Camp Hess Kramer (Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps)

Ms. Jen Shankman

Jen Shankman is thrilled to return home as the Director of Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps. Jen has worked in a wide range of educational settings within the Jewish community for well over 25 years, from early childhood education to youth development, music education to camping. She credits her time at Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, Massachusetts for her most formative experiences and her leadership development in the field of Jewish education. She began as a camper, grew into a counselor, specialist, administrator, and eventually, an assistant camp director. She is a graduate of Hamilton College and earned her Masters degree in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Jen also completed a fellowship with JECELI-LA, the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute. Most recently, Jen was the Director of Early Childhood Education at Aaron Milken Center at Wise, and prior to that, the associate director at our beloved camps. Jen comes back to camp with a passion for the moral and social development of children and a true love for mentoring and training staff. She understands deeply the importance of leading a community through the building of a shared vision. Jen lives in Ventura County with her husband and son–one of her proudest moments has been watching her son fall in love with camp!