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Executive Director
Jane Saccaro
Development Director
Sarah Blumenfeld
Camp Director
Scott Arizala
Program Directors
Liz Gray
Rachel Firestone
Lauren Ellis
Abby O'Leary
Accountant
Fanny Wilson
Board of Directors
John Bradburn
David Cronin
Jeff Dinkin
Ron Glickman
Jerry Katz
Darren Macioce
Mark Olson
Iris Rave
Jane Saccaro
Carlyn D. Solomon
James A. Timmons
Staff and Board
Camp Kesem Staff
Jane Saccaro joined Camp Kesem as Executive Director in December 2010. Jane began her career at Bain & Company, where she developed the skillset of developing strategies, implementing change, and collaborating with individuals from all backgrounds to demonstrably impact results. After Bain, Jane held operational roles with eToys.com and Princess Cruises, where she built organizations that realized significant impact. Jane earned a Masters of Science in Engineering-Economic Systems, and a Bachelors of Art in Economics and Psychology, both from Stanford University. Today, Jane resides in the Chicago area, with her husband and three children.
Sarah Blumenfeld began working as Development Director for Camp Kesem in March, 2008. She is a UCLA graduate with years of experience in finance, administrative management, event planning and a variety of community volunteer projects. Sarah is from Pasadena, CA and currently resides in Lafayette, CA.
Scott Arizala began working as the Camp Director for Camp Kesem in Spring 2010. He is one of the leading experts and premier trainers on kids, staff and the experience of summer camp. He has been involved with camps and youth development for over twenty years as a camper, counselor, director and consultant. As a professional speaker and educator, he has given keynotes, workshops and educational sessions at numerous professional conferences, training events, and with organizations. He is currently the CEO of The Camp Counselor, a consulting and training company working with hundreds of camps and thousands of staff and administrators across the country. He is also the Camp Director for Dragonfly Forest, a resident camp for kids with serious illnesses and disorders in the Philadelphia area. He is a pioneering contributor to Expert Online Training, the world's leader in online training for camp staff and is the author of the best-selling book on summer camp and youth development, S'more Than Camp.
Liz Gray began working as a National Program Director for Camp Kesem in May 2008. Liz (otherwise known as "Phishy" to campers and counselors) helped found Camp Kesem at Indiana University in 2004 and served as a coordinator and a co-chair at Indiana for three years. In 2007 Liz graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. She also received a minor in Outdoor Recreation and Resource Management. Liz is from Indianapolis, IN and currently resides in Summit County, CO.
Rachel Firestone began working as a National Program Director for Camp Kesem in June 2010. Rachel (or "Firefly" to campers and counselors) got involved with Camp Kesem at Indiana University in 2006 and served as a counselor, a coordinator and a co-chair at Indiana for three years. She also served as an Intern and Conference Coordinator for Camp Kesem National during her undergraduate studies. Rachel graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor's of Science in Arts Administration, and received a minor in Studio Art. She is from Lafayette, IN, where she currently resides.
Lauren Ellis joined the Camp Kesem National team in June 2011 as a National Program Director. Lauren (who at camp is known as "Marzipan") was an active member in Camp Kesem at Indiana University from 2006 to 2009. While involved in Camp Kesem, Lauren has served as a coordinator, a co-chair, and camp advisor to multiple Camp Kesem chapters. She graduated from Indiana University in May 2009 with a Bachelor's in Musical Theater. She also received her teaching license for Secondary Language Arts and Theater. Lauren is from Holland, IN.
Abby O'Leary began working for Camp Kesem as a National Program Director in June 2011. Before coming to Camp Kesem, Abby worked in youth development programming near Chapel Hill, NC. Abby graduated from Barnard College/Columbia University in 2007 with a BA in Sociology and Religious Studies, and served as the Chief Coordinator of the Columbia University Project for the Homeless during her senior year. She has volunteered with Comfort Zone Camp, a national bereavement camp, since her junior year of high school. She is originally from McLean, Virginia and currently resides in Durham, NC.
Fanny Wilson began working as the Accountant for Camp Kesem in December 2010. Fanny has over 14 years of professional experience working in the accounting field. She is a graduate of Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California and is a Certified Public Accountant in California. Fanny has previously worked as a volunteer treasurer for several non-profit organizations. Fanny resides in Moraga, CA, with her husband and two children.
Camp Kesem Board of Directors
John Bradburn, CPA (Treasurer) received his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Indiana University, where he was involved with Camp Kesem as a coordinator and counselor for four years. He currently lives in Chicago and works for the investment banking firm GCA Savvian, where he advises clients on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and debt offerings. Prior to GCA Savvian, John spent two years working in the transaction services group at KPMG.
David Cronin (Secretary) is currently President and Managing Director of North America for Hypercom Corporation. He has over 25 years experience in the financial services industry and has worked in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and is now based in Scottsdale, Arizona. He holds a Masters of Management from Northwestern University, and specializes in Transformational Growth and building high performance teams. He has been on the Board for over two years and is the Board Secretary.
Jeff Dinkin is the Managing and Founding Partner of Regent Properties, a real estate investment and development company. Since its formation in 1989, Regent has acquired, developed and financed more than 3 million square feet of retail, commercial, residential and mixed-use projects and 9,000 acres of master planned communities. Jeff, who has more than twenty-five years of experience in real estate development and investment, is engaged in directing all phases of the real estate development process and long-range strategic planning for Regent. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University in St. Louis and has a JD degree from UCLA. Jeff has been actively involved with many non-profit organizations. Currently, in addition to the Camp Kesem Board, Jeff serves on the Advisory Board to the Simms/Mann - UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, the Board of Trustees for the Affordable Living for the Aging, and as Board Chairman Emeritus at PS #1, a private elementary school based in Santa Monica, California. Jeff lives in Santa Monica, California with his wife, Marci, and four children.
Ron Glickman (Chairman) is Senior Vice President and CIO for UTi Worldwide, a global supply chain solutions company based in Long Beach, CA. He is a global executive with a track record for leading innovative change programs, and delivering sustainable value from investments in business process transformation and enabling technologies. Ron has been the Board Chair for Camp Kesem (CK) since 2004. He joined CK to help the founder, Iris Rave-Wedeking, realize her vision to make CK available to families across the country that are coping with the horrific and unjust impacts of Cancer on the entire family, not just the adult patient. Ron was moved by Iris' vision and drawn to the opportunities to change lives; children's lives that are turned upside down when the joys of childhood are replaced with fears of losing a parent to Cancer and the lives of college students who want to make a difference now, while developing leadership know-how for tomorrow. CK has changed Ron's life and he is honored to serve this extraordinary organization.
Jerry Katz is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Marlin Equity Partners, a private equity firm in Los Angeles, CA. Jerry has over 26 years of experience as lead counsel advising public and private corporations in complex transactions and general business ventures and as an executive involved in operational matters. Prior to joining Marlin Equity Partners, Jerry was a partner in the law firm of Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard & Shapiro LLC. Jerry has worked with a wide range of clients including technology and internet companies; solar and renewable energy companies; sports, media & entertainment companies; real estate firms, and multiple lenders and investors across industries. Jerry, as a LEED Accredited Professional, is an expert on green building and renewable energy matters. Jerry earned a J.D., cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, Undergraduate School of Business.
Darren Macioce is senior vice president of diversified business development at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. He has over 25 years industry experience and has held senior management positions in operations, IT, business and health services research. Mr. Macioce holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from West Virginia University and serves on the board of a number of organizations and national committees and currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA.
Mark Olson is a strategy consultant specializing in healthcare for Oliver Wyman. A noted speaker, he enjoys working with leadership teams to drive growth and accelerate performance. He holds undergraduate and MBA degrees from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Mark currently resides in suburban Chicago with his wife and four kids.
Iris Rave Wedeking (Founder) developed the vision for the first Camp Kesem project at Stanford University in 2000 and pursued national expansion of the program in 2002 after recognizing a nationwide need for Camp Kesem. She holds a degree in Child Development from Tufts University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Iris has over 13 years of residential camping experience in staff and management positions. She is currently an Associate Marketing Intelligence Manager at The Clorox Company.
Carlyn Solomon is Corporate Vice President, Critical Care of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring. Carlyn has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining Edwards in 2005, he served in a number of positions with increasing responsibility at Baxter International, including interim president of the company's BioScience division, vice president of global manufacturing, and vice president of global operations. Solomon has served as an executive board member for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association and the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association. He also served on the board of directors for the Baxter International Foundation. Solomon earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Kansas State University.
Jim (JT) Timmons is a Vice President of Strategy for the Western Region of Verizon Business. He resides in Orange County California. With over 30 years IT industry experience, he provides strategic direction for IT Services to C Level executives on behalf of Verizon. His interest has been in girls youth softball, where he has been a community coach, girls select travel teams coach, as was a hitting coach for an Ohio high school for 4 years. He has three children and his youngest son is the founder of the pop group 98Degrees.