Staff

Meet Camp KEFF’s Great Staff

At Camp KEFF, our top priority is having the absolute best program leadership and stellar camp counselors. We understand that it is our staff who make Camp KEFF GREAT. Our Directors, Managers and Unit Heads have tremendous experience in creating a summer day camp environment that is unrivaled. And we see ourselves as an important step into leadership and success in any career for the talented young adults we hire each summer to serve as our camp counselors. We provide extensive training for all our camp staff. We make sure they have the skills to design the fun, to ensure that each child feels that they are an important member of a strong community of friends, and that our campers can safely experiment with lots of new concepts and activities.

Yasmin Gomez

Assistant Youth Director: Camp

Yasmin started her KEFF adventure as a Counselor in Training in 2014. And since then, she’s taken on a number of roles: first as a camp counselor, and then as Unit Head for Yomah (Grades 1-2). Most recently, she served as Summer 2022’s Camp Manager overseeing Signature, Adventure, and Mix & Match camps, as well as Keff Teen Adventures. Each new role has taught her something that she’s carried with her to the next step on her journey.

Just like Mod Podge—her favorite camp craft supply—Yasmin helps bring everyone together in her own special and shining way. Creating meaningful bonds and watching campers grow from season to season are both things she truly values about her work here at Camp KEFF.

Yasmin loves watching kids embrace the new experiences they encounter at camp, and she looks forward to developing future camp programs that foster their creativity, ingenuity, and growth. She can’t wait to see your child for another season of KEFF!

If you could describe Camp Keff in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, impactful, and messy (the way camp should be)!

Monica

Youth Coordinator

Meet Monica, Camp Keff’s new Youth Coordinator! She’s the colorful yarn that brings together the diverse strands of our busy youth office.

Monica’s truly KEFF at heart! She enjoys so many of the activities that are campers’ fan favorites. For one: she loves cooking… which is fitting, because she knows the recipe for keeping everything at Camp Keff running smoothly, while helping to serve up unforgettable camp moments. Plus, she loves letting her artistic spirit flourish, whether she’s painting or “getting green” with terrariums and moss walls. And, she’s enjoyed many family camping adventures—so she knows just how special an overnight under the stars can be!

Originally from Argentina, Monica now calls our local community home. She looks forward to experiencing the entertaining, energetic, and totally KEFF activities we have planned for this summer, and she can’t wait to meet YOU and your camper!

What do you most love about working with our campers?

“I absolutely love seeing how our campers react to all the amazing activities we have in store, from soccer (a personal favorite of mine) to magic tricks. Every day at camp is a brand-new adventure, filled with smiles and surprises.”

Nicole Francis

Senior Director of Early Childhood Education, Youth and Family

Without a doubt, Nicole brings the KEFF to each camp day. As a former Camp KEFF camper and counselor—and now as the Senior Director of the PJCC’s children’s programs—Nicole’s knowledge and experience enable her to foster an environment that’s everything kids (and parents) love about camp. She knows the social, emotional, and intellectual benefits of creativity, the encouragement of silly messiness, intellectual exploration, and affirmation of a children’s authentic self.

Nicole loves that, on any given day of camp, she’ll learn something new and different about the world—and herself—from our campers, and she’s inspired by their curiosity and readiness for adventure. She dedicates each day to making sure Camp KEFF is a place where our youngest campers can connect with their friends, embrace their creativity, and stretch their willingness to try new things… just like she did as a youthful camper.

What’s a favorite camp memory of yours?

My favorite recent camp memory was when our staff performed a skit at mifcad in the morning.  Campers told them they wanted the skit (about cooking eggs) to be done “hip hop-era” style.  By the end of the skit, everyone was in tears laughing.  I just felt lucky that our talented counselors stayed the rest of the summer and didn’t take their show on the road.

"The staff at Camp KEFF have all been amazing, they are super helpful at drop-off and pick-up, and communicating with them was smooth. Great activities."