HONOREES
Jon is a lifelong Ramahnik: starting at Ramah Nyack, followed by four summers as a CRB camper (Gesher ‘96), Ramah Seminar, and then three summers on CRB staff. He currently serves as the VP of Finance on CRB’s Executive Committee, having previously overseen Development and Governance for the CRB Board, as well as being an active member of the camp’s Strategic Planning committee. Jon loves giving back to an institution that has given him so much, including lifelong friendships (B-10 back-to-back, represent), a “vacation” spot for many Labor Day weekends, and the ideal summer home for his children.
Jon lives in Englewood, New Jersey, with his wife Rachel (former CRB camper and staff member) and their three children, Eliana (Bogrim ’22), Maya (Gesher ’26) and Noam (Gesher ’29). They are active members of Kehillat Kesher. Each of Jon’s kids started their Ramah journeys at Nyack before graduating to CRB for Ta’am, and Maya and Noam are already planning for a tear-filled banquet when they finish their Gesher summers. Many of Jon’s Englewood friends are current CRB parents (and former campers/staff) who live vicariously through their kids’ current camp experiences, all while ensuring Jon stays sane without his kids for seven weeks. Jon is still extremely close with his “Camp boys;” even 28 years after their Gesher summer; his phone is constantly buzzing with texts on their group chat about Camp (and fantasy football).
Jon’s children attend SAR High School and Schechter Bergen, and Jon currently serves on the Schechter Executive Committee as Treasurer. Professionally, Jon is the CFO of Accordion, a New-York based consulting firm focused on the private equity industry, where he has loved each day of work for the past 10 years. He often says that his current job is the 2nd best job he has ever had; the first, of course, being his three summers as a CRB counselor.
KAREN AND JONATHAN KAPLAN
Jonathan was raised in a Conservative Jewish home in Philadelphia. His grandfather was a leader in Philadelphia’s Jewish community and president of Akiba Hebrew Academy for many years. Jonathan grew up with strong connections to Israel and Conservative Judaism – but not much in the way of formal Jewish education.
Karen is a Jew by choice. She converted when they were married and made up for lost time by learning Hebrew, how to read Haftorah and Torah, and perfecting a matzah kugel recipe.
Jonathan and Karen raised their three sons (Josh, Adam and Jeremy) in Tenafly, New Jersey, separated by the NJ Turnpike from Jonathan’s Jewish roots. So, when it came to sending their children to nursery school, the Kaplans chose the Jewish route. And the school Karen liked best was the nursery school of the nearby Orthodox synagogue. Next on the Jewish educational path was the Orthodox Moriah School in Englewood, the only established Jewish school located nearby.
But Jonathan and Karen strongly believed in and practiced Conservative Judaism, making Ramah Berkshires their summer camp of choice. Camp was fun, a time to become closer with old friends and make new ones – to do all that children go to camp to do – all while living in a warm and supportive environment of Conservative Jewish living and learning. Their children learned from Ramah and they learned from their children. All ten of Jonathan and Karen’s grandchildren spent summers at Ramah Berkshires and attended Jewish day schools, and Jonathan and Karen have been longtime supporters of these institutions.
Jonathan and Karen have contributed to their Conservative Jewish communities in many ways - serving as board members and officers of synagogues, communal organizations and schools, including Solomon Schechter of Bergen County, of which Adam and Jeremy are proud graduates. Karen learned to leyn at Temple Emanu-el in Englewood – a skill she continues to use at Park Avenue Synagogue. For several years, she organized the Sunday minyan and daily minyan Torah readings at Or Zarua.
When Karen decided to delve deeper into Judaism and Jewish texts, she enrolled at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she received a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies. She has since served on one of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America’s advisory boards.
Jewish education and the Ramah Berkshires camp experience have had a profound impact on Jonathan and Karen’s children and grandchildren. The Kaplans recognize that excellent Conservative Jewish schools and camps require dedicated Jewish professionals to run, staff and innovate them. To that end, and to ensure the future of these important institutions, they support rabbinical students at JTS who wish to pursue a career in Jewish education or camping.
Amy Winiker Forrest is a proud Camp Alum (Gesher ‘04) and current Board Member. She previously served as the Ramah Berkshires Alumni Association President from 2018 until 2023, and a
Hanhallah member since 2012. At Camp she worked on staff for seven summers (three as a counselor and four as a
Rosh Edah).
Amy’s Ramah journey began when her older brother Evan started attending Camp in 1993. She loved getting to see CRB when her parents, Eillene and Barry, would take her up for Visiting Day, and finally boarded the bus to Wingdale herself as a Cochavim camper in 1997. Some of Amy’s favorite memories of her camper experience include:
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Her role as Hermione in Tzeirim 2000’s seminal production of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone”
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Singing “Nachamu” in Makeylah (chorus) during Kabbalat Shabbat and seeing the hundreds of smiling faces in the Amphitheater
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Her record-low 2 minutes and 37 seconds of playing for the Chug Girls’ Basketball team on Yom Palmer during her Gesher summer (before begging her coaches to take her out of the game)
As a staff member, Amy loved getting to make the Ramah magic happen for a new generation of campers and was fortunate to work with and learn so much from the dozens of tzevet members who became her friends and mentors.
Amy is a graduate of Northeastern University in Boston where she studied Communications. She spent a semester of college studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem with many of her Camp friends and spent a fabulous (and delicious) year after college studying in Paris.
Professionally, Amy is a freelance event planner working with corporate and non-profit clients. She previously worked at TikTok, Fortune and TIME magazines and a digital marketing agency. Amy’s non-profit event experience includes roles for the Clinton Global Initiative, as well as Schechter Bergen. She joined the Board of Trustees for Schechter Bergen in 2015.
Amy is indebted to her parents, Eillene and Barry, for recognizing the impact and lasting importance of sending Amy and Evan to Jewish day school and summer camp. Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County and Camp Ramah in the Berkshires are the two formative organizations of her life and the friends she made there are her “village” and “lifers”. She considers it a true gift to be able to volunteer with these wonderful communities now as an adult.
Amy is married to Andrew Forrest, and they live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan together with their two really cute kids and future campers - Noah and Margo.