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!

Hi, my name is Hannah Mayer and I am so excited to join the BT Camps team. I graduated York College of PA with a Bachelors in Recreation and Leisure Administration with a double emphasis in Therapeutic and Community Recreation. Currently working towards a Masters in Community Based Education and Leadership.  The past 2 summers I have worked at “Camp By the Sea” in Margate, NJ  running day to day operations of a 600 camper day camp with 70 staff members. When I’m not working you can find me finding the best tacos, hanging out with friends or family and or at the beach.

I can’t wait to meet you and your children, and to help continue to make BT Camps, “a great place for kids to grow”.

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 51st 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.

Debbie was born and raised in Reisterstown, MD, and she attended BT Camps as a child.  She has two daughters, Sophie and Emily, who both attended and worked at Beth Tfiloh Camps.   She loves her days at camp watching the children, participating in all of the activities as well as the core Jewish values that BT provides.

Debbie has a master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology, and currently practices in an Elementary where she helps children with their speech production, and language skills, as well as playing a role in developing children’s social and development skills.

Debbie says, “Her love for children, and their well-being makes being in this position worthwhile.  I have loved the past two summers at camp, and I look forward to creating amazing memories with both our present and future campers here at BT Camps.”

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 the STEAM Camp Director at BT Camps.  She 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 is the Youth and Teen Engagement Specialist at Har Sinai Oheb Shalom Congregation and also the Director of After School Programming at Beth Tfiloh.  When she’s not working, Lindsay loves to spend time with her family, including her husband Travys, four-year old son, Logan, 18 month old daughter Shayna, and 6 month old daughter Lacey, along with her three dogs, Watson, Bella, and Shorty.

Heather was born and raised in Baltimore and attended Beth Tfiloh Camp as a child. You might recognize Heather as she was a preschool teacher at Beth El and Beth Tfiloh for many years. Heather left teaching in 2014 to open Yankee Doodle, a children’s arts and crafts store. At Yankee Doodle, Heather was able to combine two of her passions, working with children while creating arts and crafts projects. In more recent years Heather has been focused on her three young children, Logan 7 years old, Riley 5 years old and Dylan 3 years old. She is excited to be at BT Camp and looks forward to creating craft-tastic memories this summer!

Hi BT Family! My name is Rachel (Eisenberg) Levy.  I began my nursing journey working at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital with the infants and toddlers.  In 2010 I graduated University of Maryland School of Nursing with my Masters in Nursing and certification as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. After graduation I joined the corporate world and traveled for 5 years to different hospitals, helping to configure, educate, and go live with telemetry and bedside monitors.  While the travel was fun, I missed working with children and began working for the school systems.  I am currently a School Nurse for Baltimore County Schools, at Milbrook Elementary School.

I joined the BT Camp family back in 1987 when I began attending camp as a camper.  I continued my journey through and have worked at camp as a Counselor, Lifeguard, Floater, and then after a 9-year hiatus rejoined the BT Camp Family as one of the amazing Camp Nurses.  I stayed part of the Health team since, taking a summer off to enjoy time in Israel with family.  My two boys, ages 10 and 14 have been attending the “big camp” since the summers they turned 4 and call BT Camps home.  It brings me joy to be back and to be here to help care for your children while they are in camp.  As I tell my school families, I will treat your children like they are my own while we are in camp.  Please feel free to contact camp at any time with health concerns that you may have.  I look forward to being back this summer with my “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.

HI – my name is Colleen Esposito.  I have been a part of BT Camps summer staff since 2018.  In my time at camp I have been a swim instructor, a theater camp assistant director, a theater camp counselor, and last summer was my first as a Unit Head in Hay/Vav, where I’ll be again this summer.  During the school year, I work as a theater arts and technical theater teacher in the Baltimore County Public Schools, where I have been part of the BCPS family since 2014.  I love working with children in the classroom, on the stage, and at camp.  At school, I direct a Fall production, Spring production, and an end of the year showcase.  Watching my students progress in their love of the arts and own self confidence is such a great joy!

I have a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from McDaniel College in Theater Arts with minors in Acting, Literature, and Interactive Theatre.  I also have a Master’s of Arts in Teaching degree from Towson University in secondary education, and a second Master’s of Arts in Education from Goucher College.

When I am not at camp or school, I enjoy spending time with my husband, my two amazing daughters, my family, and friends.  My daughters also love spending their summers at BT Camps: my oldest will be in Bet this year and my youngest will be returning to nursery camp for what I know will be another amazing summer at BT!

Nick brings over 3 decades of both day, travel, and overnight camping experience to BT camps.  Nick has been a camper, counselor, and specialist at camps in Pittsburgh and in Baltimore, including at BT Camps since 2013 as a sports specialist, teacher, and parent of two kids.  Nick is a social studies teacher with Anne Arundel County Schools, and during his spare time, you can find him at his kids’ sporting events or officiating a soccer  or basketball game!

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 Nick. I have been with BT Camps since 2017, and I am in my 4th summer as Maccabi Sports Camp Director. I have one son, who began his camp experience with BT Camps in 2021 in the Kinder Camp program and is very excited to return to continue his way through our programs at BT Camps. 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.

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.

Hello, my name is Brady Palmer and this will be my 5th year working as a lifeguard at Beth Tffiloh camps.  In addition, this will be my second year as Department Head at the lake.  I will be a Junior at Eastern University, where I am a psychology major and a member of the the men’s lacrosse team  Growing up, I attended Beth Tfiloh camps from 4th grade, up until my last summer which was going into 8th grade.  In highschool, I played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse while also playing club lacrosse on the side.  Outside of sports, I enjoy swimming, watching movies, and hanging out with friends in my free time.