Our Staff

Rabbi Jill Levy, Director

Rabbi Jill Levy joined the Camp Ramah in New England staff in September 2019.  Rabbi Jill joined CRNE after five years as Rabbi at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC in Houston, where she also served as Director of their largest day camp, Camp Kaleidoscope.  Rabbi Jill spent three summers on staff at Ramah Darom and one summer on staff at Ramah Nyack.  Prior to her position at the Houston JCC, Rabbi Jill was Director of Congregational Learning at Herzl-Ner Tamid in Mercer Island, WA.  Rabbi Jill received her ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2011.  While in rabbinical school, she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow and served as student rabbi in several different congregations. In addition, she completed a summer of clinical pastoral education at St. Luke’s and Texas Children’s Hospitals in Houston. Rabbi Jill also earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University.  She currently lives in Rockville with her husband, Matt, and two daughters (and eager campers), Nava and Miri.  In her free time, you can find her running or bike riding on one of the many trails in the D.C. area.

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Sharon Rosenberg Safra, Associate Director

A Bowie, Maryland native, Sharon Rosenberg Safra received her BA in Judaic Studies from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Jewish Education from the Davidson Graduate School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Sharon worked as the yoetzet (camper care specialist & parent liaison) at Ramah Day Camp in its opening summer and served as the Family Education Director at B’nai Israel Congregation in Rockville from 2003 to 2016. Prior to 2003, Sharon worked as a Hillel professional, synagogue Program Director, and Regional USY Director. She and her husband, Rabbi Michael Safra, are the proud parents of three happy current/former Ramahniks – Rebecca, Ethan, and Gila. Sharon believes strongly in the power of community and enjoys her work building a diverse summer kehillah each year.  When not at work or with her family, you can often find Sharon cooking, exercising or reading.

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Zach Krausman, Registrar & Operations Coordinator

Zach is new to the DC area coming from Omaha, NE. A lifelong Ramahnik, Zach was a camper at Ramah Darom for 8 summers and spent 5 summers on staff. He recently graduated from Florida State University where he studied mathematics and computer science. In his free time, Zach enjoys watching football (Kansas City Chiefs) and playing guitar.

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Erin Sudow Willcher, Program Director

Erin has been a part of the Ramah Day Camp summer team for the past three years and is excited to join the year-round team. Previously, she served as Rosh Communication and Yoetzet. Erin is also a youth advisor at B’nai Israel Congregation for 3rd-5th graders. Prior to joining the Ramah staff, she was a marketing and communications professional for over 15 years. Erin earned both a BA and MBA from American University. She currently lives in Rockville with her husband Ben and three children (current and future campers) Emma, Reese and Miles. During her free time, Erin loves doing all things Peloton, traveling, reading, and watching reality TV.

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Lauren Moskowitz Lavelle, Tikvah Director

Hi families! My name is Lauren Moskowitz Lavelle, and I’m thrilled to be supporting your campers this summer. I bring many years of experience working with children and families across both education and camp settings, including a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and more than 17 years of teaching with MCPS in a variety of roles. Creating a fun, inclusive, and supportive environment is at the heart of everything I do, and I’m passionate about helping every child feel seen, confident, and excited to participate. Outside of camp, I’m a mom to a wonderful son and wife to a very supportive husband, and our family loves staying active in our community. I can’t wait to get to know your campers, cheer them on, and help make this a joyful and memorable summer for all!

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Chana Penini, Head of Israel Education & Rosh Sha’ar

Chana is very excited to join the Ramah community alongside her three children, Noa, Kobe, and Gavi! Chana’s previous Jewish day camp roles include Science Specialist, Jewish culture Specialist and Assistant Program Director from camps across the country including Long Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. During the year, Chana is a Special Education high school teacher. She earned her degree in Special Education from Hunter College in 2013 while participating in AmeriCorps’ New York City Teaching Fellows program. Before becoming an educator, Chana spent time in Israel working with Camp Young Judaea’s Year Course, a post-high school gap year program. In her free time, Chana enjoys cooking, spending time outdoors, and reading.

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Rabbi Ed Gelb, CEO, Ramah New England

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Billing & Financial Aid