Contact Us

FOUNDERS:

Robert Rosow, San Antonio

Edward Greene, Dallas

Davna Brook, Houston

Swede Cersonsky, Houston

Harry Wood, Jr., Waco

Jake Gandler, Waco

Abbye Freed, Waco

Arnold Miller, Waco (joined in 1976)

DIRECTORS:

Rabbi Solomon Kaplan 1976

Rabbi Lawrence Jackofsky (Jake) 1977 – 78

Loui Dobin 1979 – 2019

Rabbi Erin Mason 2020 – Present

CAMP COMMITTEE CHAIRS:

Edward Greene, Dallas 1976-1983

Davna Brook, Houston 1976-1983

Arnold Miller, Waco 1983-2004

Michael Wolf, Beaumont 2004-2008

Michael Solka, Austin 2008-2012

Steve Donchin, Oklahoma City 2012-2016

Carol Margolis, Dallas 2016-2020

Mark Levine, Houston 2020-2022

Michelle Lynn-Sachs, Austin 2022-2024

Neal Spielman, Houston 2022-present

Meet our Camp Committee!

Fran Cohen

Steven Daum

Suzie Daum

Todd Doctor

Susan Feldman

Duncan Friedman

Graham Gadd

Michael Glazer

Scott Hertz

Hilary Kamin (vice-chair)

Alisa Makler

Jason Makler

Jennifer Melrose

Elena Paull

Daniel Pesikoff

Laurie Pickei

Jacob Preble

Susan Rosenberg

Michael Rosenberg

Sarah Shabot Doctor

Neal Spielman (chair)

Amy Strickland

Wendy Wormser

As in all organizations, the Jewish Camping Movement has its share of acronyms and words that are camp specific.  Below are some of the more common words and acronyms that will help you understand both our history and current operations.

ACA– American Camp Association is a community of camp professionals working to preserve, promote, and improve the camp experience.

Ambassadors – A group of lay leaders separate from the GFC Camp Committee who promote GFC at their home congregations.

Avi Chai Foundation– is a private foundation endowed by Zalman C. Bernstein that is committed to the perpetuation of the Jewish people, Judaism, and the centrality of the State of Israel to the Jewish people.

CC – Camp Committee: A group of lay leaders who provide guidance, fundraising assistance and support to GFC and its leadership.

FJC – Foundation for Jewish Camp – a public foundation dedicated solely to the Jewish overnight camp movement.  Provides training and guidance to camps and financial assistance for campers.

GFC – Greene Family Camp, a Reform Jewish summer camp, which serves the children of Texas and Oklahoma.

Harold Grinspoon Foundation– established in 1993, is a philanthropic organization deeply committed to charitable giving, primarily in the Jewish world.

NAC – North American Camping – NAC is a unit of the URJ (formerly UAHC) that oversees the Union’s 16 summer camps.  The NAC sets policies, provides funding for operational support and training for staff.  Locally, GFC receives guidance and support from the CC, Ambassadors, and Southern District. It also receives support from the FJC.

NCCI – National Commission of Camp Institutes which was the forerunner of the NAC, this organization loosely oversaw the UAHC camps.

NFTY – National Federation of Temple Youth which was established in 1939 to serve the youth in Reform Congregations.

NFTY-TOR– Texas-Oklahoma region of NFTY.

TOCC –Texas-Oklahoma Camp Committee – A non-profit organization that was created in the early 1970’s to oversee fundraising for the new UAHC camp in Texas that was yet to be named.

TOFTY – Texas-Oklahoma Federation of Temple Youth, the local NFTY region of Jewish youth served by GFC. (Now NFTY-TOR)

UAHC – Union of American Hebrew Congregations – established in 1873 as the umbrella group of Reform Congregations. (Now the URJ)

URJ – Union of Reform Judaism – the umbrella group of Reform Congregations.  Name changed from UAHC in 2003. Reform congregations throughout North America are members of the URJ.  The URJ is divided into four districts.  Texas and Oklahoma are part of the newly formed Southern District.  The District promotes GFC as well as other URJ camps in its district.