We are one week away from Opening Day, and we could not be more excited!
Want to learn more about our Leadership Team for this summer? Check out their bios below!
Debby Shriber, Camp Director
Debby is proud to be the director of Crane Lake Camp. She’s been with URJ Camps since 2009 and has worked in the camping field for over 19 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. Since 2009 Crane Lake has built new facilities, significantly upgraded existing facilities, and seen a growth in campers and an increased retention rate of staff. Debby’s favorite parts of her job are being out and around camp with the campers and staff during the summer and getting to know camp families during the school year. 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 and her family live in Fort Lee, NJ.
Sarah Lauing, Associate Director
Sarah joined the full time Crane Lake team in 2015 as Associate Director, after serving for four summers as Director of Jewish Life. Sarah came to Crane Lake originally in 2012 as Nadiv Educator in partnership with Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City. As Director of Jewish Life, Sarah enjoyed integrating Jewish learning and values into the already amazing camp day of boating, playing sports, and ziplining. Sarah is thrilled to expand her role at camp and looks forward to continuing to build relationships with campers, staff, and families through our meaningful work. Sarah holds an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College’s Rhea Hirsch School of Education in Los Angeles, and a BA in Religion from Middlebury College in Vermont. Sarah’s favorite camp event is Fight Song and her favorite camp meal is macaroni & cheese!
Brett Hausler, Assistant Director
Brett joined the full-time staff as Assistant Director in 2014 after growing up at Crane Lake Camp as a camper, general counselor and songleader, and unit head. Brett graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a BA in Social Thought & Political Economy and a certificate in Public Policy and Administration. His experience inside the camp setting includes participating in the Machon (Counselor-in-Training) program, Olim and Cornerstone Fellowships, which provide intensive counselor training, and the Roswell Klal Yisrael Fellowship, which brings together a global network of Reform leaders to create new models for Jewish and Israel engagement. Brett is also a FJC Yitro Leadership Fellow, which provides training for Jewish camp assistant and associate directors from a diverse section of resident Jewish summer camps. Outside of camp, Brett studied abroad in New Zealand, was an active member at the on-campus radio station by hosting a folk-rock music show, takes photographs for his small photography business, plays guitar, and officiates youth ice hockey in the winter months.
Barnett Goldman, Summer Assistant Director
Barnett is very proud and excited to be joining the Crane Lake Camp family this summer as the Summer Assistant Director. He currently lives in Westwood, NJ and is a 3rd grade teacher during the school year. In addition to teaching full time, he teaches in two High School supplemental programs in New Jersey and coaches various sports including soccer, basketball, and softball. Although this is his first year with Crane Lake, Barnett has spent the past 27 years working in camps, with the last 9 of them as Assistant Director at Camp Laurelwood. Barnett is extremely thrilled to help the Leadership Team make this summer the greatest for the staff and campers at Crane Lake.
Wendy Brumberg, Camp Administrator
Wendy has been part of the Crane Lake community since 2001. She has held a range of jobs at Crane Lake; some of the Crane Lake campers and staff remember her working with the llamas, as Logistics Coordinator, and now the Camp Administrator. Camp has always been a family affair for the Brumberg family; her son, Edward, attended Eisner for many years, and her daughter, Madeline, spent 12 summers at CLC. When not in camp, Wendy resides in Oceanside, New York and when not working, she loves to ride her bicycle, cook, and read. It has always been gratifying to work with the campers in any capacity that camp has needed, and now she is looks forward to getting to know all of our families. Wendy is pleased to have this extraordinary opportunity to take this next step in her camp career.
Corey Cutler, Director of Development
Corey has led the fundraising efforts at Eisner and Crane Lake Camps for the past 10-years. Previously, Corey had a successful 15-year career in public relations and investor relations. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the State University of New York at Albany. In 2013, Corey received the “Development Professional Award” by JCamp180, a Harold Grinspoon Foundation program, recognizing his accomplishments in successful fundraising for Eisner and Crane Lake Camps. Corey attended Eisner as a camper and counselor in the 1980s. He enjoys traveling, bike riding, yoga, the New York Mets and music of all types. A member of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, Corey resides in West Orange, NJ with his daughter.
Alison Simpson, Development Associate
Alison Simpson is proud to be the Development Associate for Eisner and Crane Lake Camps. Alison has been part of the Eisner and Crane Lake community since 2006, working on staff at both camps, and accompanying a trip to Israel. Alison found Jewish camping after years of protesting overnight camp with her family, worried that she wouldn’t love it. Prior to working for Eisner and Crane Lake Camps, Alison spent five years working as a youth educator at a synagogue outside of Boston, MA with children preschool through high school. Alison grew up in Guilderland, NY before attending the University of Vermont, where she received degrees in Geography and Political Science. Alison is passionate about sharing her excitement for Judaism and camping with others.
Kayla Gulotta, Bookkeeper 
Native to Great Barrington, Kayla grew up just over the hill from the Eisner Camp. After moving to Connecticut to attend college at Quinnipiac University, Kayla decided to move back to the Berkshire’s to plant roots. In April of 2011, Kayla and her husband purchased a home in Sheffield. In 2013, Kayla had her first child and decided it was time to leave the Marketing field in search of a more family friendly environment (what better place than Crane Lake?). Kayla was hired for a temporary position in June of 2014 and was later offered the full time position as Bookkeeper in September of 2014. In her spare time, Kayla enjoys spending time with her family and cooking.
Yaelle Nisinzweig, Program Director
Yaelle is overjoyed to be returning to Crane Lake Camp for her…17th summer! After years of being a camper, working as a lifeguard, general counselor, and member of the programming team, she will be returning for her 3rd summer as Program Director. She grew up in Connecticut and moved to Boston for college and never left. She graduated from Boston University in 2014 with a license in severe special education, and is currently a Special Education teacher in Newton, MA. This summer, her first ever little Nitzanim campers will be in Olim, and she is anticipating an incredible summer ahead of us with all the campers and Olim ’16 as our leaders! She can’t wait to see old and new faces soon!
Aimee Ratapana, Assistant Program Director
Aimee is from Manchester, England. She recently graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University where she studied Physical Education, with the aims of becoming a teacher in the near future. This year she worked in schools and coached lacrosse at the two universities in Leeds. This will be her fourth summer at Crane Lake, the first 3 years she was a lacrosse coach, and this year she will be joining the programming team as the Assistant Program Director.
Lauren Chizner, Limud Director
Lauren Chizner lives in Dix Hills, New York (on Long Island). During the year, she is the Director of Education at Port Jewish Center in Port Washington, and runs an Interfaith Israel program for Jewish and Catholic teens from Long Island. This will be her 10th summer at Crane Lake and her 7th as the Limud Director. She has 3 children who will be at Crane Lake– Jacob will be Machon, Jed will be Olim and Rachel in Lower Chaverim! Her husband, Rabbi Todd Chizner, will also be joining us on faculty for two weeks!
Lisa Tenenbaum, Assistant Limud Director/Director of Israel Engagement
Lisa is the Director of Israel Engagement and the Rosh Mishlachat. This is her 7th summer as part of the Limud Team, and her 17th summer as part of the Leadership Team. Her job this summer is to enable both campers and staff to learn about Israel, and to help them develop meaningful connections to Israel. She lives in Wellington, Florida with her husband Barry, where they have an internet business. She also serves as a B’nai Mitzvah tutor and Confirmation teacher at Temple Shaarei Shalom, the Reform congregation in Boynton Beach. Her three children are all CLC alumni who remain active and committed members of the Jewish community. She is so proud and lucky to call CLC my second home.
Lauren Resnikoff, Assistant Limud Director/T’filah Coordinator
Lauren is excited to be returning to Crane Lake Camp this summer. Crane Lake is her family’s second home. All three of her children have been campers and/or counselors at Crane Lake since 2005! This will be her fourth summer as part of the Limud staff. She also served on the faculty for 7 years. During the year, she is the Religious School Director at Temple Judea of Manhasset.
Carol Clopper, Camper Care Coordinator
This is Carol’s third summer in the bubble of Crane Lake Camp. During the summer, she is the CLC Camper Care Coordinator, and during the rest of the year she is a preschool teacher. Her educational background includes special education K-12, elementary education, and early childhood education. She is married to Rabbi Jeff Clopper, an enthusiastic CLC faculty member. They have three amazing kids, two of whom are happy to call Crane Lake their second home.
Darcy Golding, Camper Care Assistant
This year will be Darcy’s fourth year at Crane Lake Camp! Her first year she was a general counselor and in her second and third year she was a swim instructor. She is from London, England and has just completed her BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University and hopes to return to university after a gap year to pursue a career in teaching. During the year she volunteers for Camp America – an agency which provides people like herself with the summer of a lifetime and to help other people experience the wonderful world that is life at camp.
Laura Schultze, Communications Coordinator
This is Laura’s first summer at Crane Lake, but she is no stranger to the camp scene! Laura is the Youth Director and Hebrew Coordinator at Temple Israel of the City of New York, and has been working in the Jewish Community since she was a teenager. She participated in NFTY, attended URJ Camp Newman and Swig, and worked at the PJCC in Foster City, CA, and is so excited to add Crane Lake to her camp experiences!
Nino Hernandez, Arts & Crafts Director
Nino is from the Philippines. He is a painter, musician, teacher and athlete. He is an abstract artist, i play guitars, flute and percussions, i also do sports like ultimate frisbee, mountain biking, indoor wall climbing and surfing. This will be his third summer as the Arts & Crafts Director at Crane Lake Camp.
Calvin “CJ” Gibson, Athletics Director
CJ is from Miami, FL where he is a high school baseball coach. this will be his 8th year on staff at camp, and 3rd year as the Athletics Director. Every summer he looks forward to coming back to CLC, and with the help of our sports coaches, he teaches life lessons through sports.
Sam Klau, Head Athletics Coach
Sam spends most of the year in the Boston area. He just finished my junior year at Bentley University in Waltham, MA. Even though Boston is his home now, he grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico where a lot of his family still resides. He was a camper at Crane Lake for 6 summers, and also participated in the NFTY Israel- Crane Lake Trip the summer before his junior year in high school. This is his 4th summer working at camp, as the Assistant Athletics Director. He has one younger brother at camp, Jaime, who will be a general counselor this summer. Crane Lake is his second home, and he is very excited for what this summer brings!
Peter “Brick” Abrikian, Drama Director
Peter Abrikian, aka Brick, is originally from Kingston, Jamaica. He studied Theater at Middlebury College (shout out to Sarah Jewish Life!) and likes to style himself as a full-time ‘Thespian’ though much to his dismay his passport says, merely – ‘Actor’. When not being the Drama Director at Crane Lake (since 2014) he is an actor, director, playwright and part-time drama teacher. For the last five years he has been heading the Drama Department at the American International School of Kingston while staying involved in both Children’s and Professional Theater in Jamaica. In March of 2016 he stepped way from it all to move to Monrovia, Liberia in support of his wife Katherine and a wonderful job opportunity for her. He has more than 20 years of camp experience volunteering with his home camp, Moorlands, in Manchester, Jamaica and has a passion for working with children and young adults.
Krissy Chylinski, Waterfront Director
Krissy is from Pittsfield, MA. Currently she lives in West Bridgewater, MA. She is a licensed teacher through the state of Massachusetts, so during the year she is an elementary school music teacher (K-5) at Brockton Public Schools. She teaches general music as well as an auditioned 4th and 5th grade choir. At camp, she is the Waterfront Director and this will be her fourth summer!
Mwimbe “Pele” Sichula, Pool Director
Pele lives in Newark, New Jersey and was born and raised in a little country in Southern Africa called Zambia. This will be his 6th year at this amazing wonderful place we call home, and it will be his 2nd year as the Pool Director. During the school year, he works for a company that runs after school programs for Northstar Charter Schools, where he works with kids from Kindergarten to 4th Grade. He also teaches Capoeira at Columbia University in New York City.
Adam Fenley, Ropes Director
Adam is from Liverpool, England. Since he left camp last August he has been applying for the Royal Navy to become an Aircrewman, so he has been doing a lot of exercise to try and keep fit. This is Adam’s 3rd year at CLC, and this year he will be the Ropes Director at camp. He keeps coming back to camp because of the wonderful people he meets each year, and he’s very excited for this summer!
Ellis Mckeown, Teva Director
Ellis is from Liverpool, England. During the year he is a full time student studying Fine Art at the University of Central Lancashire, in Preston, England. He is in the final year of his course and is excited to be returning to camp for yet another amazing summer! This will be his fourth year at Crane Lake and this summer he will be the Teva Director! He is excited to return and to experience yet another unforgettable summer!
Jess Wake, Animals Director
She is from Creiff, Scotland, and has just finished an Bachelor of Science Honors degree in Sports Coaching at the University of the West of Scotland. Jess wants to be a Physical Education teacher for secondary schools. This year will be her 4th summer at camp, after being the Animals Specialist for 2 years and the Camper Care Assistant for 1 year, she is now the Director of Animals. She loves coming to CLC every summer because of the amazing friendships she continues to make!
Nili Shriber, Gardener
This will be Nili’s 7th magical summer at Crane Lake Camp! As the CLC gardener she is able to blend together her love for nature, Judaism, teaching & working with children. During the school year she is the Program and Support Coordinator at The 14th Street Y Preschool in NYC! She lives and breathes the 10 for 2 motto! And she packs her family’s bags for camp at least 2 months before Opening Day! Crane Lake Camp fills her & her entire family up!
Jeff Schwartz, Head Songleader
Jeff is incredibly excited to be returning to Crane Lake Camp for his fourth summer as Head Songleader! As Head Songleader for the last three summers, Jeff and his fellow songleaders have built a tradition of lunchtime singing since 2013, and has provided opportunities for campers and staff to explore daily prayer in new ways at Unit T’filot, in addition to expanding camp’s musical repertoire. Jeff is currently working full-time as the Reform Engagement Associate at Cornell Hillel, where he represents Reform and traditional egalitarian Jewish life on campus. Jeff graduated from Cornell University in 2014 with a double major in Philosophy & Religious Studies and has worked previously as Youth Advisor at his home congregation: Old York Road Temple Beth Am in Abington, PA. Jeff’s favorite place on camp is down by the lake and his favorite camp song is The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell.
Pam Hausler, Health Center Director
Pam is from the green state of Vermont. She is a school nurse for an elementary school for the 10 months that she is not at camp. For the other two months of the year, she enjoys her role as the Health Center Director. This will be her 12th summer at CLC. The best part of her job at CLC, is getting to know all the campers. She has seen so many of them grow up from 3rd and 4th grade to adulthood. She first came to camp because she wanted her kids to go to a Jewish overnight camp and decided to go with them. She loves the sense of Judaism at camp. She has 3 children. Her daughter will not be returning to camp this summer because she will be working as a Rehab Aide in our local hospital. She is a pre-PT student. She loved being at CLC as both a camper and a counselor. Her son Brett is the Assistant Director at CLC (A job that he loves) and her daughter Kenna will be a Machon. This place is truly their second home!
Candice Lee, Kitchen Manager
Candice hails from the Northshore of Boston and has, since then, lived in NYC, Beijing, and Las Vegas. During the year, she works in the food industry as a chef and cooking instructor. This is her second year coming back to camp as the kitchen and dining hall manager. She tries to stay active in the community and volunteers her time at Harlem Community Kitchen.
Jessica Kennedy, Staff Engagement Coordinator
Jess is from Liverpool, the city of beautiful maritime history and the home of the Beatles. She graduated as a Bachelor of Social Science in Tourism and Leisure Management back in November and since then has been working for a travel agency that specializes in work and travel opportunities around the world. One of those opportunities being, working at summer camp (she gets to talk about camp all day, every day). On arrival back to the UK after this summer, she is beginning a masters degree in International Tourism Management. She is extremely passionate about embracing different cultures and meeting new people from all over the world. This is going to be her third summer at Crane Lake and is so happy to be back in the bubble and surrounded by the magic that is the Crane Lake community.
Rose Levenson, Lower Nitzanim Unit Head
Rose is incredibly excited to be back at Crane Lake for her fifth summer. This will be her second summer as the Lower Nitzanim Unit Head. Her hometown is Hershey, PA (yes, she loves chocolate!!!) but she is currently a senior at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. At Mount Holyoke she is finishing her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Education with a focus in self-directed learning and progressive education. In the fall, she will be moving to Boston, MA to begin a dual Masters degree program at Brandeis University. When she is not playing competitive bananagrams, you can find her in the lake or munching on some snacks! She can’t wait to see both new and returning campers this summer, and looks forward to sharing the transformative experience of Jewish overnight summer camp with you and your family.
Tara Levine, Upper Nitzanim Unit Head
Tara is from Doylestown, PA, about one hour outside of Philadelphia. A year ago, she graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia with a major in Strategic Communications. While in college, she served as the President of Hillel at Temple University, was in the Honors Program, and was an active member of her sorority. She currently lives in White Plains, NY and works as the Director of Youth Engagement at Woodlands Community Temple. She is currently finishing up her Certificate in Jewish Education for Emerging Adults and Adolescents through the Hebrew Union College, and is excited to apply what she will learn this summer. This is Tara’s first summer at Crane Lake!
Jordan Pelavin, Lower Bonim Unit Head
Jordan is from Bowie, MD and just graduated from Bowie State University. She is the Lower Bonim Unit Head and this is her 2nd summer at camp. Jordan works in Jewish education and likes her time at the lake, tye-dying, turtles and song session.
Robert “Rob” Harris, Upper Bonim Unit Head
Rob is from London, England. In England, it is customary to have tea with the Queen. He has been fortunate enough to be part of the Crane Lake family for the past three summers, two of which he was a general counselor, and the most recent one being a unit head. He is excited to be returning for his fourth summer as a unit head once again. Back home, he attends Nottingham Trent University and will be graduating this summer! During his school holidays, he works at a charity shop where he saved a cat as it was left outside as a donation. He lives at home with sister and mother.
Sarina Lapin, Lower Chaverim Unit Head
Sarina is from Worcester, Massachusetts! She is a student at Clark University studying history, education and politics. She spent the last semester studying abroad in London, UK where she was able to spend some time traveling around Europe. This summer, she is the Lower Chaverim Unit Head and this will be her 11th summer at camp. Last year, she volunteered in a middle school, hanging out with students in one of Worcester’s many public schools. Camp has always been such a huge part of her life because of the friendships and connections she has created over my many years at camp. She is so excited to meet you and for Summer 2016 to begin!
Shahar Peled, Upper Chaverim Unit Head
Shahar was born and raised in Maccabim, Israel and currently lives in NYC. He served three years as a combat soldier in the Israeli paratroopers brigade. During the year, he works as a year-round Shaliach (Israel emissary) at Temple Israel of the City of New York, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the URJ and URJ Crane Lake Camp. This is his 4th summer at Crane Lake Camp and second as the ‘Upper Chaverim’ Unit Head. He’s very excited for the summer and can’t wait to reunite with his amazing community.
Josh Rosenthal, Olim Unit Head
Just about everyone calls Josh, Rosie. He’s from Ardsley, New York. During the year, he works at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, New York as the Director of Youth Engagement. In this capacity, part of what he does is leading service-oriented trips to Central America in which he works alongside disadvantaged communities to create what they need to survive and thrive as a community. He also teaches about sustainability and international economic justice. Outside of work, right now he’s started a project that will bring the experience of love, connection, and value into the lives of those in need in my community by bringing therapy dogs to homeless shelters. This summer will be his 2nd serving as Olim Unit Head but his 7th working with Olim. This will be my 16th summer with Crane Lake (he says ‘with’ and not ‘at’ because he went on the Israel trip in 2007 and staffed it in 2013). He is looking forward to creating brand new relationships with our campers and staff and reigniting existing ones!
Jake Haber, Assistant Olim Unit Head
Jake was born and raised in New Jersey, and now attends The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, studying Public Policy and Business. This will be his 9th summer at Crane Lake and his 3rd time in Olim (previously as a camper and General Counselor). In addition to assisting the Olim Unit Head, Josh, this summer he will be in charge of planning all Olim programs. He’s very excited for the upcoming summer and hopes you are too!
Cory Hermann, Machon Director
Cory was a camper and staff member back in the 80’s, and has served several years on the Faculty at CLC, and she has been the Machon Director for the past five summers. During the year, she serves as the Director of a high school program, the Baltimore Education Initiative for Teen of Reform Judaism, BEIT-RJ, in Baltimore, MD. She received her BS in Education at University of Delaware and her Master of Social Work at Adelphi University. She is thrilled to be working with our Machon program again to help train the future staff of CLC. She is also the mom of three boys, two of whom will once again be at camp, and her oldest son will be on the URJ Crane Lake Camp Israel trip this summer! Her family moved to Baltimore, MD, three years ago and are looking forward to coming back to our home away from home this summer!
Erez Mirer, Assistant Machon Director
Erez is from Brooklyn, NY, and currently lives in Worcester, MA. This will be his fourth year at Crane Lake having spent three years as a General Counselor. This year he is graduating from Clark University and next year, he will be working with the Teens Run DC through the Avodah Jewish Service Corps.
Sarah Stein, Unit Operations Coordinator
Sarah is from Stratford, CT. In the fall, she is going to be a senior at Brandeis University, where she is studying Business and Anthropology. This is her 11th summer at Crane Lake, and first as the Unit Operations Coordinator! During the year, she runs an after school program at the elementary schools near Brandeis. She teaches Hebrew at Temple Shalom of Newton, and runs a Junior Youth Group program there for grades K-5 that’s inspired by the all the fun and excitement we experience during our summers at camp! She is so excited to be returning home to CLC this summer, and cannot wait for Opening Day!
We can’t wait to welcome all of our campers home! See you next week!