Since his first summer as a camper in 2007, Sam has considered himself a lifetime Tawongan. Not only did Tawonga stop his picky eating habits right in their tracks, but it also took Sam on his first backpacking trip to Yosemite Creek, and a nature lover was born. He completed a Masters in Education from University of Washington, publishing a thesis on the intersection of literacy, science, and identity development in outdoor education. The first year of his Masters program was spent teaching and learning at IslandWood, an environmental education center on Bainbridge Island, Washington, where he also received a certificate in Education for Environment and Community.

In his 16 summers (and counting) at Camp Tawonga, Sam has been a camper, CIT, counselor, unit head, teen programs supervisor, and summertime assistant director. He also helped Tawonga implement LGBTQ affinity spaces for campers and staff, and is passionate about inclusion and belonging in the outdoors. Sam graduated with a B.A. in Linguistics from Pomona College, where he worked at the Outdoor Education Center and led many first-timer backpacking trips, hoping to foster the same love of backpacking Tawonga cultivated for him. In 2022 he completed the Nüümü Poyo, also known as the John Muir Trail, which sparked his interest in the importance of Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty in outdoor spaces. He is thrilled to be joining the year-round team in Tawonga’s landmark 100th year!

Jules was born and raised in Berkeley and is passionate about giving youth the Jewish education experience they wish they had had as a teen. They have been an assistant educator for the Tawonga B*Mitzvah program on and off since 2018 and spent the past two years working at the JCC of the East Bay as an after school teacher for 2nd and 3rd grade and a preschool teacher in the 2’s classroom. They have worked five summers at Tawonga as a counselor and Unit Head, and are looking forward to continuing serving the Tawonga community down the mountain!

Aviva grew up going to Camp Tawonga, and spent her summers during college working at Tawonga as a counselor, wilderness leader, and teen program staff. After graduating from Oberlin College with a B.A. in History, Aviva taught outdoor education in Colorado and then served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin. These experiences inspired Aviva to get her Masters degree in education from Stanford University and teach English, which she has done for the past four years in both middle and high school settings. Aviva is thrilled to join the year-round team at Tawonga and get back to spending her summers up at Camp! In her free time, you’ll find Aviva at the local dog park with her two pups or exploring the Bay Area’s many trails with her husband (a fellow Tawongan).

Miriam has loved Tawonga since her first year as a camper in 1991. Her five years as a summer staffer were equally transformative, and included roles as Counselor, Unit Head and Assistant Kitchen Manager. She has a background in environmental and garden education, including working for the City of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment, as well as running a school garden in Bayview-Hunters Point and working with Berkeley Unified School District’s Cooking and Gardening Program. She attended Culinary School in 2015 and worked as the Culinary Program Director for a startup. Miriam graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Human and Organizational Development and is excited to bring her love of logistics to the year round team. Miriam lives in Oakland with her partner Bradley and their dog Clove. She loves singing, learning to ID new plants while hiking (especially edible ones) and creatively repurposing leftover food into delicious new meals.

David “Griz” Griswold hails from Maine, where he grew up thinking that California was a mythical land of well-tanned wonder, composed solely of unending beaches, short shorts, and rollerskates. After graduating from Yale and taking a job in communications at Google, he was delighted to discover he was only partially wrong—California had mountains too! And indeed, it was the Sierras that beckoned. “David” became “Griz” when he leapt from the hermetically sealed windows of the Googleplex to work on Tawonga’s vaunted Wild Staff in 2009. Since that time, Griz has worked as an educator and writer in a variety of capacities, most recently as a test prep and academic tutor and office director for AJ Tutoring in Lafayette, until returning home to Tawonga in 2023.

When he’s not connecting with families about Tawonga’s many down the mountain programs, Griz can usually be found writing a silly poem, strumming a thoughtful song, or strolling down a well-worn trail. If you look closely, you can also maybe find a children’s book or two that he has written. He is excited to connect with you!

Quan is a San Diego native who joined the Camp Tawonga team in 2023. Quan has been working in summer programs and outdoor education since 2016; he’s worked at various camps and organizations including Camp Fiesta Island and Camp Bighorn at Circle X Ranch with the Boy Scouts of America in Southern California. He has also gained experience in the Washington D.C area with the Headfirst Companies.

On his weekends, Quan loves to spend his time outdoors exploring new hiking trails, snowboarding, sailing, or window shopping at REI. If he is not outside, Quan loves to watch Survivor with his partner, practice his guitar skills, or read a cool book!

Ryley is a Tawonga “lifer”. She started her journey with Tawonga in the early 90s as a camper from Arizona and continued on as a summer staffer through college before joining the full-time team in 2006. After nearly a decade of supporting Tawonga families, Ryley left her position to focus on raising her three daughters and transitioned to being a “camp mom,” watching her oldest daughter begin her own Tawonga journey. In 2022, Ryley re-joined the full-time staff and loves being a part of the team that creates the magic of Camp. Ryley has a dual degree in Public Policy and Sociology from Pomona College as well as a background in non-profit administration. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters and muppet-like dog, Sunny, as well as writing and cooking. She makes a mean chocolate chip cookie!

An Oakland native, Brady (he/they) has spent more than half the summers of his life at Camp Tawonga. Since 1992, Brady has been a Camper, Counselor, Unit Head, Drama Specialist, Jewish Programmer, Lifeguard, Prep Cook, Program Director, Head of Arts and Crafts, and Camp Director. Brady has also pursued his passions for building community and fostering play as a Camp Director with Camp Galileo, a Founding Camp Director of Camp Grounded, a Healthy Masculinity Facilitator with Shalom Bayit, one of the founding staff members and residents of Moishe House, a Healthy Recess Trainer for Playworks and most recently as the Executive Director of JYCA. Brady also is the co-owner and director of Custom Camps which provides summer camp inspired corporate team building and offsite experiences. Brady is a published poet and performer, card and board game lover, fantasy and sci-fi reader, and is most happy walking with his partner and dog at Cesar Chavez park or up in the Oakland Redwoods.

A Bay Area native, Frisco grew up attending Tawonga as a camper and returned as a staff member in 2002 to work as a prep cook — the first step in his long career working in kitchens. After graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, he went on to work in restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn for the next 8 years. Frisco eventually rose to Executive Chef at three restaurants simultaneously: Walter’s, Walter Foods and Karasu (and opened two of them!). In addition to cooking, Frisco is passionate about coaching basketball; he spent the last three years as an assistant coach at Millbrook School in New York, focusing on skill development and harnessing the joy of the game.

Frisco lives in Berkeley and coaches boys basketball at Miramonte High School in Orinda. While not working in the Tawonga office or on the basketball court, Frisco enjoys being outdoors as much as possible – and if inside, he’s usually focused on sports or food!

Shoshie has been a Tawongan for 20+ years, starting as a camper and working seasonally as a counselor, CIT leader, unit head and a summertime assistant director. She is currently the Director of Family Engagement and loves sharing her passion and dedication for working with children and families. Prior to this role, Shoshie worked as a special education preschool teacher. She earned a B.A. in Developmental Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters of Infant Mental Health and an Early Childhood Special Education Credential from Mills College. Shoshie lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children and enjoys traveling, cooking, camping, and spending time with family and friends.

Ashley grew up in Berkeley and has been a Tawongan since she first attended Session 2 in 1993. Ashley was a camper for six summers and became a summer staff member, first as counselor, then Unit Head, and TSL Trip Leader. Ashley joined the full-time staff in 2009 as the registrar and then became the Director of Community Engagement, taking care of our families and leading our Down the Mountain programs. Ashley is currently the Program Director, supervising all the speciality areas at summer camp, overseeing family camp, the Tawonga B’nai Mitzvah Program, Tawonga’s Alumni Board and the Health Center. Ashley graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Environmental Studies and has a true love of nature and being outside. When not in the office, Ashley loves spending time with her husband Jamie and their two sons, Erez and Lev.

Liz has been a Tawongan since 2015, holding a number of roles starting as a counselor and working her way to become a Director. She joined the year-round team in 2018 and loves working to create Tawonga mission moments for folks of all ages and backgrounds (she hopes to see you at Family Camps)!

Liz received an Honors Bachelor degree in Sociology from Whitman College (and wrote an award-winning thesis on summer camping!). In her free time, Liz loves to spend time outside, swim in any natural body of water, pratice yoga, dance and cook! She lives with her partner (a Tawonga love story!) in Berkeley and is grateful every day to be part of the Tawonga team.

Becca first came to Tawonga in 2004 as a Unit Head and has served on the full-time staff since 2007. During her tenure as Camp Director (starting in 2015) and as Chief Program Officer, Becca oversaw the expansion of and ensured continued excellence of Tawonga’s programs, from summer camp to family camps to Tawonga’s B’nai Mitzvah program and more. She pioneered Tawonga’s all-gender cabins and is a tireless advocate for inclusion and equity. Prior to serving as Camp Director, Becca served as Tawonga’s Associate Director and managed many of Camp’s most complex activities, including backpacking, teen travel (Quest), transportation, and medical care at Camp.

Becca grew up in New England and attended summer camp in Maine for 8 years. She moved to the Bay Area after graduating from Harvard with a degree in Comparative Religion. Prior to joining the full-time staff at Tawonga, Becca worked as a Staffing Director at Camp Walt Whitman, a private camp in New Hampshire, and served on the Steering Committee of the Emerging Professionals in Camping organization. Becca has coached youth sports for 13 years and received a Double-Goal Coach Award from the Positive Coaching Alliance. Her passions include trail running and being outdoors. She lives in Berkeley with her husband and two children. Her favorite Tawonga values are “People support the things they help create” and “Kaizen: continuous improvement.”

Aaron first came to Tawonga as a nervous new camper in 1994 and quickly fell in love with the place and the community. Aaron began working for Tawonga on the summer staff as a counselor in 2002 and in 2007, Aaron joined the year-round staff where he has held a number of roles. Aaron completed the Jewish Service Learning Certificate Program at San Francisco State and is a graduate of the Lekhu Lakhem Fellowship, a Jewish educational leadership program for camp directors through the Foundation for Jewish Camp. Aaron can be found around Camp playing Frisbee with kids, leading improv games or just sitting in a circle at rest hour talking with a bunk. Aaron lives in the East Bay with his wife Charley, daughter Meadow and dog Ty Ty.