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 Rabbi David Soloff, Executive Director
Rabbi David Soloff was the Director of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin from 1975-2009. A graduate of Brandeis University, he earned a master of arts and was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1974. Rabbi Soloff is the Co-Chair of the Midwest Jewish Camp Directors' Association. He is a past president of the Chicago Region Jewish Educators' Assembly and the Chicago Rabbinical Assembly and former chair of the Education Committee of Chicagoland Jewish High School.
| | |  Rabbi Loren Sykes, Director
Rabbi Loren Sykes is the new director of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Loren graduated from the Joint Program between the Albert A. List College of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University in 1988 and received his rabbinical ordination in 1993 from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Loren spent 20 summers at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, from 1977-1996, as a camper, participant in the Ramah Israel Seminar, summer staff member and assistant director. During his years as the assistant director of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, Loren was one of the co-founders of the Rose Crown Minyan, a joint effort of The Anshe Emet Synagogue and Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. From 1996-2007, Rabbi Sykes served as the founding director of Camp Ramah Darom. During that time, he established a traditional family camp for Jewish families from throughout the Southeast, and also founded Camp Yofi: Family Camp for Jewish Families with Children with Autism. In recognition of his work in building a new Ramah camp and for his work in building an inclusive community for families with children with Autism, Rabbi Sykes received the Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish education in 2006. In 2007-2008, Loren was a Fellow in the Melton Senior Educators Program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He met his wife, Rebecca, at camp, and they currently live with their three children - Elan, Mira and Amalya - in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago.
|  Benji Bearman, Chief Operating Officer
Benji Bearman is the Business Manager of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. In this capacity, Benji is responsible for the finances and operations of the camp. He also oversees construction projects at camp including the upcoming Chadar Ochel. Benji also works closely with the Ramah Day Camp. Prior to starting at Camp Ramah full-time, Benji was the Director of Youth Activities for the Mid-Continent Region of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism for eight years. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech Communications. A former camper, counselor, Rosh Aidah and fieldworker, Benji has been at Camp Ramah since 1989. Benji lives in Skokie with his wife Faye and their two children, Mia and Leo. | | |  Linda Hoffenberg, Director Institutional Advancement
A former Ramah Wisconsin camper (Nivonim 1970), Linda and her husband Michael lived in Israel in the 1970's and 1980's. When they returned to the United States they settled in Skokie, Illinois, with their three sons, Ilan, Jon and Noam.
Linda earned a degree in Hebrew Language Education from Spertus College in Chicago. While in Israel she worked at Bar Ilan University and the Weizmann Institute of Science. Back in the U.S., she worked in the travel industry for 10 years.
Linda joined the year-round Ramah staff as Development Director in 1997. She is very proud to be a part of a development team comprised of lay leaders and professionals who give generously of their energy and resources to secure Ramah's future. Linda and Michael are active members of the Skokie Egalitarian Minyan and they are proud grandparents of future Ramahniks Benji, Talia, Danny and Gabe Hoffenberg.
| | | Marilyn Blonsky, Bookkeeper
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Marilyn has been a member of our year-round staff for 8 years. Previously she worked for the law firm Holleb and Coff for 25 years as a data processing supervisor. Marilyn enjoys going to the theatre and traveling. | | | | |  Jordan Newmark, Registrar
Jordan is orginally from St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Art History. She joined our staff in the fall of 2006. In addition to working with us at Ramah Wisconsin, Jordan also dances with the Leopold Group, a Chicago-based modern dance company. | | | | |  Angela Goldstein, Marketing and Development
Angela is originally from Birmingham, Alabama. She comes to us from Ramah Darom, where she began as a camper during the camp's first summer in 1997. She continued to spend her summers there as a camper, counselor, and Rosh Aidah until 2006. Angela graduated with a BSBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. | | | | |  Jacob Cytryn, Program Director
Jacob Cytryn is a Wexner Graduate Fellow as a Ph.D. candidate in Jewish Studies & Education at Brandeis University, where he is currently a Teaching Fellow in Jewish Studies and Research Assistant at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education. A lifetime Ramahnik, Jacob has been a camper, participant in Ramah Seminar Plus, counselor, teacher, project coordinator, and Rosh Aidah before joining us year-round as Program Director in January 2007. He has an M.A. in Talmud and Rabbinics from JTS and a B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and was a member of Nativ 19. He spent three years as a faculty member in Jewish Studies and Math at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in Manhattan, has served as a scholar-in-residence for USY regions, and facilitates on-line book groups for the Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania. Jacob currently lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with his wife Tamar.
| | |  Robin Rubenstein, Alumni Coordinator
Robin Rosenbaum Rubenstein brings tremendous energy and warmth to her position as she keeps 60 years worth of Ramahniks connected to camp through email, special events, and visits to camp. She is excited to be working for Ramah since she was a camper for 6 years (Nivonim '90), attended Israel Seminar ('91) as well as a staff member working as a junior counselor and counselor. After being away for several years, Robin returned to camp in 2000 and has worked in various positions as her husband served as a visiting rabbinic educator. Robin is originally from suburban Chicago. She graduated from the Joint Program of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University in 1996 with degrees in Talmud and Political Science. Robin currently lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan with her husband Steven and her (future Ramahnik!) children, Ari (8) and Tali (5). | Elyse Less, Twin Cities Ramah Representative
Elyse Levine Less is an attorney, Ramah alumna, parent of two current Ramah campers and Cubs fan by marriage. She grew up at the Adath Jeshurun Congregation. Together with her family, she now lives in St. Paul and is a very involved member of Temple of Aaron. Elyse has been an active Jewish communal leader. Her oldest son attends Talmud Torah of St. Paul Day School and her two younger sons attend the Minneapolis Jewish Day School. |
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