CAMP YAVNEH - Key Persons
After a five year hiatus, Alanna Wolf is excited to be back for her 15th summer at Yavneh as Rosh Noar (Head of Upper Camp)! Alanna has served in many roles at camp - as a chanicha (K'08), madricha and rosh ayda, and she is a proud second generation Yavneh alum. Alanna also met her husband, Herschel Singer (K'09), at Yavneh! They currently reside in Northampton, MA, where she works as an occupational therapist.
Job Titles:
- Camp Registrar and Office Administrator
- Director of Camper Care
Ali is excited to join the Camp Yavneh family! She is looking forward to bringing her passion for counseling and working with children and adolescents to the Jewish camping world! Ali has spent her career as a school counselor and math teacher/specialist at both public schools and Jewish day schools. She has a B.A. in Math and Latin and a Master's degree in School Counseling from Boston University. Having grown up attending and working at Jewish camp, she is passionate about helping Jewish children and teens develop their identities, navigate their independence, and have life-changing experiences at camp. Ali enjoys running in her free time and lives in West Hartford, CT with her husband and 2 kids.
Job Titles:
- Head of Marketing and Communications
Anat Litwok has known from a young age that she wants to become a camp professional and each day at camp she feels she is living out her dream. Prior to joining Camp Yavneh, Anat worked at Pozez JCC's Camp Achva for four years serving as the Assistant Director during her first summer and the Camp Director for the following three summers. Before that, Anat had worked at Camp Louemma as a Division Head in the summer and stayed on as their Outreach Coordinator during the school year. In addition, Anat spent eight years living on Kibbutz Dan in Israel. Throughout her time in Israel, she served as a commander in the education unit of the IDF, volunteered as a counselor at a boarding school for kids from broken homes, worked numerous jobs in both formal and informal education, and earned her B.A. in Economics and Management from Tel Hai Academic College. Anat believes that the camp setting allows campers opportunities for personal growth and development that cannot be found in a traditional school setting. At camp, she is known for never taking off a friendship bracelet, showing off her kazoo talent, and always sporting a camp t-shirt. When not at camp, Anat lives in Virginia with her cuddly dog Mordy (Mordechai).
Benjamin (Bentie) Rabinovitch is a seasoned camp professional who has held leadership positions in a number of camps in Israel, Europe and America. Most recently he served as the Program Director for the Szarvas Fellowships for six years. In addition to his camp experience, Bentie serves as the Early Childhood and Lower School Social Worker at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in Manhattan, a position he has held since 2017. Bentie received a masters degree in social work from The Silberman School of Social Work and has a certificate in experiential education from Yeshiva University. Bentie is looking forward to joining the Camp Yavneh family!
Cheryl Pollock Stober is a proud mother of two Yavniks living #10for2 and a VP and Investment Director at Loomis Sayles & Company. A graduate of Brandeis University, Cheryl also holds an MBA from Boston University. She lives in Newton, MA, is a member of Temple Emanuel and also active with Newton South high school's theater program. Jewish overnight camp experiences had a profound impact on Cheryl, and she is thrilled to be on the Board.
Job Titles:
- Immediate past President
- Founder, CEO and Chairman of Terravet Real Estate Solutions
Daniel Eisenstadt is the founder, CEO and Chairman of Terravet Real Estate Solutions (Terravet), which operates, develops and manages healthcare real estate with a specific focus on buildings leased to veterinary operators. Terravet currently owns approximately 200 buildings which are located in more than 35 states. Terravet operates a Private REIT and two funds and in the aggregate has more than $300 million of committed capital focused on veterinary and healthcare real estate. From 2009 to 2018, Daniel served as a co-founder, President and Chairman of Community Veterinary Partners (CVP). CVP is a veterinary services business that owns and operates more than 100 veterinary hospitals located on the East Coast and Midwest. Prior to co-founding Terravet and CVP, Daniel was a managing director at CMS Companies, a private equity and real estate investment firm, where Daniel served on the firm's investment committee and executive committee. Prior to CMS, Daniel worked as the co-founder and founding executive director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, a museum and visitor center located near the former concentration camp. Daniel began his career working as a corporate lawyer at Fulbright and Jaworski, L.L.P. Daniel has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a bachelor's degree from Clark University. Daniel was also a Raoul Wallenberg Scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Daniel lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Sharon, and their daughters, Elena, Ariella and Rachel.
Debbie Shapiro Katz is the former President of Camp Yavneh. Debbie works as a Senior Development Officer in Principal Gifts at Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston. She was a camper at Yavneh for three years while growing up in Brookline. Her years at Yavneh influenced her greatly! She currently lives in Needham with her two children and her husband Doug, a psychologist.
Deborah is the Associate Dean for Academic Development and an Assistant Professor of Jewish Education in the Shoolman Graduate School at Hebrew College. Within these roles, Deborah recruits, advises and teaches graduate students, while working with faculty and administration to hone and enhance the Jewish Education and Jewish Studies programs. Her teaching focuses on Jewish American history education, leadership and students' graduate thesis research. In addition to speaking and writing on Jewish education, Deborah's focuses her scholarship on gender, philanthropy and organizational change in American Jewish life. Deborah is the past president of the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island and serves on the board board of Tufts Hillel. On the Yavneh board, Deborah was a member of the Strategic Planning Committee and also recently chaired a working group to craft Yavneh's K'lal Yisrael statement. Deborah's three children all attend Yavneh and spend much of their spare time singing Zimriyah songs.
Dr. Deborah Platek is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Boston, Massachusetts and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital. She received her medical degree from New York Medical College and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Deb and her husband, Marty Oppenheimer, are passionate supporters of inclusion in the Jewish community. They are members of the Newton Centre Minyan. They are the parents of three, two of whom are alumni - Joshua, Jonathan (K'13) and Rena (K'07)
Job Titles:
- Head of Marketing and Communications
- Director of Camper Care
Efrat was born in Israel and raised in the US from the age of four. Upon completion of her BA in Communications and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, Efrat made aliyah to Israel. In Israel, Efrat worked in events management and higher administrative and marketing roles in high tech while also obtaining her MBA with a focus in marketing from Reichman University in Herzliya. Efrat moved to the Boston area with her husband Ron and son, Itamar, a little over 11 years ago.
Efrat worked at Camp Yavneh for four years as Family Camp Director and Retreats Coordinator, and until recently worked for Temple Emunah in Lexington as the Director of Programming and Director of Media and Communications.
Efrat is a proud Ima of four boys; Itamar (K'24), Asaf (K'28), and Ofir and Aitan (K'34). When she has some time to sit down, Efrat likes to binge-watch tv shows, spend time with family, plan trips, and experience the ever-changing New England seasons.
Erik and his family have been at Yavneh since 2005, when his wife Shani started working for Yavneh and his three children began as campers (his youngest was in Kerem in 2018). Erik was at camp for almost every Shabbat in session from the summer of 2005 until the summer of 2018 as a staff spouse. He and Shani also held two of their children's b'nai mitzvot at camp during the off season, which was a blast! When not in camp, Erik is a Principal at Jackson Lewis P.C. a national management-side labor and employment law firm, where is he is the Co-Leader of the firm's Non-Competes and Protection Against Unfair Competition Practice Group. As an employment lawyer, Erik has helped camp extensively for years with legal advice regarding employment issues.
Estelle is a 5th grade teacher at The Greater Boston SSDS. She is a graduate of Maimonides school. She is celebrating her 41st summer at Yavneh (K'79). She has held many positions at Yavneh including Rosh Banot(head girls counselor). Estelle has well over 20 years teaching swimming and holds her WSI, lifeguarding CPR and First Aid instructor. She is married to Guy and has two children.
Ethan is excited to continue his time at Yavneh as the Operations Coordinator. During the summer, he helps manage the daily operations of Camp to ensure a smooth running of Camp Yavneh. During the year his responsibilities include: coordinating retreats, communications and social media, project management, and much more. Ethan has been at Yavneh for over a decade as a camper (K'15), counselor, rosh aydah (unit head), and operations associate and is now living in Boston.
Jane-Rachel Schonbrun is a Jewish educator and community builder who has spent more than two decades working in a variety of Jewish communal organizations, including camps, JCCs, schools, synagogues, and social service agencies. Prior to joining Camp Yavneh, she served as Director of Institutional Advancement at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. Before that, Jane-Rachel worked as Director of Foundation Relations at Avodah, as a Program Director at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, CA, and as Director of Student Life at Kehillah High School (also in Palo Alto). As a recipient of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Jane-Rachel earned her MS in Social Work from Columbia University and her MA in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary's Graduate School. A Baltimore native, Jane-Rachel studied as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland. Her college experience was enhanced by two years studying in Israel and summers leading teen programs in Israel, Poland, and across the U.S. Jane-Rachel's favorite camp activities include rikud (dance), all-things omanut (art), and swimming in the agam (lake). When she's not at camp, Jane-Rachel lives with her partner, Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun, and their four kids in Deal, NJ.
Jesse Geller was a camper and staff member at Yavneh from 1973-1974 and 1976-1984 (Kerem 1977). He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Camp Yavneh since 1994, serving as the Building and Grounds Committee Chairman and as an officer of the Board. Jesse is the immediate past President of the Yavneh Board. He resides in Brookline, Massachusetts with his son Levi (Kerem 2025).
Julie Altman is an historian by training and is the Principal of Story Street Research, a qualitative market research and consumer insights consulting firm. She has served on the board of JCDS and is currently on the board of the FIDF. Julie attended Jewish camp for seven years. Her introduction to Yavneh was the JCDS Shabbaton. She and her husband, Alex Sagan, have four children who have all attended Camp Yavneh.
Laurel attended Camp Yavneh for nine years as a camper and counselor and spent two years staffing Family Camp. She has served on the Board since 2015. Her fondest memories of Yavneh include time on the basketball courts, ReliSh (Ruach Lifnei Shabbat), and that first-day-of-camp thrill when you turn onto Lower Deerfield Road. After graduating from Dartmouth College, Laurel spent eight years at digital marketing and design firms, specializing in consumer data insights and web analytics. She consults on the side for local companies on digital strategy and user experience. Laurel is currently pursuing her MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Marion Menzin is mother to two Yavneh campers (Eve and Isaac) and the spouse of a proud Yavneh alum (Abe). Her background is in history education, school administration, and general instructional design, and she is currently the Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning at Gann Academy. She is a strong believer in the importance of Jewish education for ensuring a dynamic future for the Jewish people, and she's looking forward to supporting Yavneh in its mission.
Matt has been on the Board of Camp Yavneh since 2006 and served two terms as President from 2007-2009, and 2020-2022. He is a Managing Director of LLM Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Matt has served on Boards of public and private companies in the U.S., Canada and Israel, and has served on and been Chair of Audit and Compensation & Governance Committees. He was recently Chair of the Newton School Committee. Matt received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School (1987) and a B.A. cum laude from Brandeis University (1981).
Job Titles:
- Experience Designer of Healthcare
Micah Zimring is an Experience Designer of healthcare-related digital products. He has also been creating Jewish calligraphic art (ketubot, invitations, inscriptions) for over 40 years. In that vein, he co-created Solomon Schechter of Greater Boston's first siddur, Halleli Nafshi. He and his family are members of the Walnut Street Minyan, where he holds various leadership positions. His two boys are proud alumni of Camp Yavneh, where they looked forward to the next camp season from the moment the current one was over.
Michi has now been at Yavneh for over five summers and is thrilled to be back again! Michi's love of engaging youth and young families in meaningful Jewish ‘edutainment' (education and entertainment) fits perfectly in the camping world. She earned her B.A. from Concordia University in Psychology, and a Master's degree from McGill University, in a collaborative program of the Jewish Studies and Education departments. Very involved and active in her home community of Montreal, Michi loves the chance to learn about other Jewish communities each summer through her interactions and conversations with campers and staff from all over the U.S. She enjoys reading, traveling, being outdoors and playing sports, cooking, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends playing all sorts of board games and card games. Michi is married to Cantor Gideon Zelermyer and has two sons, Max and Ben, who look forward to their summers at camp too!
Molly Goldberg (Kerem '15, Na'aleh '16) is back for her 14th summer at Yavneh (if you count being a Kerem '20 madricha in Kayitz 2020). In 2021, Molly graduated from Bates College and accompanied our Na'aleh campers in Israel. Molly is now back at Yavneh as S'gan Rosh Tze'irim. Her true love of Yavneh and long-time connection to camp will be exactly what younger campers need to see, hear, and feel as they navigate their first summers at camp. Molly is excited to show off her camp history and knowledge to chanichim and madrichim alike, and to help them have a fun-packed summer while assisting them through their respective Yavneh journeys. During the school year, Molly works for the Public Schools of Brookline as a 1:1 paraprofessional aide for a third grade student. This experience has taught her the importance of advocating for and providing inclusive special educational experiences for children at such a pivotal time of social-emotional growth. Molly is greatly enjoying her time in this role and cannot wait to take all her experience with her back to camp for Kayitz 2022.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
Netanel is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Camp Yavneh, working for camp year round to ensure that each summer is better than the one before. Netanel joined the Camp Yavneh family in 2012 as a member of Camp's Food Service (YFS) and has taken on more and more responsibilities in the continued management of camp. Netanel spends his winters in Israel and counts down the days until summer to return to Northwood and be in the most special place on the planet!
Nicole Lieberman Gann is an Attorney, licensed to practice in California and Massachusetts. Along with the Camp Yavneh Board, Nicole serves on the board of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). She is also a Nursing Mothers' Counselor. Nicole lives in Newton, MA with her husband, Joshua Gann, and their three children, who are all current campers.
Rhonda is thrilled to be back at Camp Yavneh as Business Administrator after attending camp from 1978 through 1983. She tells everyone she meets that Camp Yavneh truly shaped her as a person and that camp is one of her favorite childhood memories. Rhonda earned a BSEE from Tufts University and an MBA from Northeastern University. Rhonda recently relocated back to the Boston area after spending over 25 years in Morris County, New Jersey, where she and her late husband Mike raised two daughters, Allison and Deanna. She spent most of her career in engineering, but more recently, was the business manager for her town's public library. In her free time, Rhonda enjoys reading, going to the gym, watching sports and traveling.
Chana is currently the Lead Teacher for Kindergarten and First Grade Judaics at the Hebrew Academy of the Capital District. She has directed Jewish educational programming over the past 20 years for students from pre-school through high school. Chana has been a member of the chinuch staff for the past nine years and only three of her four children will be at camp this summer.
Job Titles:
- President
- Pediatric Dentist
Ruby is a Pediatric Dentist in private practice in Manhattan where she lives with her husband Shimon Shkury and their two children, Ari (K'26) and Avital (K'28). Ruby attended Yavneh as a babysitter in the late 1980s and later served as a counselor and Rosh Ayda for many years. Yavneh was central in her growth as a committed and engaged Jew. Ruby is proud to be serving as Yavneh's Board President.
Ruth lives and works in the Boston area. She and her family started attending Yavneh with family camp and now have two Camp Yavneh alumni in the family. A librarian, Ruth grew up going to Henry S. Jacobs and Greene Family camps and graduated from Brandeis University. Ruth has lived and worked in Israel as part of Sherut L'am and served on the Ma'ayan board for a decade. The Bernsteins attend congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Newton.
Scott Gladstone is a Chestnut Hill based attorney concentrating in business litigation, construction law and Brookline zoning. Scott was a camper and then a counselor/waterfront/kitchen staff at Yavneh throughout the ‘80s. Scott's three children have attended Yavneh with his youngest having returned as a Rosh and Cornerstone fellow. Scott is on the Board of the New England chapter of the American Jewish Committee and is a long-time Brookline Town Meeting Member.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director
- Camp Staff Member
- Director
Job Titles:
- Director of Family Camp / Art Specialist
Shirah Rubin's work in Jewish education focuses on creative arts-based learning in Jewish educational frameworks. Her past positions include Director of Education and Administration at BIMA at Brandeis; Art Department Head at Gann Academy; Director of Arts and Culture at Brown/RISD Hillel; and Director of Congregational Learning at Kehillath Israel. She is a sculptor who works in mixed media and has worked in ceramics, mosaics, glass and photography, often combining these media. She enjoys expressing ideas and feelings in a visual language using materials appropriate to the metaphorical, historical and social elements of a project. As a teaching artist she has developed art and professional development workshops for audiences ranging from pre-k through adult students and teachers in settings ranging from museums to universities. This year Shirah has participated in IAC Gvanim, a leadership program of the Israeli American Council in Boston. Shirah is excited to be serving as the new Director of Family Camp in 2020.
Job Titles:
- Camp Registrar and Office Administrator
After a short hiatus, Shore is incredibly excited to be coming back to Camp Yavneh! Shore has spent the last five years working as part of senior leadership at Camp Givah in Albany, NY, and is currently earning his BA in Graphic Design at Binghamton University. Since he was in high school, Shore has been eager to help strengthen and build bonds within the Jewish communities. From Teaching at various Hebrew schools to volunteering with Northeast NCSY and NCSY Alumni, Shore has always done whatever he can to help ensure a bright future for Jewish youth- and is incredibly excited to bring that energy to his new role as Registrar and Office administrator at Camp Yavneh! Shore currently lives in Vestal, NY with his wife Shajar.
Stacey Wyner, APRN, FNP, joined the Marp staff in 2009. Her first experience with Yavneh was as a counselor in 1991 for Kfirim girls, then returned for Family Camp for a few summers with her husband and four children. Stacey has been working as a nurse practitioner for the past 20 years. Eighteen years were spent in a family practice in Connecticut and the last two years have been spent in a School-Based Health Clinic providing healthcare to underserved teens. Her children have all loved camp, only the younger two remain at Yavneh as campers. She is looking forward to another great summer at Yavneh.
Suzanne Kling Langman has worked in Jewish nonprofits for much of her career, most recently at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America and the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education. She now consults with a number of national Jewish organizations. A native Bostonian, she lives in New York City with her husband, Barry Langman, and son, Elliott. Attending Camp Yavneh from 1979-1984 gave her a lifelong love of Hebrew and a model of Judaism without boundaries. She can still sing her Shir Aydah from Gurim '79.