Yedid Nefesh Initiative

Johns Hopkins Hospital / Kennedy Krieger Institute
Robbie Berg (he/him) is a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital / Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. A product of the URJ camping system and former FJC Cornerstone Fellow, he was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied biochemistry and linguistics. He went on to serve as the inaugural assistant director at URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, the nation’s first Jewish science and technology camp. He received his medical degree from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he conducted research in neuroimaging of adolescents with PTSD and worked with at-risk emerging adults in an LGBTQ clinic in New York City, and completed his adult psychiatry training at Johns Hopkins. He is particularly interested in the intersection of medical illness and psychiatric well-being in children and adolescents.

BaMidbar
Liora Bernstein (she/her) graduated with a dual master’s degree from Hebrew Union College’s Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management and the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work in Spring 2023. Upon graduation, she joined the BaMidbar team to continue to work in the intersection of Judaism, mental health, and experiential education while helping future and current leaders in the community become better advocates and educators themselves. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Liora was one of four inaugural members of the first cohort of FJC Fellows at Foundation for Jewish Camp in New York, NY. In her two years at FJC, Liora worked as a Leadership Development Fellow on different mental health initiatives, such as Yedid Nefesh, and counselor programs, such as the Cornerstone Fellowship. Liora was a camper, counselor, and unit head at URJ Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, MA. She was also an undergraduate participant in the Nachshon Project in Jerusalem, Israel and is currently a Graduate Fellow Participant in the Nachshon Project. Liora graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from George Washington University in Washington, D.C

Camp Alonim
Michal Berkson Powell (she/her) works as the Community Care Specialist at Camp Alonim in Brandeis, CA. Michal was part of the first Yedid Nefesh Cohort and is committed to ensuring that campers and staff Alonim get the support they need in order to succeed to the best of their abilities and enjoy all that camp has to offer. Michal is a licensed clinical social worker and started off working in public schools and then spent years working for the Jewish Social Service Agency of Metropolitan Washington, DC. Currently, in addition to camp, Michal works in private practice in Washington, DC and consults with Jewish preschools throughout the DC area. Michal is also a teen Mental Health First Aid instructor and works as a trainer with BBYO and JFNA. Michal earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Psychological Services from Northwestern University and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and two boys who can’t wait for next summer and know that at Alonim “the trees shall remember your being here.”

Dear Scout
Mollie Carl is an LCSW located in Richmond, VA. She’s been practicing social work for the past 15+ years and dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing of youth, young adults, and adults. Her clinical focus has been on mood disorders and anxiety. Mollie spent her entire childhood and young adult life at summer camp either as a camper or counselor and is eager to send her own daughters to camp, continuing her family’s tradition of camping. Alongside her siblings, Mollie co-founded Dear Scout to support the emotional well-being of the camp staff. She is Dear Scout’s Chief Clinical Officer and provides individual therapy to camp staff in California, Colorado, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Mollie is also the Associate Director of the Mental Wellbeing Team at Optum Behavioral Health. Outside of work, Mollie enjoys cooking, baking, and exploring the world with her husband and daughters.

Blue Dove Foundation
Carly Coons, LSW, (she/her) is the Director of Education and Programming at the Blue Dove Foundation, leading the organization in curating and creating mental health resources and workshops that integrate Judaism and mental wellness into communities with intention. Before joining Blue Dove, Carly built a career in the Jewish community, focusing on youth and summer camp programming. Carly’s work is enriched by her education as a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) and a Youth and Teen Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Carly lives in Denver, CO where she’s recharged and motivated by exploring the mountains and with her family and friends.

Union for Reform Judaism
Amy Dolgin, RN, MPH, is the Director of Wellness and Integrated Learning for the URJ Camps and Youth Immersive Programs. In this role, she supports and resources 14 camps and two Israel Immersive Programs on all work related to integrated wellness, belonging, and youth safety. She provides learning opportunities for camp and program leaders, develops and maintains medical and MESSH practice guidelines and resources, conducts annual needs assessments, and consults with URJ camps and programs for ongoing growth and development in the areas of culture building, belonging, safety, and integrated wellness. She works in collaboration with the many camp and program directors and the URJ leadership, as well as a URJ Medical Advisory Team and the URJ MESSH Advisory Team, each comprised of volunteer and staff leaders in URJ camp care and wellbeing. Prior to serving in this role, Amy worked in diverse roles in the fields of public health and nursing. Her prior work has included consulting on program planning and evaluation, patient education, and maternal-child health and wellness. Her areas of expertise include systems integration, program management, teaching and group facilitation, and crisis intervention. Amy grew up spending summers at one of the URJ camps (OSRUI) as a camper, then counselor, unit head, and camp nurse. Now, in addition to her professional role supporting the URJ camps, Amy’s children are OSRUI campers every summer.

Young Judaea Sprout Camps
Helene Drobenare, MSW, MA, holds a Master of Social Work from Yeshiva University and Master of Administration in Organizational Change Management from the New School of Social Research. Helene has been working with youth for 20 years. She grew up in BBYO and went on to work in their leadership camp programs at Perlman and Beber camps. She has also served as the coordinator for the March of the Living program, and the director of programs for Masada Israel Summer Programs. Helene lived in Israel for four years where she worked for TRACKS Adventures as Director of Youth Programs & Marketing. Helene has spent years committed to improving the lives of children in Africa through her volunteer work in South Africa and Tanzania. Helene has served as the director of CYJ Sprout Lake since September 1999.

Ives Consulting LLC
Dan Fast (he/him) launched Ives Consulting to help businesses and nonprofits solve their organizational challenges and become more efficient, cost effective, and great places to work.

He is an empathetic strategist and practitioner with 18 years of experience across numerous industries, including Fortune 500 life sciences and tech companies, non-profits, and small business. He has been instrumental in implementing change and process improvements, which resulted in streamlined operations and increased collaboration and business reach.

Previously, Dan served as Senior Consultant for CGI, a global business and IT consulting leader. In this role, he led strategy through execution for Fortune 500 clients on diverse projects including digital transformation, enterprise resiliency, new ways of working, and operations improvement. Prior to CGI, Dan helped drive strategy and management at numerous non-profits, including UJA-Federation of New York and NEXT.

Dan holds a Master’s in Industrial-Labor Relations and Management from Cornell University-ILR School, and Bachelor’s in English and Religious Studies from Lafayette College. He is a Prosci certified Change Management Practitioner. Dan lives in a charming lake community in New Jersey with his wife and daughter. In his free time, he loves to play music, hike, discuss books and films, and volunteer.

Marc is a leadership coach, educator, and Mental Health Trainer with over 15 year of experience in the Non-Profit sector. As a Mental Health Trainer, Marc has created and facilitated workshops for managers at Fortune 500 companies, thousands of educators and students across North America and Israel, as well as presented to the Knesset and Yad VaShem. He also founded a summer program that has taken hundreds of students to Poland and Israel. Marc has a Masters in Non-Profit Management and Leadership from Hebrew University, completed the core coaching curriculum at the Co-Active Training Institute, and is certified both in Youth Mental Health First Aid and Experiential Jewish Education.

BBYO Center for Adolescent Wellness
Drew Fidler, LCSW-C, is the Director of the BBYO Center for Adolescent Wellness, where she helps ensure that BBYO and other Youth Serving Organizations are places where adolescents can thrive through institutional best practices in health and wellness. Prior to joining BBYO, Drew worked for Baltimore Child Abuse Center as a Forensic Interviewer, Policy and Program Development Manager, and then as the Director of Prevention and Education. She also worked with youth serving organizations to analyze their systems relating to protecting youth and creating safe environments, conducts trainings, and creates programs for organizations. Drew has trained over 1,000 professionals on how to protect children and their own organization from incident, and has received training from the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime in building organizational resiliency. Prior to joining BCAC, Drew worked with at risk youth both in the United States and abroad. Drew’s career has focused on aiding youth serving organizations and their staff in understanding children’s mental health issues, and best supporting and advocating for their needs. Drew has an MSW from New York University and a BA in Psychology from Skidmore College.

Lesley University
Jason S. Frydman, PhD, RDT/BCT, NCSP is a licensed psychologist (GA), nationally certified school psychologist, and a registered drama therapist/board certified trainer. Dr. Frydman is an associate professor of expressive therapies at Lesley University where he co-chairs the IRB and runs the research lab, the Collaborative for Creative Arts Therapies in Schools. His research interests center on trauma-informed practices in schools, school-based creative arts therapy, mental health literacy in the classroom setting, and wellbeing at summer camp. He serves as the associate editor for general topics of Translational Issues in Psychological Science and on the editorial boards of School Psychology Review, Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, and Drama Therapy Review. In addition to supporting the Yedid Nefesh initiative, Dr. Frydman is an appointed advisor to the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative.

University of Maryland School of Social Work
Samantha Fuld (she/her/hers) is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Master’s program at the University of Maryland School of Social Work where she teaches both foundational and advanced courses in human behavior, social work practice with individuals, advanced clinical interventions and cognitive behavior therapies. She received her DSW in clinical social work from New York University’s Silver School of Social Work where she focused on the impact of trauma and stigma on mental health in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and worked to promote a critical social model of understanding mental health and disability in social work practice and education. Dr. Fuld has held a variety of supervisory, clinical, administrative and consulting positions throughout her career which included work as a mental health clinician and clinical supervisor at a New York City agency providing services for people with IDD, serving as director of a summer camping program for teens on the autism spectrum, and program development, grants allocation and advocacy in the fields of mental health and disabilities. She also has post-graduate training in Schema Therapy. Dr. Fuld is committed to breaking down the stigma surrounding mental/behavioral health and creating supportive, inclusive spaces that value neurodiversity.

BeWell
Beth Lipschutz, MSW is committed to supporting the mental health and wellness of youth and those who care about them. Her career has been focused on community building, leadership development, inclusion, and MESH education. This includes creating and facilitating different mental wellness programs and trainings, for both teens and adults. She is proud to be a part of BeWell, the mental health and wellness initiative of Jewish Federations of North America, in partnership with the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, to help youth and those who care about them increase their understanding of how to best support mental health and wellness in the community.

Core Mental Wellness
Debbie Locketz (she/her) is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with more than 20 years of experience providing mental health counseling and therapy services to teens, emerging adults and adults in schools, clinics and the summer camp setting.

Debbie grew up as a camper and then worked as a summer staff member at URJ OSRUI. Debbie went on to serve as the full time Camp Care Director of URJ OSRUI for six years. Currently Debbie owns her own private practice (corementalwellness.com) and specializes in working with teens, young adults and adults struggling with mental health concerns. As a camp mental health consultant, Debbie works with camps both during the off season and the summer months to provide training for all full time/year round professional staff as well as summer staff. Debbie provides on-call services during the summer months to help problem solve and provide therapeutic support to staff. Debbie is a qualified neutral as a Restorative Practice Family Mediator with the Minnesota Courts and is certified by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing as a Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Debbie received her M.S.W. from the University of Cincinnati. She lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota with her husband and two daughters.

Camp Bnai Brith Montreal
Susan Marks is a Clinical Social Worker with more than 20 years of experience working with families, adolescents, and children. Her areas of expertise include anxiety, depression, self-esteem, trauma & loss and parenting. She received her Bachelor of Social Work Degree from McGill University and her Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Toronto. Susan is a guidance counsellor at a private high school in Montreal. She also currently has a private practice where she focuses on providing supportive counseling to children, adolescents, adults and families in order to help to ensure improvement in her clients’ general well-being and mental health. Susan is also part of the camper and staff care team at B’nai Brith of Montreal and spends her entire summer at camp. Susan has been a regular contributor on morning television in Montreal as an expert discussing child and adolescent issues. Susan is a member of the Order of Professional Social Workers of Quebec.

URJ Camp Harlam
Cori excitedly joined the year-round Harlam team after two summers in Harlam’s Camper Care department. Cori was never a camper but quickly became passionate about all that Camp Harlam offered and easily recognized Harlam as a place where kids could forge connections that could improve their well-being and help them thrive beyond camp’s gates. Cori is honored to be a part of the Harlam community.

Cori grew up in Northern New Jersey and attended Dickinson College. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania and is licensed in Pennsylvania. She has worked with children and families in many settings, including schools, counseling centers, and residential treatment. She has also worked with prospective adoptive families. Cori lives in Ambler with her husband, Mike, and two children. They attend Congregation Beth Or and her children both attended Harlam and worked on staff. She loves talking with families and welcomes families to reach out during the year as well as during the summer with questions or concerns. Cori is a Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor as certified by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, a subject matter expert on mental health for the American Camp Association’s grant with the HEB Foundation, and an Advisory Board Member for the Alliance for Camp Health and a regular contributor to their publication.

Foundation for Jewish Camp
Maryn is the Program Manager for Community Care at FJC. She grew up in Phoenix attending Camp Charles Pearlstein in northern Arizona, which later became Camp Daisy and Harry Stein. Maryn holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Arizona. After graduating she served as the Assistant Director at Camp Daisy and Harry Stein for 4 years. She then completed a graduate program in Social Work and Jewish Non-Profit Management at the University of Southern California and Hebrew Union College. After graduating she continued her camp journey working for Camp Ramah in California as the Alumni and Development Associate, spending her summers at camp focusing on camper and staff mental health. Maryn is excited to use her experience, education and passion for mental health and inclusion to help support Community Care for the field of Jewish camping!

Ohel Kestenbaum Family International Children’s Services
Dr. Namdar is an educational psychologist and holds a doctorate in education from Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, where she studied the mental health impact of the pandemic on Jewish day school students, and predictors of resilience, wellbeing and post-traumatic growth. Carly was awarded the Robert M. Sherman Young Pioneer Award from the Jewish Education Project in 2020 for her work in the field of social-emotional learning. Carly is passionate about bridging moral and character education and positive psychology to introduce students, families and faculty to ideas related to building resilience and breaking down stigma associated with mental health. In her work in the Jewish educational community, Carly has worked toward fostering a school environment that promotes resilience, inclusion and social cohesion as students build the skills and agency to navigate their ever-changing world. Carly has extensive experience delivering and coordinating social-emotional learning, professional development and implementing counseling and interventions to address students’ social, emotional and academic needs.

Dr. Namdar is the Resilience Programs Coordinator for Ohel Kestenbaum Family International Children’s Services, coordinates Ohel’s School-Based Services and oversees Ohel’s Helpline for educators and youth support professionals.

Jewish Queer Youth (JQY)
Jeremy Novich, Psy.D. is the full-time psychologist at JQY (Jewish Queer Youth) where he leads the clinical department by creating policies, overseeing the delivery of clinical and support services, and providing supervision to clinical staff. He has worked on issues impacting LGBTQ individuals as a clinician, researcher, and community educator. After earning his doctorate in clinical psychology from Long Island University, Post Campus, Dr. Novich completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he was on the Safe Zone committee, developing and delivering LGBTQ sensitivity workshops to faculty and staff. In addition to his work at JQY, Dr. Novich is a current member of the board of directors and the LGBTQ advisory committee at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, where he advises on long- and short-term strategies to make the Orthodox Jewish community more accepting of queer people. Dr. Novich also has expertise in assessing and treating substance use disorders.

National Ramah Commission
Dr. Daniel Olson is the director of Strategic Initiatives and Research at the National Ramah Commission. His work there has focused on a wide range of topics including Mental Health support, disability and LGBTQ+ inclusion, Israel education, and day camps. He completed his PhD in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU in 2020 and wrote his dissertation about Birthright Israel trips for young adults with developmental disabilities. He received the Harold Wechsler award for emerging scholars from the Network for Research in Jewish Education. He is an alumnus of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar. He lives with his husband Rabbi Ben Goldberg in Port Chester, NY.

Dr. Nancy Parkes is an educational consultant and lecturer. Much of her work is focused on helping Jewish educators and directors integrate social, emotional, and spiritual learning in their settings. Several of her articles on the topic have appeared in eJewishPhilanthropy and she is currently working on an SESL toolkit for Jewish educators. Nancy is a lecturer at JTS and is currently teaching an online certificate program in Social, Emotional, and Spiritual Learning for Jewish educators. She is also a founding member of SESL4Jewished, which is a collaborative for promoting holistic growth for learners and educators in all Jewish settings. Nancy served as the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Israel Center in White Plains for ten years, and is an outspoken advocate for the partnership between Rabbis and educators in bringing about innovation and change in the congregational school setting. Nancy earned her doctorate in Education and her M.A. degree in Jewish Studies and Education in the William Davidson School of Education at JTS.

Rabbi Rex Perlmeter was ordained at HUC/JIR in 1985, and went on to serve as spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Greater Miami and the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. He later joined the staff at the Union for Reform Judaism where he served for five years, before leaving to establish the Jewish Wellness Center of North Jersey, a practice dedicated to supporting all engaged in “seeking Oneness in body, heart, mind and soul.” In addition to having trained as a Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and a Spiritual Director, he received his Masters of Social Work from New York University in May 2016. Rex also serves at the Central Conference of American Rabbis as Special Advisor for Member Care and Wellness.

Rex’s relationship with Jewish camping goes back to childhood as a camper and continued through rabbinic school, when he served on staff of URJ Camp Harlam. He returned to Harlam beginning in 1996, when he and his wife, Rabbi Rachel Hertzman, joined the camp faculty, and their children Jackie, Sarah, Mitch and Nate began their years as campers and counselors. The relationship deepened when the camp community was a mainstay for the family as they began coping with the death of Mitch at age 17 in 2011. They established a scholarship fund in his honor which the camp has since made the primary fund for assisting families in making Jewish camping possible for their kids. Rex’s service to Jewish camping is inspired by his firsthand knowledge of the many ways in which it shapes and strengthens our children and their families.

The Jed Foundation
Erica is a licensed clinical social worker and joined The Jed Foundation (JED) in December 2015 as a campus advisor. She has held many roles at JED supporting JED Campuses through strategic planning, contributing to the growth of JED’s Higher Education Learning Community, and expanding the JED Campus alumni program. In her current role, Erica oversees special projects and initiatives focused on Higher Education, including providing technical assistance, incubating new products and services for schools and systems, and building communities of practice focused on mental health and suicide prevention. Prior to joining JED, Erica worked as a therapist at Eastern Michigan University and Wayne State University’s Counseling & Psychological Services. Erica earned her B.A. in elementary education from Michigan State University and received her Master’s in social work from The University of Michigan. She is currently pursuing her EdD in community-based leadership from The City University of New York, College of Staten Island.

Foundation for Jewish Camp
Nila Rosen joined FJC in January 2020 after two decades of experience providing strategic planning, evaluation, and applied research assistance to philanthropic, nonprofit, healthcare start-ups, and governmental agencies as well as large-scale initiatives. Her area of focus is building healthy and resilient individuals, communities, environments, and organizations and the interactions between these systems.

Prior to joining FJC, she consulted for a broad array of clients in research and evaluation, strategic planning, change management, coalition building, and organizational development in order to bring systems into alignment with vision and social change. These engagements, focused on the well-being of children and families, include the California Children’s Trust, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Stanford University, and the Behavioral Health Services of Santa Clara County. Prior, Nila held a 10-year tenure as a Communications Liaison and Research Scientist implementing the California Department of Public Health’s statewide response to the autism epidemic. In this position, she worked to enhance research and collaboration between the state’s child-serving education, developmental, and medical systems. Nila’s prior work to strengthen the Jewish community includes evaluation planning and implementation for Birthright Israel, multiple Jewish Teen Engagement Initiatives, Moving Traditions and the JOFEE Fellowship. She believes Jewish camp is integral to restoring our connection to nature and creating a greater sense of belonging in the world. Nila holds an M.P.H. in epidemiology focused on maternal child health from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. from Oberlin College in English and writing. She lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband and her two inspiring teenagers.

Leslie Rosen Stern, MA/MSW (she/her), is the Managing Director of Meeting Your Mission, Inc., dedicating her work to fortifying mission-driven organizations, fostering individual and organizational development, advancing initiatives, and enhancing community engagement. Leslie specializes in providing supportive coaching and skilled facilitation. During the summer months she brings these talents to senior leadership responsibilities in summer camper care and wellness positions in immersive camp and teen travel settings. She holds an MSW from Columbia University and an MA in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Leslie is certified in Nonprofit Management from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace, Inclusive and Ethical Leadership, and Virtual Experiential Education and Facilitation. Her expertise includes specialty wellbeing approaches including youth and teen mental health first aid, the science of wellbeing, and trauma-informed care.

Brave Space Psychology
Dr. Dani Rosenkrantz (she/they) is a Jewish + Queer licensed psychologist and owner of Brave Space Psychology, a virtual private practice rooted in Florida offering therapy in 36+ states and coaching worldwide. Dr. Dani loves helping Jewish and LGBTQIA+ folx heal and connect to joy, identity affirmation, and empowerment despite ongoing oppression and political stress. Dr. Dani is passionate about building Brave Spaces that empower families and communities with tools for affirmation. Dr. Dani offers parent affirmation coaching and speaks and educates nationally to reduce the impacts of minority stress and build communities where all can feel seen and thrive. She is also a former assistant director of Camp Shalom of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass in Lexington, KY and loves all things camp!

The Jewish Board: HereNow
Pamela Rae Schuller is a relentlessly funny comedian and advocate who was kicked out of Hebrew school more times than she can count on her way to becoming a world-renowned speaker. She has been featured on Netflix’s Jewish Matchmaking, Dr Mike videos, and NBC, and was named one of New York City’s “36 Under 36” who are changing the face of the Jewish community. Known for her use of comedy, storytelling, and improv to inspire communities to a new understanding of inclusion, Pamela shares her story of what it’s like seeing the world from 4 feet 6 inches high, finding truly inclusive Jewish spaces where she could shine, and doing it all with a whole lot of Tourette syndrome. She is also the founder and director of HereNow, a Jewish teen mental health and resilience initiative through the Jewish Board that focuses on using creativity to elevate the stories of teens to empower and inspire others. Pamela doesn’t just “tolerate” what makes her different; she embraces it, loves it, and finds the funny in it… all while challenging her audiences to do the same.

Mind Strategies
CUNY School of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Before establishing Mind Strategies, Dr. Schwartz served for eight years as chief medical officer of The Jed Foundation, a leading non-profit focused on youth and young adult suicide prevention and mental health promotion. While there, Schwartz was a highly sought-after advisor and consultant and was a leader in developing approaches to messaging to young people about mental health and helping organizations develop their mental health activities and programming. Previously, he was university dean of students at Yeshiva University for six years after establishing and serving as director of that institution’s Counseling Center. He is currently Senior Associate Dean for Wellness and Student Life at CUNY School of Medicine and clinical associate professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Prior to his time at Yeshiva, Schwartz was medical director and chief psychiatrist at the NYU Student Counseling Service. He also served as assistant director of residency training in psychiatry at NYU Medical Center.

He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and was a member of the APA’s Presidential Task Force on College Mental Health, and co-chaired its working group on law and college mental health. He was also a co-chair of the Committee on the College Student of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He has written and lectured extensively on college mental health and suicide prevention; particularly concerning the management of mental health crises and suicide in colleges and legal issues in college mental health. He has advised on development of trainings by Kognito, Everfi, Get Inclusive, has developed his own psychoeducation and gatekeeper training programs, and is a founding member of the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance. Outside of the higher education area, he has served as an advisor to the NFL, NBA, NCAA, US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, American Ballet Theater, Harpo Productions, the Ad Council, HBO, Facebook/Instagram, Gun Free Kids, Brady Campaign, Dear Evan Hansen, MTV, and numerous other movies and media outlets. He is a member of the NYS Suicide Prevention Coalition and the National Council for Suicide Prevention and a core team member of the Media and Mental Health Initiative hosted by Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Schwartz co-edited (with Dr. Jerald Kay) the text, Mental Health Care in the College Community (Wiley, 2010).

URJ Northeast Camps & Youth
Debby Shriber (she/her) is proud to be the Executive Director of the URJ Northeast Camps. She’s been with URJ Camps since 2009 and has worked in the camping field for over 20 years. For 9 years she directed Camp Poyntelle Lewis Village, a JCC overnight camp in Wayne County, PA. Prior to that Debby was a day camp director. Debby was raised in Worcester MA. As a teen, she was a very active member of NFTY Northeast and her synagogue, Temple Emanuel. She holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. Debby completed the JCC Association Lechu Lachem Senior Fellowship and also served as a mentor for the Foundation for Jewish Camp Yitro Fellowship. During the school year, Debby, her wife Nili, their daughter Molly, and their dox Bexley live in Fort Lee, NJ.

Mindfulness Consulting
Yael Shy is a Jewish Meditation teacher and CEO of Mindfulness Consulting. She is the author of the book, What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond (Parallax, 2017) and Founder of Mindful NYU, the largest campus-based mindfulness initiative in the country. She is currently a Professor at New York University and Adjunct faculty at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. She loved her years at summer camp (Camp Ramah in Ojai California!) and loves bringing mindfulness and wellness offerings to camp staff, as well as to campers of all ages. You can contact her at mindfulnessconsulting.net, or on instagram at yaelshy1.

J Day Camp – Greater Detroit JCC
Rebecca Skoczylas is looking forward to her third year as the mental health specialist at the J Day Camp in West Bloomfield, Michigan where she is able to support campers, parents and staff. During the school year, Rebecca is a school psychologist, BCBA and special education administrator. Rebecca earned her B.A. in psychology at Rutgers University and her M.Ed. and Ed.S. at Georgia State University. Rebecca lives in Southfield, MI with her husband, three children, dog and goldfish. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys traveling, running and reading.

Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
Tricia Stern is the Senior Vice President, Clinical Practice at the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies. In this role, Tricia provides clinical training and technical assistance to Network member agencies, community partners, and the sector at large, in implementing evidence-based mental health and wellbeing practices for all ages and populations and supports member agencies’ efforts related to program development and expansion of clinical services. She also directs The Network’s engagement in the BeWell initiative, a partnership with Jewish Federations of North America, to meet the increasing mental health needs of youth, young adults and parents through intervention and prevention.

Tricia is a psychotherapist and has served as a consultant to nonprofit and government agencies to implement best practices in mental health and wellbeing. She is the founder and former Director of the Family PEACE Trauma Treatment Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital and served as Director of the Child and Adolescent Services Department at Jewish Family Service of MetroWest, NJ. Tricia received a dual masters degree in Social Work and Public Health from Columbia University and is trained in many different clinical interventions.

Camp Judaea
Tamar Sternfeld is one of the Assistant Directors at Camp Judaea and a member of Yedid Nefesh, cohort 2. Tamar has served as Camp Director in JCC day camps, as well as a regional director for BBYO and brings a deep love of Jewish camping to her work. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, an MSW from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, a Masters in Jewish Communal Service from Baltimore Hebrew University, and a Bachelor’s in Nursing from The Citadel. Tamar lives in Charleston, SC, with her husband and three children and when she’s not working or with her family, you can find her dancing somewhere or watching sports, cheering on either her beloved Fighting Illini or the St Louis Cardinals.

Fairwinds Camp Consulting
Dr. Nick Teich runs Fairwinds Camp Consulting, where he does executive coaching specifically for camp directors to help them in myriad ways. He is the founder and was the longtime director of Harbor Camps for transgender youth (NH). He is a trained social worker and holds a doctorate in social policy. Nick runs two groups for ACA New England: “The Business of Camp” and “MESH Systems.” Nick lives in the Boston area.

Foundation for Jewish Camp
Maya Tipiere joined FJC in February 2023 as the Learning and Research Associate. Previously, she worked in communications, development, and operations at Yeshivat Maharat, gaining a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the Jewish non-profit world.

Maya was raised in Long Island, New York and spent her summers at Perlman Camp in Pennsylvania as a camper, counselor, and head counselor. From her adult mentors to the youngest campers on camp, Maya has never ceased to be inspired and impressed by everyone in the world of Jewish camp. Maya studied in the Tulane honors program, followed by a semester abroad, in 2020, as a fellow of the Nachshon Project where she studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She graduated from Binghamton University in the spring of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development. Maya enjoys traveling, hiking, doing arts and crafts, and spending quality time with family, friends, and fellow silly geese.

Sunrise Association
Lisa Tobin is the Senior Director for Association Standards and In-Hospital Programs at Sunrise Association. Lisa has earned an M.A. in Special Education (NYU), an M.S.W. (University of Maryland), and an M.A. in Jewish Studies (Baltimore Hebrew University). Lisa is a licensed social worker and educator and has worked extensively in the Jewish Community and Jewish Camping and Inclusion. She was the Director of Round Lake Camp, NJY Camps’ residential camp for youth with special needs, and worked at Ramapo Anchorage Camp in Rhinebeck, NY, for many years. Lisa has over 30 years of experience working with youth of all ages, focusing her work on children with disabilities and mental and educational needs. While Director of Inclusion for the Foundation for Jewish Camp, Lisa co-published important research in the field and innovated inclusion cohorts nationwide. Lisa has also been the national Dean of Admissions for the Jewish National Fund’s AMHSI and has worked at the CCAR and the Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore.

Foundation for Jewish Camp
Lawrence is stoked to be part of the third FJC Fellowship cohort, working on wellness, belonging, and inclusion initiatives. Originally from Kansas City, he attended Ramah in the Rockies as a camper for several summers, completing Jewish Outdoor Leadership Institute (JOLI) in After coming back on staff, Lawrence led masa’ot (backcountry excursions) and worked in Packout, provisioning food and gear for masa’ot, before overseeing Packout in summer 2023.

Lawrence followed his love of the mountains to the University of Colorado Boulder, graduating in the spring of 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in both Environmental Studies and Geography. While there, he completed an honors thesis exploring the relationship between white supremacy and environmental education and how to improve access to environmental education for people of color. In his spare time, Lawrence loves hiking, listening to music of all types, and collecting Junior Ranger badges from National Park Service sites.

Dr. Kohenet Harriette E. Wimms is a Maryland licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in providing compassion-infused mental health care to children, adolescents, adults, and families. Dr. Wimms is a prayer leader in both the Kohenet community and Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl. She is the driving force behind Hinenu JOC, the Baltimore JOC Community Havurah, the Jews of Color Mishpacha Project, and the JOCMP’s Jews of Color National (Virtual) Shabbaton program. Harriette is currently a Keshet contract trainer, a Kesher mentor, and a member of the Seleh Jewish Leadership Fellowship program, JOC cohort 17. A community connector, Dr. Wimms is a proud Black, Disabled, Queer, Fat, Jew by Choice, and is most proud of being mother to her 19-year-old son.

Lesley University & JCC Camp Chi
Dr. Laura Wood is an Associate Professor at Lesley University in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Drama Therapy Program and the Director of Mental Wellness at Camp Chi. Her focus areas include: eating disorders, body image, grief and loss, attachment and the use of creative arts therapies to support overall mental wellness.

Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps
Jodi Woodnick, LCSW is a Clinical Social Worker with a private practice in Scottsdale, AZ. Her passion for youth mental health has its roots in residential Jewish summer camp, where she has spent almost every summer since 1983. In her 40-year camp career, Jodi grew from camper to counselor to Camp Director (and everything in between). Today, and since 2015, Jodi has been the Director of Community Care at Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps in southern California. There, she values the opportunity to support families, campers, and staff as they navigate the essential (and sometimes messy) experience of a summer at a sleep-away camp.

Jodi met her husband, Gregg (a fellow counselor) when they were just teens, and the two married in 2001 surrounded by their camp family. He still enjoys visiting her at camp and seeing her in “her element” (his words). Jodi and Gregg are proud of their two teenagers, following in their parents’ footsteps as they embark on their 10th camp summer, this time as community leaders.

JCC Association of North America
Mark S. Young is vice president of Talent Strategy and the director of JResponse® at JCC Association of North America. He brings 20 years of experience in leadership, program development, and talent strategy in nonprofit organizations to his roles, much of which he gained in previous positions with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), Episcopal Social Services of New York, 92NY, and the Mandel JCC in Cleveland, Ohio. Young holds dual master’s degrees in nonprofit management and Judaic studies from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University. He is the author of “Bless Our Workforce: Changing the Way We Manage Our People.” He lives in Hartsdale, New York, where he, his wife, Rabbi Mara Young, and their two children are members of the Harold and Elaine Shames JCC on the Hudson.