Our New Camp Ramah Darom Team!

It is with immense excitement that we share details of the exceptional team that will lead Camp Ramah Darom as we look ahead to Kayitz 2021 – our 25th summer – and beyond.

Ask anyone who has spent time inside the gates of 70 Darom Lane and they will tell you: it’s very hard to leave! Over the years, we have been fortunate to welcome back so many Ramah Darom alumni as summer and retreat staff, guests, and more recently as Ramah Darom year-round staff members. Today, we are thrilled to welcome back a Ramah Darom alumna as our new Camp leader.

After an extensive search, we have found an outstanding Jewish professional to become our next Camp Director & Head of Education: Anna Serviansky.

Anna has an impressive background as an innovative Jewish educator and significant experience working with youth and college-age students. And notably, Anna also has a longstanding personal connection to Ramah Darom.

An Orlando native, Anna graduated from Brown University and Georgetown University Law Center and worked for several years as an attorney in NYC. It was at Rabbi Loren Sykes’ suggestion that she decided to pursue her true passion – becoming a full-time Jewish professional – and obtained a Master’s in Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar.

For the past five years, Anna has been the Associate Dean of List College and the Kekst Graduate School at JTS where, among other responsibilities, she has worked closely with List College students and has overseen several key initiatives including the JustCity summer program and an annual teen summit. Prior to JTS, Anna worked for two years at the National Ramah Commission and Ramah Nyack as a year-round staff member and Rosh Aidah.

Most importantly, Anna is a proud alumna who loves Ramah Darom! She spent five summers as a staff member at Camp Ramah Darom, including as a Rosh Aidah in 2003 & 2004. She returned for Family Camp in 2018 and knew she had to find a more permanent path back to Clayton.

Anna and her husband Danny have two boys – Ethan is 6 and Benji is 3 – and they share a deep personal commitment to the values of Ramah Darom, including our core value of inclusion. Anna and her family have recorded a short video to introduce themselves here:

We’re excited to introduce Anna to our community when she begins her new role in December. We’re confident she will bring fantastic energy and creativity to Camp Ramah Darom. Anna will also work with our Retreat Center team to develop a year-round educational vision. Be on the lookout for an email invitation to a community Zoom to meet Anna next month.

Working closely with Anna will be Dr. Audra Kaplan, our Associate Camp Director & Head of Community Care and Tikvah Support. 

Audra is well known in the Ramah Darom community and has been a key member of our Camp leadership team since 2014. She was the driving force behind the establishment of the Tikvah Support Program and our innovative approach to Camper Care. This summer, Audra assumed the role of Associate Camp Director & Head of Community Care and Tikvah Support, spearheading Kayitz BaBayit and leading the Camp team throughout the fall.

Audra will collaborate closely with Anna on all aspects of the Camp program and staffing, and will also continue to oversee Camper and Staff Care and the Tikvah Support program including our vocational program for young adults with disabilities. Audra’s broad role at Ramah Darom also includes leading the expansion of our Tikvah and vocational programs to our year-round Retreat Center. We are delighted that Audra will continue to play a central role in our community moving forward, and we are very grateful for her superb leadership and expertise.

Our incredible year-round Camp team

Joining Anna and Audra on the Camp Ramah Darom team are these talented professionals, most of whom will be familiar as long-time Ramah Darom summer staff members:

We are all excited about this talented and committed team. CHAZAK CHAZAK V’NITCHAZEK!