Leadership

Sam brings a wealth of experience to us at BT Camps, with 31 years in both resident & day camping. This includes 26 years at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh as Director of Emma Kaufmann Camp and Noar & Bogrim Travel Day Camp for 20 years, 3 years as Director at Herzl Camp in Minneapolis, MN, and 1 year as Director of the JCC of Greater Palm Beaches Day Camp. Additionally, Sam was the Director of Sports and Recreation and Director of Maccabi Programming at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh for 10 years.

 

Sam is a father of 2 teenage girls, and he has spoken to over 2500 participants over the past 10 years at the Tri-State Camping Conference, ACA Keystone Regional & ACA Mid-Atlantic Camp Conferences, and the Foundation for Jewish Camp conferences.

 

Sam is a graduate of the Foundation for Jewish Camps’ Lekhu Lakhem 2nd Cohort, a Jewish educational leadership fellowship designed to enhance Jewish learning in camping and to infuse Jewish educational passion and visionary leadership for campers and staff in the summer camp setting.

 

BT Camps is very well-known as one of the best in Day Camping across the country. I plan on continuing the rich traditions at BT which include creating a strong culture, campers and staff building relationships, adding and continuing great activities, and also creating stability and a plan for the future of BT Camps I also plan to continue the strong BT Camps tradition by leveraging the “one BT community” (which includes camp, Hebrew School and Day School) to continue to build a Jewish camping experience for everyone!

 

Can’t wait to see you at camp!

Rachel was born and raised in Reisterstown, MD. She has two young boys who have both attended preschool and camp at Beth Tfiloh. She “loves the warm, nurturing environment, along with its core Jewish values that BT provides.”

Rachel has a degree in Family Services and Psychology from Stevenson University, and for many years she taught in a classroom setting, playing a role in developing children’s social and development skills.

Rachel says, “as a child, I have such fond memories of being at Jewish summer camp and I truly look forward to recreating many of these memories with both our present and future campers here at BT Camps.”

A native of Baltimore, Emily’s affiliation with the Beth Tfiloh family dates back to 1970 and encompasses the shul, school, Hebrew School, and camp.

 

Since 2003, Emily has been a teacher in the BT PreSchool, a place and a job that she holds near and dear to her heart.

 

Additionally, part of Emily’s past professional profile includes managing medical practices. Her years of experience in this area, combined with her sensitivity, confidentiality, attention to detail, and excellent organizational and communication skills will make her a strong asset to our administrative team.

 

Emily loves spending time with her husband, Scott, their children, Ryan and Shayna, and their dog, Lacie. As a family, they enjoy traveling, attending sporting events and concerts, playing tennis, biking, volunteering, celebrating holidays, and getting together with other family members and friends.

Larry is beginning his 49th year at Beth Tfiloh Camps. Larry started working at the Boat Lake in 1972, and has moved around to almost every area of camp. For many years, Larry has been the Ropes Challenge Course manager, while having an active role in many other areas of operation including transportation, parking, purchasing and more. Larry graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1976 with a degree in Business Management. He has been married to Phyllis for 35 years and has 2 sons Andrew and Michael, both of whom have worked at BT camps. During the school year he works for Woodlawn Motor Coach as a charter driver and a dispatcher.

Bio coming soon!

Jen Postal has been a camper, a counselor, a department head, and many other roles in between. BT Camps has been a part of Jen’s life for over 35 years. She has been a PE teacher and coach at Beth Tfiloh School for the past 18 years. As a graduate from UMBC with a Master’s from McDaniel College, Jen brings a wealth of knowledge into the sports program at BT Camps. Outside of work, Jen can be found cheering on all of the local sports teams including the O’s, Ravens and Terps.

Phaygi was already a familiar face as “Morah Phaygi” in the BT PreSchool and brings with her years of early-childhood experience.

Phaygi grew up as a staff kid in camp and ran her first camp for 2 year olds when she was 12 and hasn’t stopped being involved in camps including camps in Israel.

Bringing a love of Judaism and Israel to every activity and making sure every day is filled with Music and laughter, songs and smiles. Phaygi can be found skipping around camp making sure every child is having their best summer and are a special part of the camp family!

Lindsay Gaister Montague is a Beth Tfiloh alum of ’02, who graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Jewish Studies. During the school year, Lindsay works as the Director of After-School Programming and Social Action at Beth Tfiloh School and Congregation, where she has been employed for the last 14 years. During the summer, Lindsay works as BT Camps’ Director of STEAM Camp at the Old Court campus. When she’s not working, Lindsay loves to spend time with her family, including her husband Travys, her two-year old son, Logan, and her three dogs, Watson, Bella, and Shorty. Later this year, Lindsay looks forward to welcoming a new addition to the Montague family!

Hi everyone – my name is Mollye Komins – if you recognize my name, or picture, it’s probably because I’ve been at BT camp every summer since 2000 (since I was 4 years old)!  Besides camp, I graduated from Beth Tfiloh and then went to Towson University for my Bachelor’s in Family and Human Services. I continued on at TU to get my Masters in Arts in Teaching and am now a 3rd grade teacher in BCPS!  When I am not working, you can find me hanging out with friends and family, cheering on the Ravens, or most likely, snuggled up with my dog Finny watching Law and Order.  I am so excited for camp and for another summer in the Bet Unit.

Joe Zaccagnini has been working at BT camps for a total of 9 summers. He has worked in both the athletics department and recently he has been working with the LT program. Joe got his bachelor’s degree in biology from West Virginia University and then received a masters of arts in teaching from Towson University. During the school year, Joe is a middle school science teacher and wrestling coach in Carroll County. In his free time Joe can be found working out, enjoying the outdoors, camping and spending time with his wife, Marisa, and their “fur babies” Scamp and Smokey.

Crystal is a Brooklyn, NY native who relocated to Maryland to attend school at Coppin State University – where she majored in sport’s management.  Crystal’s natural ability as a leader is evidenced by her 6 years at BT Camps as well as at Baltimore County Public Schools( BCPS) for the past 8 years as a special education teacher. Crystal has also served as an assistant coach at the high school varsity volleyball level for numerous years.  Not only does Crystal demonstrate her nurturing through her work with children, but she also the mother to 3 boys who also attend BT camps annually.  She is more than excited to begin her role in BT leadership where she can simultaneously demonstrate her leadership and nurturing abilities in her new role as leadership of training.

Sheryl has been at BT for 5 summers in our Travel Camp. She has 2 children, both of whom attend BT Camps in the summer.

As a graduate from University of Maryland with a BA in Education, she began her career teaching and working at summer camp. During the school year, Sheryl is a special educator for 7th and 8th graders. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband Nick and 2 children Lila and Spencer, and they enjoy bike riding, watching the kids play sports and watching movies.

Hi! I’m Ashley and I’ve been at camp since 1990 (when I was 4 years old). I loved camp, especially nature, and decided that I wanted to be Bob (the head of nature) when I grew up. Toward that end I became an LT, aide, instructor, and finally department head. I’ll never be as cool or knowledgeable as Bob but I’ve got a few decades to work on it. Outside of camp I earned a bachelors of science in biology at Bryn Mawr College and a Masters in Art of Teaching in secondary science at Salisbury University. I’m currently a high school science teacher with BCPS.

Hi, I’m Nick. I have been with BT Camps since 2017, and I am in my 3rd summer as Sports Camp Unit Head. I have one son, who began his camp experience with BT Camps last summer in the Kinder Camp program and is very excited to return. During the school year, I am a High School World Language teacher, teaching both Spanish and Latin, in the Baltimore County Public School System after receiving my B.A. in Spanish and Secondary Education from Salisbury University in 2010 and my M.S. in Instructional Technology from University of Maryland Global Campus in 2016. During my free time, I can be found with my son playing/coaching sports in the yard (soccer is the current favorite) along with just spending time outside with my wife and son.