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!

Debbie has lived in the Bay Area for over 30 years and is new to Camp Tawonga. She grew up in southern Oregon where she learned to love outdoor adventures and spending time in nature. She attended 4-H and Girl Scout summer camp as a kid and grew up loving to backpack with family and friends. Debbie has a passion for community work and has twenty-five years of extensive experience in non-profit management, and seven years in public administration for local government. She served as the Executive Director of two different branches of the YMCA of Silicon Valley. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State University and is currently finishing her MPA. Fun fact- she competes in the sport of triathlon, and just completed her first full Ironman and plans to compete in a second later this year.

Born in Oakland, Camille is a Bay Area native with a background in customer service, operations, and marketing. She is a UC Berkeley graduate, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Theater & Performance Studies. In her free time, Camille can be found reading, perusing the local antique market, or watching the newest Netflix documentary.

Julie (she/her) is so excited to begin her journey as a Tawongan. She has 20 years of experience as a non-profit leader with a focus on finance and operations. Most recently served as COO of San Mateo’s CuriOdyssey after serving as executive leader of Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley for nearly 12 years. Previously spent 15 years working in professional theatre in Chicago and 7 years as System Administrator/Business Analyst at a large advertising agency. Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Loyola University Chicago and a Master of Non-Profit Arts Management degree from Columbia College Chicago.

Julie lives in Oakland with her husband, Erik, and their daughter Madelyn who they hope to make a Tawongan very soon.

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!

Lew joined Camp Tawonga in the spring of 2022 as a Groundskeeper/Maintenance Technician following eleven years employment with Evergreen and Rush Creek Lodges in the position of Facilities Manager. Lew has also worked in semiconductor manufacturing, as an RV Technician and as a Septic System Technician. Lew is an Air Force veteran. He grew up in Lathrop, CA near Hwy 120, lived 20 years in Albuquerque and has returned full circle to Tuolumne County 40 years later. Lew enjoys the outdoors and likes to challenge himself. He takes great pride in his work and loves maintaining this special place. His interests include aircooled VW restoration, metal fabrication, brewing beer and drones/RC vehicles.

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!

Sarah’s story with Tawonga began in 2002 when she joined the summer staff as a counselor. After falling in love with the land, community and culture, she returned many summers as a Lifeguard, Office Staff Member and Office Manager. After earning a degree in Business Management from Chico State and spending two years in Japan teaching English, Sarah joined the year-round team from 2008 – 2018 where she served as the Accounts Receivable and Financial Assistance Manager. In addition to her role in the Finance Department, Sarah managed logistics for many large scale annual events including Ruach Rides, Erev Rosh Hashanah Celebrations and at Camp weddings.

In 2018 Sarah bittersweetly said goodbye to Tawonga and the Bay Area and moved with her husband Avi, their three sons Harley, Asa, Ari and their toy poodle Otis, to a small town on the Pudget Sound in Washington state to live a quieter life with more nature and less people. For three years Sarah enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom, exploring the Pacific Northwest beaches, forests and parks with her kids.

Fast forward to 2021, Sarah’s boys are all in school, and she is ecstatic to rejoin Tawonga’s year-round team as Staff Accountant, where she looks forward to helping bring Tawonga’s mission to life.

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!

Lisa has over twenty years in sales and marketing experience for leading Bay Area publishing and Internet companies. Prior to coming to Tawonga, she was Associate Director of Teens Turning Green, helping build a nationally recognized youth movement through managing programs, business development and fundraising, and promoting sustainability. Lisa volunteers on the executive board for the Women’s Philanthropy division of the SF Jewish Community Federation and is a member and former board president of the religious school at Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael. Melding her love of working with teens, environmental advocacy, and Jewish education, Lisa now feels incredibly fortunate to work for Camp Tawonga, where all of her interests intersect. She lives in Marin with her husband Matthew and has two grown children. She loves the outdoors and enjoys spending as much time at Camp as possible. Mostly, she loves getting to know this incredible community and calling herself a Tawongan!

Rona grew up in New England and spent four summers on the waterfront staff of Camp Ramah in Palmer. After college, she lived on a kibbutz in Israel for several years and outside Boston before finally making the move to the Bay Area. She has worked in ergonomics as well as in the Jewish community at Berkeley Hillel and most recently at the Jewish Federation of the East Bay. Rona lives in Berkeley, where she is an active member of Congregation Beth Israel, a vibrant modern orthodox community. In her free time, she can be found reading multiple books at one time or knitting. She is a graduate of Yale University and the proud mother of an aspiring writer. She is delighted to join the awesome team at Camp Tawonga!

Ben first encountered the “tall, tall trees” during the summer of 1996. It rained every day he was there and he vowed he would never come back. After his mom literally forced him on the bus two years later, the East Bay native can’t get enough of the Tuolumne River. Ben was a camper for five glorious summers and became a summer staff member in 2003. Ben has worn many hats during his 13 summers working at Camp: counselor, lifeguard, assistant director, driver, office staff, nanny, unit head and Teen Service Learning supervisor. Ben joined Camp Tawonga’s full-time staff in 2015 and he absolutely loves talking to parents about his experience and how meaningful it has been in his life. Ben lives in Kensington with with his wife Kelli (whom he met at Camp Tawonga), their daughter Sierra and their dog Sadie. In his free time, Ben likes to go on hikes, play Ultimate Frisbee and go to movies.