Meet the Team

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Miryam was born in Mexico City and moved to San Diego, CA at the age of 4. As a young girl, she enjoyed eight incredible summers at Ramah Ojai and always dreamed of making her way back “home” to camp (although now on a different coast). In addition to earning a BA in American History from Columbia University, Miryam also earned a BA in Jewish Studies from Albert A. List College at the Jewish Theological Seminary. During her time as a student at List College, Miryam obtained a work-study position in the Institutional Advancement Department of JTS, and credits that time for her passion and drive in development work. After graduation, Miryam worked at a fundraising consulting firm and then returned to JTS’s department of Institutional Advancement as Assistant Director of the New York Region. While in New York, Miryam also spent time fundraising for Mount Sinai Hospital. Since then, she has worked with many organizations of varying size, helping them reach their goals and accomplish their mission. Most recently she served as Director of Institutional Advancement at Hillel at the University of Pennsylvania. Miryam currently lives in Wynnewood, PA with her husband, Adam, and two young children, Georgi and Daniel.

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As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Rachael has diverse therapeutic experience working with individuals, families and groups across a variety of clinical competencies. She has a strong foundation in community engagement and programming within the Jewish Community. She holds an MSW from University of Maryland, School of Social Work and is a Certified Thanatologist, specializing in grief and loss. She spent many years at Ramah Poconos as a camper and staff member and also served on the Board of Directors. Rachael met her husband Josh at camp, when they were Junior Counselors, and their boys, Sam and Ben are proud Poconos campers.

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An alumna of Camp Ramah in the Poconos (Gesher 2010 & 2019), she spent seven years on tzevet (staff), the last four as a Rosh Edah (division head). Tobi has a degree from Drexel University in Visual Communications and worked as a graphic designer and communications strategist before pivoting to work year-round to creating meaningful and fun experiences for campers and staff. Tobi is working towards a master's degree in Jewish Educational Leadership at the Davidson School of JTS.

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Bruce I. Lipton came back to camp from the for-profit world in 1998 as the Director of Finance & Operations, applying his skill set to keep camp safe, secure and solvent. Bruce worked at Ramah as a counselor, Rosh Hadar/Rosh Shachal and Kitchen Steward in the 1970s and 1980s. Bruce’s life experiences include higher and continuing education, army service in the IDF having lived in Israel as an Oleh for 10 years, and most importantly is a loving father to his two children Rachel and Avi and loving husband to his wife Meryl Sussman.

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Benjy was born in Israel and grew up in the town of Rosh Ha’ayin, where he currently lives with his wife, Ella, and sons Eitan and Yarden. He has spent most of his summers in his home away from home – Camp Ramah in the Poconos, a sacred place for him and his family. As a summer staff member, Benjy held many logistical roles at camp, including kitchen supervisor, dining hall manager, and head of security, before joining the year-round team in 2016. Benjy earned his ​B.A. in ​Sustainability and ​​Government from the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center​ (IDC)​, and has worked at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, as a senior adviser to a Knesset member and ​as a ​regional campaign manager for the Yesh Atid party.

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Originally from Rockland County, New York, Orlee grew up at Ramah Nyack, going from camper to counselor to Rosh Edah. As a life-long Ramahnik, parent of young children, and aunt of a child on the autism spectrum, Orlee is committed to creating and implementing opportunities for all children to participate in the Ramah camping movement. A graduate of Jewish day school, the Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and Mercy College, Orlee holds bachelors and masters degrees in Judaic Studies and Education. Most recently Orlee served as the Director of Education at Matan, the Director of Camper Care at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, and the Tikvah Network Coordinator for the National Ramah Commission. Orlee lives in New City, New York with her husband Matt, and their children Micah, Raya, and Gavi.

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Since 2002, Susan has been returning to Ramah Poconos from her home in Israel as the Rakezet (Program Coordinator) and is excited to join the year-round team as Program Director. Starting as a Nitzanim camper, Susan attended the Mador counselor training program and served as a madrichah (bunk counselor). She earned BA and MArch degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and brings her skill set to keep the camp program running smoothly and fun. Susan and husband Judah, also a Poconos alum, moved to Israel with their family where they founded a Masorti/Conservative synagogue in their hometown of Kfar Vradim. Susan has also held various committee and board positions with the Masorti Movement in Israel, working to strengthen pluralism and religious freedom in Israel.

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Noah started as a camper at Ramah Poconos in 2007 and has worked at the overnight camp for several summers, most recently as Rosh Yedidim in 2022. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020 where he majored in nonprofit management and philosophy. Out of college he worked in development for a Philadelphia nonprofit, and now joins us as a member of the year round team. Noah will focus on improving staff recruitment, as well as expanding our staff programming and appreciation strategies.

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Since his first summer in 1985, Yoni has always loved being at Camp Ramah in the Poconos. His early years as a camper were followed by many years on staff, serving as a counselor, Tzevet Sport, and Rosh Edah (division head). It was because of his love for Jewish camping that Yoni decided to pursue a career in Jewish education. After serving five years as the regional director of Hagesher USY, Yoni spent two years living in Jerusalem and studying at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, where he received a master’s degree in Jewish education. Yoni has served as an educator for the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Cornerstone program, teaching senior camping staff how to infuse Jewish texts into sports at camp. This led him to play an instrumental part in creating and developing the Ramah Sports Academy, a specialty camp within the larger National Ramah umbrella. Since then, he has been a full-time educator, teaching Bible and Rabbinics at various Jewish Day Schools, currently in his fifth year at Schechter Bergen in New Milford, NJ.

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Diana started in 2011 as a camper at Poconos and has worked at both Ramah Day Camp and Poconos, most recently as Rosh Halutzim in 2022. She graduated from Brandeis University in May with a double major in Psychology and Business. After working as our Development Intern for a year, she is excited to expand her work and bring back key alumni events such as Erev Thanksgiving and Alumni Weekend, as well as add new energy and ideas to this position. Diana is eager to connect with all alumni – please feel free to set up a coffee chat or zoom with her by emailing dianae@ramahpoconos.org!

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A native New Yorker turned Philly enthusiast, Sofy is excited to get back in touch with her camp roots and join the Ramah Day Camp team! She is thrilled to be a part of a team as inspiring as this one, and can’t wait to grow her wild sock collection. Sofy comes to Ramah after four years as the Director of Engagement at Penn Hillel. She attended Franklin & Marshall College, and is currently studying for a Master of Social Work and Master of Education degrees at Widener University. Sofy lives in Philadelphia, where you can find her on constant walks and admiring the sights of her favorite city in the world.