Our Mission:

To empower girls through the sport of surfing!

Maui Surfer Girls consists of the following programs:

Overnight Surf Camps For Teen Girls	Surf Trips	Co-ed Surf & Stand-up Lessons

Our philosophies are upheld though all of our programs.

Our Philosophies: Our focus is to teach adolescent girls how to surf through a sequential teaching program that is designed to cater to the skills and needs of each camper. While surfing is our main camp activity, we also offer many other adventure and cultural activities to help build a competent and confident camper. Immersed in the novel Maui setting, whether our campers skillfully navigate herself on a surfboard or hiking through the West Maui Mountains, she will gain confidence in her personal strengths and abilities. And through her experiences at MSG, ideally, she will become more adept in facing the challenges of her daily life back home.

We strongly believe that with healthy role models, girls can be their best and achieve their goals. The mentorship element of our program will provide the girls with one-on-one opportunities to bond with the instructors. Our 3:1 camper to instructor ratios are the best in the industry and sets us apart from our competition.

The instructor/camper relationships are our highest priority, where both physical and emotional safety are created and upheld at a high standard.  Adolescent girls are impressionable. Our instructors are conscious of this fact and are professional in their presentation through appropriate dress, behavior, attitudes, and words expressed to the girls.  While our instructors are genuine in all interactions with the campers, they will model respect, honest, and again uphold a high level of physical and emotional safety both in and out of the surf.

Meet Our Staff

Dustin Tester,  Camp Founder and Director Raised on Maui, Dustin’s dad taught her how to surf when she was seven. She’s been a multi-sport water athlete ever since.  Dustin has been a competitive skim boarder, surfer, outrigger paddler, and enjoyed her time in North Carolina whitewater kayaking and rock climbing with her best friend, Celine Russo.  She received her bachelor’s degree from Prescott College’s, wilderness therapy program.  In the desert canyons of the San Juan River, Dustin got her inspiration for Maui Surfer Girls during her thesis project on creating a rite of passage for teenage girls.  Dustin’s work with the Voyager Outward Bound School also fueled her passion for personal development through outdoor education.  She’s taught hundreds of students about the stoke of surfing, and living aloha.

	Danielle Little , Assistant Director Since graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1999, Danielle has called Hawaii home. In these nine years, she has explored more vocations than many people do in an entire lifetime. Most of these jobs have involved youth, education, and the outdoors. Danielle is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Holistic Nutrition, and working as a yoga instructor in addition to her assistant director role at MSG. She spends free time surfing, hiking, tending her organic garden, and preparing healthy food.
	Melissa Proud, Head Surf Instructor We are proud to have Melissa Proud apart of the MSG family for the past ten consecutive years.  She has an impressive 28-year competitive surfing history on Maui including the 2000 long boarding national champion.  Campers always feel safe with Melissa, as she has eighteen years of teaching experience and a compassionate teaching style.  Her nickname, “Mango Melissa”, explains the massive amounts of mangos that she brings to camp each summer.  Melissa is a true gem:  inspirational, compassionate, and competent.
	Kelly Potts, Surf Instructor Kelly is an exceptional surf instructor.  She’s a local long boarding pro coming to MSG from team Billabong back in 2004.  Kelly’s graceful and innovative long boarding style is a complete inspiration for our campers and staff.  Kelly is very skilled at teaching the mechanics of long boarding, through video coaching and land-based training.  Kelly participated in our first trip to Costa Rica, where she gave our campers a top-notched international surf trip experience.  Kelly has modeled for various surf companies like Billabong, NSP, and Honolua Surf Company.  We are happy to have Kelly apart of our MSG family.
	Andrea Moller, Wind surf Instructor & Pro MSG Team Rider Andrea is our world-class water woman from Brazil.  Her nickname “Animal” sums up her tenacity in the ocean.  In 2004 she won the infamous Molokai channel crossing on her 2-man canoe and her and her partner became the first women to cross the channel on a stand-up surfboard.  Andrea and her tow-in partner, Maria Souza, also became the first women to tow into Jaws.  She’s has accomplished all this while raising her six year old, Keala.  Andrea teaches surfing and windsurfing at Maui Surfer Girls.  To learn more about Andrea check out her promo on her website:
	Heather Nelson, Surf Instructor Heather’s nickname “H-bomb” aptly describes the powerful personality of the MSG instructional team.  She’s a great balance of playful camp antics and serious surf coaching.  She represents from the male dominated line-ups of southern California and is determined to empower the ladies in the line-up.  She’s also our resident yoga instructor.  Heather has taught for various private and public schools.  She has over fifteen years of teaching experience.  She’s a UC Berkeley graduate in Environmental Science.
	Theresa “Tree” Rogerson, Surf Instructor Tree is a professional surf kayaker from North Carolina and Santa Cruz, California. If she’s not found charging the frigid waters of Santa Cruz, she’s beautifying properties with her landscaping business, Eco by Design. One of our most memorable and original staff members, campers love all the camp antics with Tree!
	Lucy Woodward, Surf Instructor Lucy Woodward is currently attending Prescott College perusing a degree in Adventure Education and Environmental Studies. Another camper turned staffer Lucy started attending MSG the summer of 2002. Lucy is a strong water women having grown up in and around the ocean near South Hampton, NY. One of her greatest accomplishments was her bicycle tour across the United States (NY to CA). Lucy's humorous and goofy personality mixed with her adventurous spirit really lets campers feel at ease, try new things, give it their all, and laugh the whole time.
	Gaby Barsotti, Surf Instructor A six year camper, now turned staffer, Gaby provides our campers with a contagious enthusiasm for surfing and embodies the MSG mission – Girl Power through Surfing! Gaby surfs in her high school surf team in Seal Beach, California and has surfed internationally in Costa Rica, Tahiti, and Europe. Gaby provides a fun & nurturing environment in her cabin and surf pod.
	Natasha Gronski, Surf and Kitesurf Instructor “Tash” joins the MSG staff team from San Francisco, California.  She’s kitesurfed internationally for 2 years.  She taught Dustin, our director, how to kitesurf in the dominican republic.  Tash also teaches surf lessons throughout the year.  Her big smile and stoke for watersports shines through in her instruction.
	“Sharky”, Surf Instructor Sharky is our token male surf instuctor that supports our surf school operations.  He has over 12 years teaching experience and has taught lessons with MSG for five of those years.   Sharky gives a thorough beach class that educates his students about Hawaiian cultural origins of surfing, reef ecology, and of course everything you need to know about surfing.
	"Jedi" White, Surf Instructor Our newest addition to the MSG surf school instructors and "Maui Surfer Guys O'hana". He comes to us with over 20 years surf experience and a compassionate approach to instruction that our students really appreciate. He's one of the most stylish shortboarders in Maui's line ups. In 2000, he was the tour guide for the Hana Highway DVD tour and was coined "Captain Aloha". Jedi truly embodies the aloha spirit and goes the extra mile for his students.
	Deana Tatro, Camp Chef Deana’s enthusiasm for delicious and nutritious meals is infused in all her meals.  Her delectable menu includes homemade banana bread French toast (Dustin’s favorite), sushi, lasagna, major sandwich spreads, and baked deserts to fuel our surfer girl tummies.  Her bright smile and all the love she puts into our food makes her cookin’ “no ka oi” (the best) home cooked meals on the summer camp circuit.