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Home
Our Program
Our Team
- Work at Camp
FAQ
Contact Us
Donate
Upcoming Events

Our Team

Rabbi Joe Menashe

Executive Director

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Rabbi Joe hails from Portland, Oregon, where he grew up attending Congregation Neveh Shalom. He spent his first summer at Ramah in California in 1995 as a Moreh (teacher) and social justice coordinator. He remained part of the Ramah family during the 90’s serving as Rosh Edah, Rosh Kvutzah for Seminar in Israel and Founding Director of the Meytiv Program, a Ramah based social justice program for high school students. Rabbi Joe received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 and attended the Pardes Instititute for Jewish Studies from 1993-1994. Rabbi Joe obtained a Master of Hebrew Letters degree from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles in 1996 and received his Rabbinic Ordination and a Master of Arts degree (with a concentration in Jewish Education) in 2000 from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

From 2000 - 2006, Rabbi Joe served as the Hillel Director at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , Maryland. During his tenure, Hopkins Hillel opened a home for Jewish life, The Smokler Center for Jewish Life, Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building. He was awarded Hillel’s Richard M. Joel, Exemplar of Excellence Award in 2004. From 2006 until 2010, Rabbi Joe has served as an Associate Rabbi at Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas, Texas.

During one of those amazing “Ramah Summers,” Joe met Deborah Musher. Deborah and Joe were married in her hometown of Houston in 2002. Deborah is a special educator with a long history at Camp Ramah and focuses her work and research on students with autism. Together Joe and Deborah have three beautiful children, Molly, Gabriel, and Samuel.

Jesse Zilberstein

Camp Director

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Born and raised in Columbia, SC as one of only a few Jewish kids in her school, it was Jesse’s summers spent at camp - immersed in Jewish time, Jewish fun, and Jewish friends - that both grounded her and helped her grow.

Jesse graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Human Development & Family Studies in 1998, and then went on to pursue an MA in Jewish Non-Profit Management from Hebrew Union College and a Master of Public Administration from USC. Jesse worked for the Federations of North America in New York City as the Director of University Programs before returning to LA where she was the Director of Strategic Planning for the West Valley JCC and then a development professional for the LA Jewish Federation.

Also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and family educator, Jesse worked for a decade helping new parents transition into family life with patience, humor and empathy, working one-on-one with parents and babies, as well as leading parenting classes and support groups. Eventually Jesse was pulled back into the world of Jewish camping as the Director of Community Care for Eden Village West, a start-up Jewish overnight camp in Sonoma County, where she finally found a way to combine her love of Jewish camping with her skills in supporting families and children. She is thrilled to now be working with Camp Ramah and can’t wait to bring Ramah’s magic to a new day camp experience for LA’s families.

In her spare time, Jesse can be found baking, hiking, or singing showtunes at the top of her lungs. She also volunteers regularly as a mentor to newly bereaved parents. Jesse and her husband, Amit, are parents to three incredible children: Zeve, Oren, and their forever 5-year-old, Gidi (z’l).

Adena Goss

Program Coordinator

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Adena Goss is thrilled to join the Ramah Day Camp team as the Program Coordinator. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Adena spent her summers at Camp Ramah in Ojai, where she was a camper, counselor, unit head, program manager, and even ran the a capella group one summer. She grew up in Jewish Day School and graduated from CHAMPS Charter High School of the Arts, Multimedia, and Performing. Adena graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA in History, Art History, and Psychology. During the spring semester of 2019, she studied abroad in Rome, Italy.

After college, Adena lived and worked in St. Louis, Missouri, where she taught Hebrew School and worked as a legal administrative assistant to the Varsity Tutors’ corporate legal department. She moved to New York City in 2021 to be the Day Camp and Early Childhood Education fellow at the Foundation for Jewish Camp. She spent two years engrossed in the field of Jewish camp and, before coming to Ramah, served as an assistant director for a day camp in NYC.

Adena got married in 2023 to fellow Ramahnik Sam Goss, and the two live with their dog, Copper. Some of Adena’s favorite things include any kind of pasta, scented candles, and taking her dog to the dog park. Her favorite camp things are singing and dancing to classic camp songs, making jewelry, and maccabiah (color war)!

Randy Michaels

Chief Operations & Financial Officer

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Randy joined Camp Ramah in California in the fall of 2008, bringing a wide range of business management skills to the leadership team. Prior to joining Camp Ramah, Randy founded a company in the design and home improvement industry. Randy started his career in the financial services industry perfecting his skills in management consulting, investment banking, and financial analysis with such firms as Charles Schwab, SEI, and Investment Counseling Inc.

While living in Northern California, Randy served on the board of the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center and before accepting a professional position with Ramah, Randy served on the committee evaluating the expansion to Northern California and then joined the Ramah CA Board of Directors. Randy earned his BA in Business and Economics from Winona State University and an MA in Psychology from Dominican University, along with a Master’s Certificate in Leadership & Management from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

As an alumnus of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, Randy has always had a special place in his heart for Ramah and he and his wife Marlene (z’l) were grateful to give their two sons, Stephen and Alex, the Ramah experience as both campers and staff and to share this journey for a lifetime with so many beloved Ramahniks.

Ben Strom

Registrar and Senior Administrator

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While Ben did not attend Camp Ramah as a camper, in 2014 he joined as a summer staff member working in the gan before moving on to help support the office and operations teams. In early 2018 he joined as a full-time team member as the Registrar and Sr. Administrator and now works to ensure that all campers who wants to attend camp can do so.

He is so excited to help support the members of the RDCLA team and watch the camp grow.

He graduated from CSUN with a BA in Child Development and over the years has worked with every age child from 0-18. From teaching preschool to Hebrew High retreat staff to being a USY Advisor/Assistant Director to joining Camp Ramah, he enjoys working with the Jewish community.

When not at camp you can find him at a Kings game, theatre show, riding his bike, or otherwise enjoying all the museums and learning opportunities Los Angeles has to offer.

Pam Trotter

Office Manager

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Coming soon!

Paul Horvath

Summer Operations Manager

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Paul Horvath is so excited to spend his summer with Ramah Day Camp as the Summer Operations Manager! Paul has been at a Ramah camp practically every summer since he was 5 years old as a camper, counselor, unit head, program coordinator, and most notably, co-captain of Katom (orange) for Maccabiah (color war)! Paul graduated from Princeton University and was a fellow on the Nachshon Project. Paul lives in New York City where he works at a company managing data for school districts.

Paul recently worked as the year-round Program Coordinator at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, where he had roles in transportation, logistics, scheduling, and birthday donut distribution. Paul’s favorite things about camp are gaga, swim, bishul (cooking), tracking spreadsheets, and Fridays before Shabbat! In his free time he likes to watch basketball, go for walks, and plan fun programs for camp!

What families are saying...

"…My older son is vaguely/generally aware of the events of Oct 7, and of rising antisemitism. There is no greater antidote or comfort to a child's confusion and worry about these big scary things than being in the embrace of a living Jewish community. It brings tears to my eyes to type this. For those who don't go do Jewish day school, this camp was the best possible thing to instill confidence and pride in Jewish identity and Israel. Better and more impactful than synagogue membership or religious school."

Ramah Day Camp LA Parent, 2024

What families are saying...

"My children had the best summer at Ramah Day Camp LA and were so sad that they weren't able to spend the entire summer there. Every time we pass where camp was held at this summer, they say "hi Ramah, we miss you". We can't wait for summer 2025!"

Ramah Day Camp LA Parent, 2024

Join Our Team

Come join our summer team! Ramah Day Camp LA is looking for energetic, creative, nurturing people to work as counselors and specialists. Apply today for Kayitz '24!

Apply Here!

310-476-8571
daycamp@ramah.org

Administrative Office:
17525 Ventura Blvd #310,
Encino, CA 91316

Camp Location:
de Toledo High School
22622 Vanowen Street
West Hills, CA 91307

About Camp Ramah in California
Ramah Day Camp LA is a program of Camp Ramah in California (CRCA). CRCA also operates Camp Ramah, a coeducational, residential summer camp based in Ojai, which is accredited by the American Camp Association. Both camps are affiliated with the Conservative Movement and National Ramah Commission under the educational auspices of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University.