Directing Jewish camps in the 21st century is no small task—it takes real business skills to ensure that a camp stays ahead of the curve. The Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) provides full-time directors in the field of Jewish resident camp with the business, management, and leadership skills required to enrich their camps and compete in the summer marketplace.
Launched in 2006 and generously funded by The Marcus Foundation, ELI weaves the best of private sector practice in leadership and management development together with Jewish values and ethics to create the premier training program for camp professional leaders. ELI is structured so that participants actively engage in the curriculum and build relationships with program colleagues. Camp leaders “graduate” with the knowledge to take their board, staff, and camp to the next level.
After a rigorous application and selection process, 16 camps were invited to participate in the third cohort of ELI. This group of diverse and innovative directors from across North America joins an elite network of thirty six ELI graduates, and will begin their program in fall 2011.
The following sponsoring organizations and Jewish camp movements are represented in this cohort:
• American Jewish University
• B’nai B’rith
• Cohen Camps
• Habonim Dror
• JCCA (five camps)
• UJA-Federation of New York
• Union for Reform Judaism
• Young Judaea
Additionally, four independent camps are represented.
The camps are located in communities across the country, from California and the Pacific Northwest, from Chicago and the Midwestern states, and from Philadelphia, New York, New England and the mid-atlantic United States. The cohort also spans the spectrum in terms of years of experience, ranging from 2 years as camp directors to 15 years in their current position.
The members of the ELI III Cohort are as follows. Following each candidate’s name is the camp, camp sponsoring movement, and camp summer location:
• Toby Ayash, Pinemere Camp, JCCA, Stroudsburg, PA
• Adam Benmoise, Habonim Dror Camp Na’aleh, Habonim Dror, Bainbridge, NY
• Ben Davis, Camp Livingston, JCCA, Bennington, IN
• Melissa Frey, URJ Camp Kutz, URJ, Warwick, NY
• Noah Gallagher, Camp Young Judaea Midwest, Young Judaea, Waupaca, WI
• Steve Gerard, Camp Mountain Chai, JCCA, Angelus Oaks, CA
• Terri Grossman, Camp Sabra, JCCA, Rocky Mount, MO
• Anne Hope, Herzl Camp, Independent, Webster, WI
• Josh Levine, Camp Alonim, American Jewish University, Brandeis, CA
• Molly Lourie-Butter, Camp Tel Noar, Cohen Camps, Hampstead, NH
• Sam Perlin, Camp Solomon Schechter, Independent, Olympia, WA
• Sarah Raful Winston, Camp Poyntelle-Lewis Village, UJA-Federation of New York, Poyntelle, PA
• Ronni Saltzman Guttin, Camp JORI, Independent, Wakefield, RI
• Ken Shifman, Camp Avoda, Independent, Middleboro, MA
• Lewis Sohinki, B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp, B'nai B'rith, Lake Como, PA
