Not a day goes by during the summer or during the off-season that I don’t realize how lucky I am for the opportunity to work with such an amazing group of people at Camp Tevya. Our Head Counselors, along with our Department Heads, work together all year to make Camp Tevya the strong community that it is. They are dedicated to creating a warm and supportive environment for our campers and staff, and they are passionate about personal growth and their role in helping everyone expand their comfort zone to become the best versions of themselves.
I am thrilled to have five returning Head Counselors this year, and I am also thrilled to welcome Oded Wilson as the Tsofim Head Counselor. Oded attended a Head Counselor meeting last month, and his dedication and passion helped him fit right into our team.
This summer, these six Head Counselors will be providing support and guidance to our bunk counselors, our campers and even our families! They are the counselors to the counselors and our parents’ connection to camp. Our community, like me, are lucky to have the opportunity to work with them.
You can meet some our Head Counselors and other members of our staff in person
at our Free Play at Camp Tevya on Sunday, July 11th from 1-3pm.
Stacey Smalley: Olot (3rd-6th Grade Girls)
Happy Spring, Camp Tevya!! My name is Stacey Smalley, and I am so excited to be the Olot Head Counselor. There is nothing like the fabulous chatter, energy and excitement that comes from the youngest of the girls’ areas at camp. I can’t wait to tie-dye t-shirts, play 4square, jump into Potanipo, take nature walks, watch you take care of the animals, and observe the friendships that form and grow every summer. This morning, I was taking a walk… I heard birds, smelled the crisp fresh air, saw a beautiful sun rising in the sky. All I could think of was the beautiful sunrises and sunsets over Lake Potanipo at camp. The warmth of the summer sun is soon upon us! I have been a Camp Tevya camper, counselor, and been on the Leadership Team for a combination of 15 years. Many years ago, when I was in college and a Bunk Counselor at Tevya, I was mostly found on the tennis courts and in the Olot area. During my last summer as a Bunk Counselor, I was the Head of Tennis and the oldest girls’ counselor. A couple of summers ago, I was the Tsofot Head Counselor… And last summer I was the Olot Head Counselor. All in all, I have really had a chance to delve deeply into the 3 girls’ groups (Olot, Tsofot, and Bogrot) during all my time at Tevya. During the off season, I teach Latin and am the Language Department Chair and Wellness Coordinator at The Fessenden School in Newton. Get ready for lots of fun and friendship this summer in the Olot Area!!
Ellen (Martin) Ades: Olim (3rd-6th Grade Boys)
Ellen is second from the right.
Hi, I’m Ellen (Martin) Ades. This will be my ninth summer as the Olim Head Counselor and my 16th summer at camp overall. I grew up at Tevya as a camper, CIT, counselor, and Mom of four campers who later became counselors (and my oldest daughter even met her husband there too!). As you can imagine, Camp Tevya is my family’s second home. I love being the “mom” in the Boys Area. The boys keep me on my toes and make me smile every day! During the off-season, I am also Camp Tevya’s Alumni Coordinator and work in the Cohen Camps office assisting our Staff Recruiter. I enjoy being with my family and singing camp songs to my grandson – the Tevya Alma Mater makes a great lullaby! When I am not babysitting or working, I love to walk and go to my new favorite exercise class at SoulCycle. I am so excited for another fun summer and meeting all of our new campers! My hope is that they will all have a “double thumbs up” summer!
Lauren Fishman: Tsofot (7th-8th Grade Girls)
I am so excited to return to Camp Tevya for my third summer as Tsofot Head Counselor! As a child, I went to a Jewish day camp and then to Camp Pembroke for a few summers, followed by working at a local Jewish camp. Going to camp both as a camper and a counselor truly helped shape the adult I am today. My husband, Dave, grew up coming to Tevya and is excited to spend another summer here too! I have my master’s in Education and was a 5th grade teacher in Newton, MA before becoming a full-time stay at home mom to our three children, Molly (10), Sam (8), and Ethan (5.5). While the kids are at school, I currently work from home with a health and wellness company, helping people to become their healthiest selves, which I love! Helping people and developing them to be their best selves is also something that I love about camp. There is such an amazing opportunity for everyone to grow and learn in the camp environment. It’s very special for me to be a part of that, and the memories that are created at Tevya. I look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces soon!
Oded Wilson: Tsofim (7th-8th Grade Boys)
Oded is first from the right with the red t-shirt.
Hello everybody, my name is Oded Wilson and this will be my first summer at Camp Tevya. I will be the Tsofim Head Counselor and I am very excited to be a part of the warm Camp Tevya family. From the moment I visited camp and met the other Head Counselors, I felt like I was home.
I was born and raised in Israel with my mom, dad, two brothers, and sister. I currently live in Atlanta and teach Hebrew to 5th through 8th grade students at the Atlanta Jewish Academy. I have a BA in Education through Art, Sociology, Philosophy, and Gender. For the past 10 years, I have worked with kids of all ages, but have primarily been with 7th and 8th graders. While I love formal education, my passion and expertise lies in experiential education.
Growing up, I spent almost every summer in the Israeli Scout’s summer camp. I learned a lot about building new groups, the importance of different rolls within in a group, strengthening communication skills, and learning how to work together while developing an individual’s personality. These skills have taught me how to be a better person in the world, how to connect positively with my community, and have allowed me to develop leadership capabilities that help me today, every place I go. The camp environment helps campers learn a lot of meaningful capabilities that they will use later in life.
Being Tevya’s Tsofim Head Counselor is a great privilege and opportunity. As an educator, I have the power to positively impact the lives of many people. But as the saying goes “with great power comes great responsibility.” I would like to take this opportunity to make sure each camper leaves camp with the best experience they can get. I want to give the campers what I got during my years at summer camp. I am looking forward to helping each camper connect to himself, learn social skills, discover his hidden talents, learn about Israel, and have a lot of fun!! See you at camp!
Jess (Barlas) Henderson: Bogrot (9th-10th Grade Girls)
My name is Jess Henderson and this is my fourth year as the Bogrot Head Counselor. This summer marks my 13th summer at Camp Tevya, combining my camper and counselor years (’86-’94), and the current years as a Head Counselor. I am very excited to be able to celebrate my Camp Bat Mitzvah with everyone this summer! During the 10 months away from Tevya, my family and I live in Natick, MA and I work as a Speech and Language Pathologist in a middle school setting in Framingham, MA. My three children, Zach, Mikayla and Kira, look forward to their two months in 03033 and I am blessed to be able to see their smiling faces while I am working each day! I love being a part of the Tevya community and to see each camper and counselor grow every summer, making new memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Ben Aronson: Bogrim (9th-10th Grade Boys)
Hey, I’m Ben and this will be my 20th summer at Camp Tevya. I started as a camper in 1998 and haven’t left yet! For the past six summers, I have enjoyed serving as the Bogrim Head Counselor. I’ve had many other roles at camp during my time, but my favorite was teaching campers to wakeboard and waterski. Tevya is a special place for me as some of my closest friendships were born on the shores of Lake Potanipo. Memories of campfires, Color War, and late night bunk talks bring a smile to my face. As the Bogrim Head Counselor, I am excited to work with our team of counselors to provide our campers with the same opportunities to make memories, build friendships, and develop leadership skills. I have a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, and am currently a doctoral student at William James College studying child and adolescent psychology. I also work as a clinician at Needham Youth Services where I provide school-based and outpatient clinical services to teens in the Needham community. When I’m not working, I enjoy waterskiing, playing hockey, watching hockey, talking hockey, spending time outdoors, and everything camp! I am counting down the days until we return to our summer home!