Our Staff

Our staff is legendary. Applicants are carefully screened. Counselors are carefully trained and matched to campers. A staff-to-camper ratio of 2:1 assures that children receive the personal attention they need to thrive. Best of all, our staff makes sure that the wonder of camp never ends: they maintain ongoing relationships with campers throughout the year as Big Brothers and Big Sisters. As one counselor said, “When you become a counselor at Camp Simcha, you make a friend for life.”

Meet Our Head Counselors

Ari Dembitzer, Boys Head Counselor and Director, Lubeck Fellowship

All summer long, Ari is followed by a never-ending line of campers, for whom he is a fountain of love, acceptance, and affection, and staff members, for whom he is a role model.

Ari’s first summer at camp was in 1997, and he was immediately smitten. He continued to spend summers at Camp Simcha and Camp Simcha Special while studying for his rabbinical degree and his master’s in public administration, which he earned at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Affairs. He became boys’ head counselor in 2001.

In addition to his year-round responsibilities as head counselor, Ari serves as Director of the Lubeck Fellowship in Jewish Nonprofit and Communal Leadership and coordinates Chai Lifeline’s annual Disney World trip, sponsored by the Ohr Meir Foundation, together with girls’ head counselor Rivky Schwartz. He also collaborates with Chai Lifeline’s many volunteer counselors and Big Brothers and Sisters to organize camp reunions and weekend retreats for campers. Additionally, Ari serves as the Senior Rabbi at Beth Israel Omaha.

Rivky Schwartz Zuckerman, Girls Head Counselor

As the girls’ head counselor for Camp Simcha, Rivky inspires untold numbers of campers and counselors, changing lives with her kindness, intelligence, compassion, grace, and endless love.

She was introduced to Camp Simcha in 1995 by a teacher who urged her to spend a summer as a Camp Simcha counselor. She returned, first as a counselor, then as a division head and assistant head counselor. She became the girls’ head counselor in 2000.

In addition to her responsibilities as head counselor, Rivky coordinates the annual trip to Disney World, sponsored by the Ohr Meir Foundation, and undertakes numerous projects throughout the year.

Rivky is a Michigan native. She grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and earned her masters in education there before heading to the Big Apple and Camp Simcha/Camp Simcha Special.

Eli Braun, LMSW, Camp Simcha Without Borders Director

Eli Braun began his journey with Camp Simcha in 2015 as a waiter and later became a counselor. By his fourth year, he served as a division head, and in his sixth year, he helped launch Camp Simcha Without Borders. This year marks his tenth summer with Camp Simcha. Eli holds an LMSW from LIU and is from Brooklyn.

Rivkah Reichmann, Associate Director, Camp Simcha Special

Camp Simcha Special campers and their families have a special friend in Rivkah Reichmann. As associate director, she works closely with each camper’s family to ascertain children’s needs at camp, and works tirelessly to assure they are met from the moment they leave for camp until they are back in their parents’ arms.

Her expertise and input helped create Camp Simcha Special, and she’s been an important presence at the camp since its inception. Prior to turning her attention to Camp Simcha Special, she was a social worker at Chai Lifeline, Camp Simcha Special’s parent organization and at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in New York. Ms. Reichmann is also a former Camp Simcha counselor and was an active Chai Lifeline volunteer before joining the professional staff. She received her MSW from New York University School of Social Work and completed a post-masters fellowship program at New York University.