Tualatin's Willowbrook Arts Camp is the only organization to receive the city's community arts award twice, and director Shanna Doolittle is the person who got it there.
The 44-year-old nonprofit at Browns Ferry Park earned a 2026 community arts award from the Tualatin Arts Advisory Committee after a turbulent stretch that included a full-year shutdown in 2024, a leadership transition and a rethinking of how campers get to camp without gridlocking the neighborhood. Before the hiatus, the camp averaged 450 students per week in 2023.
Doolittle, who holds the titles of program director and interim executive director, restructured operations after the camp returned in 2025.
Outgoing executive director Sarah Hinton, who is leaving to join the American Camp Association as professional development manager for the Western Region, credited Doolittle directly.
"Shanna is truly the reason Willowbrook has returned with such joy, streamlined structure and reduced expenses," Hinton told Valley Times News.
The camp took its 2024 hiatus after the board tried to find solutions for traffic congestion and parking at Browns Ferry Park but could not satisfy city officials. The fix: campers now bus from a parking lot near the Tualatin Best Buy and shuttle into the park, or walk the Tualatin River Greenway Trail with counselors.
It worked.
The Tualatin City Council approved a contract Jan. 13, 2025, giving Willowbrook office space on the upper level of the Brown's Ferry Center at 5485 SW Nyberg Lane, according to Tualatin Life. The 2026 season ran June 29 through Aug. 7. Setup alone takes three weeks; teardown takes two.
A camp built on free choice
Founder Althea Pratt-Broome started Willowbrook in 1982 at the Sweek House with 20 children and 10 volunteer staff. The camp moved to Brown's Ferry Park in 1992 and grew into a 501(c)(3) serving the tri-county area.
Its philosophy has stayed constant. Kids pick their own projects, set their own pace and can walk away whenever they want.
Harold Paul has taught Native American arts at the camp for two decades, helping kids craft beadwork and dreamcatchers. Theater remains the flagship program and always includes a Shakespeare production. This summer's lineup featured "Hamlet," "Into the Woods" and "The Secret of the Old Clock," a Nancy Drew mystery. Campers can also take stagecraft and costuming classes, plus ceramics and basketry.
Before joining Willowbrook, Doolittle worked at a California sleepaway camp, commuting from Portland each year, and taught drums at West Linn's Youth Music Project.
What's next
Registration for the 2027 Willowbrook Arts Camp season opens Dec. 1, 2026, at willowbrookartscamp.org.
