership development methodology. He’s also active in veteran suicide prevention through the Southwest Veterans Foundation, because some missions never end.
Will Luera
NOTE: Will will be presenting at Humor Camp 2026 in Jamestown, NY. Will Luera is an improviser, director, trainer, and arts leader who has spent his career helping people connect more deeply through comedy, storytelling, and collaboration. He serves as Executive Director of Lifeline Productions, leads training and facilitation work with organizations and teams, and continues to teach and perform improv nationally and internationally. Will recalls that his first improvisation ever was in 8th grade when he got up in front of the class – improvised an entire book report presentation on a book he never read – and received an “A” from the teacher. His work now lives at the intersection of creativity, communication, and human connection – whether he’s onstage, in a classroom, or in a workshop room. At the heart of it all, Will is passionate about using the arts not just to entertain, but to build empathy, spark insight, and bring people together.
Loren Hecht
NOTE: Loren will be attending Humor Camp 2026 in Jamestown, NY. For the past 10 years, Loren has spent her days not in an “Intermission,” but rather on an “Inner-Mission.” As the entertaining, storytelling architect of the insightful “Cathedral of the Self,” she has taken her literary message from the page to the stage, performing in theaters, cabarets and improvs across the country. Loren understands that writing (alchemizing one’s life through language) is an act essential for connecting with the Self – and her teaching/acting is essential for connecting with others. Loren has taught Writing Composition and Critical Thinking at the university level for 25 years and currently hosts the “Becoming Real” podcast. Where is she today? At the end of one of her favorite books, the main character, while gazing out the window into a rural, isolated landscape, tells his friend, “We’re going back to the world.” Indeed, Loren’s going back!
Anna Webb
NOTE: Anna will be attending Humor Camp 2026 in Jamestown, NY. Anna Webb believes that living your bliss, being a steward of the land and having fun is the reason we’re in this experience.
The boring but important part: As a digital marketing specialist, web designer, social media specialist and SEO professional with a BA in Communications and minor in Marketing, she supports local business development and start-ups like the Humor Camp project. Anna is committed to applying her business management experience, skills and leadership abilities to assist Humor Camp help ensure it is a successful learning venture for professionals in the social work, nursing, psychology, marriage and family therapy and additional professional fields.
Her devotion to community service includes servig as a founding boardmember for a local Neighborhood Center creating vital resources for local seniors and the homeless. For 2 1/2 years she served as a representative on the Community Advisory Committee for a million dollar start-up, San Diego Community Power, bringing renewable energy to local communities.
People always say, “She is calming to be around and always makes me laugh.” For being a tech geek, she’s great with a witty reply. Anna’s motto is “If you’re not having fun, it’s not worth doing.”
Shirley Trout
NOTE: Shirley will be presenting at Humor Camp 2026 in Jamestown, NY. Don’t be fooled into thinking the credentials, “B.J., MEd, PhD, CHP, and AATH Past President” indicate that Shirley was highly intentional in packaging a stellar, professional career. She’ll dispel that myth quickly with one thing acquiring those credentials did teach her: Businesses and universities do not break down doors to hire a person who chooses the 22½-Year Plan to a Bachelor’s degree! However, saying, “Sure! I’ll do that!” (even when she had no idea how to do “that” – yet) has taught her to embrace her sister’s words of wisdom along the way, “So what if you fall on your face? At least you’re falling forward!” Shirley developed the EVATEC Model for designing curriculum that intentionally uses humor to enhance learning. It works for making parenting more fun, too, which she reveals in her book, “Light Dances.”
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