Year Round Staff


Rabbi David Soloff, Executive Director
dsoloff@ramahwisconsin.com
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
lsykes@ramahwisconsin.com
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.

Jacob Cytryn, Assistant Director
jcytryn@ramahwisconsin.com
Jacob Cytryn a lifetime Ramahnik and 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 served as a Teaching Fellow in Jewish Studies and Research Assistant at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education.  Jacob is a Wexner Graduate Fellow as a Ph.D. candidate in Jewish Studies and Education at Brandeis University.  Jacob recently moved to Chicago with his wife Tamar and son Sam.   
Benji Bearman, Chief Operating Officer
bbearman@ramahwisconsin.com
Benji Bearman is the Chief Operating Officer 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 new 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 of Institutional Advancement
lhoffenberg@ramahwisconsin.com
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, Gabe and Temma Hoffenberg.

Marilyn Blonsky, Bookkeeper
mblonsky@ramahwisconsin.com
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Marilyn has been a member of our year-round staff for 11 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.
Alicia Vinocur, Registrar
registrar@ramahwisconsin.com
Alicia is excited to have joined Ramah in September 2011. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, she graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Business and went on to attend the French Pastry School in Chicago, Illinois. Helping everyone through the registration process is making Alicia very eager to spend her first summer at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

Sarah Gold, Projects Coordinator
sgold@ramahwisconsin.com
Sarah joined us in September 2010. She is from Columbus, Ohio and spent 11 summers at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin as a camper, staff member, and rosh aidah. Sarah graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern and North African Studies. She spent last year as a participant in the Avodah Jewish Service Corp working for the Supportive Housing Providers Association. Among other projects, you'll see Sarah leading recruitment sessions for prospective families bringing her enthusiasm and excitement for Camp Ramah to future campers and parents across the Chicagoland area.
Robin Rubenstein, Alumni Coordinator
rrubenstein@ramahwisconsin.com
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 and Tali.

Barrie Orloff, Twin Cities Ramah Representative
borloff@ramahwisconsin.com

Ann Lesley Rosen, Marketing/Communications Coordinator
arosen@ramahwisconsin.com
Ann Lesley joined the year-round staff in December 2010 after spending many years as a camper (Nivonim 1996) and staff member. She spent several summers working with the Tikvah and Atzmayim programs, but has most recently been known as the website photographer and blogger. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and  BA in Music and English from Lake Forest College. Ann Lesley lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband Scott (also Nivonim 1996) and their three future Ramahniks, Liana, Gillian, and Asher.