Ramah - Year Round Staff

Rabbi Daniel Greyber

Executive Director

Rabbi Daniel Greyber became Executive Director of Camp Ramah in California shortly after his ordination at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University in May 2002. He began at Camp Ramah in the Fall of 1998 by helping to found Lishma, Camp Ramah in California's innovative learning program where young adult Jews spend the summer exploring traditional Jewish texts, prayer and practice in the beautiful setting of Camp Ramah in California. Rabbi Greyber attended UC Berkeley and Northwestern University and graduated in 1994 with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Communication Studies. A gold medallist and Captain of the U.S. Swimming Team at the 1993 World Maccabiah Games, Greyber published ".08 of a Second," Dancing on the Edge of the World (Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Park, Lowell House Press, 2000), an essay about his journey from being a competitive swimmer to becoming a rabbi. While in rabbinical school, he also founded The Neshama Minyan at Temple Beth Am and Minyan Nifla at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, soulful Friday night services using the melodies of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Rabbi Greyber looks forward to being a rabbi and teacher, mentor and role model for the family and to welcoming all those who come to our bayit kadosh - holy home at Camp Ramah in California.

Zachary Lasker

Assistant Director

Zach is thoroughly enjoying his 12-year career with Camp Ramah in California (18 years if you count summers spent as a camper). Starting as a counselor, Zach quickly assumed the additional responsibilities of Rosh Shira (Head of Singing). Work as the Assistant Program Director, Gesher Director and Winter Weekend Director soon followed, culminating in two wonderful summers as a Rosh Edah. Zach earned his Bachelor's in Sociology and Judaic Studies from UC San Diego, during which time he lived and studied in Israel for his junior year . He holds a Master's in Education from American Jewish University, and is currently a doctoral candidate at UCLA focusing on Education Leadership. Zach has taught for several years at VBS Day School, and currently serves the Fingerhut School of Education at the UJ as a Clinical Lecturer in Education. Aside from his years at Ramah, Zach's most proud moments have been performing leading roles on stage in such musicals as Les Miserables, Little Shop of Horrors and Guys & Dolls. He is extremely fulfilled by his work at Camp Ramah, and passionately believes in the Jewish community it creates.

Dav Camras

Business Director

Dav Camras is an outstanding individual with strong business experience, a fascinating set of educational and travel experiences and, most importantly, a love and understanding of Camp Ramah in California. Dav spent four years with the American Red Cross, most recently working as National Director of the Americorps* National Readiness & Rapid Response Corps fostering its growth from six to 20 operating sites.

While he was growing up in West Los Angeles, Dav's family was active at Sinai Temple. For ten years, he spent his summers learning about and experiencing Judaism at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California. Dav's educational experiences include a summer in Israel on the Los Angeles Bureau of Jewish Education Ulpan, a BA in psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder (including a junior year abroad at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem), nine months of study at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem and a Master's degree in Water and Wastewater Management from Humboldt State University. Dav just completed a Masters of Business Administration at American Jewish University. Dav also spent three years traveling through Eastern Africa, Asia and the Middle East and a few years later, he worked in Central Africa with the U.S. Peace Corps as a Water Sanitation/Health Education extension agent in the Republic of Congo. Dav is happily married (Nov. 18, 2001) to Emily and their first child, a son, was born in June, 2007.

Elie Mechaly

Director of Operations

Elie Mechaly was appointed Director of Operations for Camp Ramah in California in January of 1991. He is a graduate of the Tamor Hotel School, Herzliyah, Israel and completed the Hotel General Managers program at the Holiday Inn University. Elie brings to Ramah over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and hotel industry. For 10 years he worked for Holiday Inn resort properties as Resident Manager and Food and Beverage Manager in several Latin American communities including: Guadalajara, Mexico; Panama City, Panama; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. For five years, Elie was the General Manager/Partner of the Grand Lake Spa Hotel in Lebanon, Connecticut and just before coming to work for Ramah he was the Food and Beverage Director of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and the Ramada Continental in Tel Aviv. Elie is a native of Morocco and is fluent in several languages including Spanish, French, Hebrew, Arabic, Moroccan and English. At the age of 13 he made Aliyah to Israel and as a member of the Israeli army, took part in the 6-Day War. Elie currently resides in Ojai, California with his wife Nurit.

Carol Abrams

Development Director

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Carol lived in Ramah Wisconsin's catchment area until moving to sunny Southern California fourteen years ago. By then, her two daughters had each spent every summer since age 12 at Ramah-Conover as campers and counselors, except for their Ramah Israel Seminar summers. At Visitor's Day there each year, Carol looked enviously at friends who got to spend weeks as camp doctor, nurse or visiting rabbi. So it's no surprise that she views her job as Camp Ramah in California's Development Director as 'coming home'.

Carol met her husband Chuck at the University of Illinois while earning her Bachelor's in Sociology. She has always worked in the nonprofit sector, earning a Master's degree in nonprofit management in 1992. She has been a development professional for over twenty years, working for such varied organizations as the American Jewish Congress, the American Red Cross, and for the eleven years prior to joining Camp Ramah in California, as development director and executive director of the Alumni Association for the RAND Corporation.

Carol and Chuck are active members of Kehillat Ma'arav in Santa Monica, and Carol spends her 'spare' time visiting daughter Caryn and future Ramah camper Sasha (born November, 2005) in Denver or daughter Amy (and son-in-law Ronen, also a Ramah alum) and future Ramah camper Ruby (born February, 2006) in Brooklyn, NY.

Elana Naftalin-Kelman

Tikvah Director

Elana has been a member of the Ramah family since she was a "staff kid" in the Gan, and was a camper, counselor and Rosh Edah. Her connection to the Tikvah program started when she was a Tikvah buddy as a camper in Machon. She then went on to be a Tikvah counselor for two summers and the Rosh Edah for the, now re-named, Amitzim, for two summers. She is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz and studied in Israel for several years. She holds a Masters Degree in Special Education from Bank Street College of Education and a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University. She has taught in the NYC public schools and in LA Unified and has worked as a supervisor for a behavior intervention agency in Los Angeles. She helped to create and start the Ezra program (it was her masters' thesis for Bank Street) as well as several synagogue special education programs in the Los Angeles area, such as the Koleinu Shabbat minyan at Temple Beth Am. She has taught special education courses at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles as well as many one-day seminars on Special Education for educators in the broader Jewish community. She is currently editing a book on Jewish Special Education. She now resides with her husband Adam and her son Yair in Boulder Colorado, but loves coming back to Ojai each summer! For Elana, being the director of the Tikvah program is like coming home.

Erika Resnick

Program Coordinator

Erika is proud to be the Program Coordinator for Camp Ramah in California. She spent her first summer at camp when she was only a baby and has been summering in Ojai ever since. Erika was a camper from Nitzanim thru Machon, participated in the Mador program, continued on to be a senior counselor and most recently served as the 2006 Rosh Gesher. Erika graduated from the University of California in San Diego with a degree in Urban Studies & Planning. While in San Diego Erika not only blended smoothies at Jamba Juice, but also worked at the UCSD Hillel as an integral member of their staff community. Erika loves wearing flip flops year round and spending time at the beach with her sisters. Erika is a strong believer in the benefits of spending summers at Ramah and looks forward to providing great programming opportunities to future Ramah campers!

Summer Camping

Year Round Programs