Over 300 combined years of Ivy League Day Camp experience
Rick Schmid, our Head Counselor will be making sure that everyone has Big League Fun in 2008. Rick has done it all at IL. He drove a bus, was the Athletic Director, Special Events Coordinator and Group Leader before becoming our Head Counselor. In total Rick has been with Ivy League for 29 years and loves every minute of it! Rick has been in education for over 24 years and is currently the Director of Athletics and Health & Physical Education Supervisor in the Keyport School District. He enjoys spending time with his family at the beach. His wife Tammie has worked at Ivy League as an Athletic Specialist and currently is an ILDC Fantasy Camp Counselor. His children, Justin and Kaitlyn have enjoyed attending Ivy League.
This is Audrey Gold's 22nd year at Ivy League. Audrey spent 5 years as a Counselor and the past 16 years as our Spirit & Special Events Coordinator. During the winter you will find Audrey in the office preparing for the summer, booking lots of terrific trips and fun entertainment. Big League Fun does not happen on its own. Audrey and her husband Mark have two children Brad and Amanda. Both have enjoyed many memorable years of Big League Fun as campers and counselors.
This will be Lori Goldberg’s 8th year at Ivy League. Her first 3 summers she was a Preppy Counselor and for the past 5 summers has been the Mini Day Division Group Leader. Lori lives in Morganville with her husband Barry and three children. Her daughter Jamie is a Lifeguard at Camp and Joshua and Matthew are in the Travel program.
Janis Ventre returns for her 10th summer at Ivy League. Janis worked 5 years as a counselor in the Pre-School Division. This will be Janis’ 5th summer as the Group Leader
of the Pre-School Division. Janis has been teaching for 10 years and is currently teaching in Staten Island, NY. Janis and her husband Roy have 2 children, Scott and Melissa. Both attended Ivy League as campers. Melissa was also a counselor and Scott currently is a counselor.
Monica Tobio is back for her 7th summer. She served as the Music and Movement teacher for 2 summers and for the past 5 summers as the Lower Division Group Leader. Monica has been teaching for 17 years and is currently teaching 3rd grade at Clark Mills School in Manalapan where she was chosen Teacher of the Year for 2007. Monica and her husband Joe have 2 children, Courtney and Matthew, who both attend Ivy League. They are all very excited to be at camp. In her spare time, Monica enjoys good music, songwriting, and spending time with family and friends. She especially loves the Ivy League friends that she’s made over the past few years.
Sharon Katzanek is our Middle Division Group Leader. Sharon will be back for her 17th summer of Big League Fun. She was a Middle Division Counselor for 8 years and has been the Middle Division Group Leader for 9 years. Sharon has been teaching for over 20 years and is currently teaching in Elizabeth, NJ. Sharon and her husband Stu have 2 daughters, Kate and April. Both attended and worked at Ivy League. Sharon loves to collect earrings. You will always be able to tell what is going on at camp by looking at Sharon's “ears”.
This is Jeff Sheiner’s 4th summer at Ivy League. For Jeff’s first 2 summers he was a Water Safety Instructor and an Athletic Specialist. Jeff returns to us this year as the Group Leader for the Upper Division. Prior to working at Ivy League he was a Group Leader for
11 years at a local private day camp. Jeff presently is a Special Education teacher in Franklin Township where he has taught grades 4-12. He has been teaching there for the last 26 years. In the evenings Jeff works with developmentally disabled adults, which he has been doing for the past 22 years. Jeff is married and has 2 daughters. Jeff is an avid skier and exercise enthusiast. He also enjoys photography and reading. He looks forward to camp every summer. He fully believes that a positive camp experience can have a helpful, long lasting and beneficial impact on all his campers.
Lindsay Singer is the Group Leader for the Grads. She has been a part of every program here since she was born, making this her 24th summer at IL! Lindsay has been a counselor for the Upper, Grads, and Post Grad divisions in the past. This will be her third summer as the Grad Group Leader. She loves coming to Camp everyday and looks forward to the exciting trips. During the school year Lindsay teaches 6th grade Science and Social Studies at Pine Brook School in Manalapan. She spends her free time playing soccer and going to Broadway!
Howie Gandelman will be back for his 7th summer of Big League Fun. Howie heads up our CAP Program. Coming from New York with his family to the area, he brings 25 years of fortified experience. His experience ranges from being a superb counselor, outstanding counselor trainer, and a well-rounded supervisor, that includes directing a Sports Camp. In addition, Howie is not the only one in his family enjoying the Big League Fun; his daughter Erynn and son Isaac experience the enthusiasm as well.
Keith Fessel and Penny Kreinberg, run a tight ship in the Post Grad Division. Keith has been at Ivy League for 26 fun-filled summers. He is a U.S. History teacher at Ft. Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. His 3 children have enjoyed the travel programs at Ivy League.
Penny Kreinberg has been working at Ivy League for 24 exhilarating summers. During the rest of the year, she works in Brooklyn as an Academic Intervention Specialist in an elementary school helping 4th and 5th graders with reading and math.
Eric Silverman is the Group Leader for the L.I.T.’s. This is his 23rd summer at Ivy League. He has been a Senior Counselor in Lower, Middle, and CAPS divisions. During the school year, Eric teaches 5th grade in Monroe. His favorite pastimes are reading and watching the Mets, Jets, and Devils.
Gloria Lemonick, our Office Manager, started working at Ivy League Day Camp 38 years ago, as a part time typist. She has held the position of Office Manager for 35 years. She lives in Manalapan with her husband, Charles (Chick) to whom she has been happily married for 50 years. Her 3 children grew up at ILDC as campers and staff. Now her grandchildren love attending the camp.
Neal Felsen, our long time Transportation Director is now in his 37th season making sure that our campers arrive and get home safely every day. He is a retired New York City High School teacher and has spent more years working at Ivy League than he did in his “real” job. Both of his daughters, Becky & Mara attended and worked at Ivy League. His 1 year old granddaughter, Deana is very special to him. When he is not at Ivy League, he spends time ‘tearing up’ some of the finest golf courses in the world.
This is Meryl Fischer’s 16th summer at Ivy League. She has been the Creative Supervisor for 2 years, and the Handicraft teacher for 14 years. Meryl and her husband
Bob have two children, Matthew and Genna. Both children grew up at Ivy League. Genna
still enjoys camp as a Grad Counselor. During the winter Meryl teaches at the Ivy League
Pre-School.
Frank Gualtieri serves as Camp Athletic Supervisor and is in his 15th season at Ivy League Day Camp. He spent 11 years as a Sports Specialist prior to accepting the Sports Director position. Frank is a Health and Physical Education teacher at Freehold Township High School and is the Varsity Baseball coach for the Freehold Patriots. A former college baseball pitcher, Frank lives in Brick and loves all sports, going to the beach, the gym and working with children.
Valerie Rogers returns to camp for her 4th summer. Her first two summers at Ivy League were spent teaching Mini day, Pre-school and Lower division campers to swim. This year she returns as the Waterfront Supervisor. Valerie has been a Water Safety Instructor for over 20 years, and has worked for the American Red Cross as a Health & Safety Director for numerous years. She still volunteers for the Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross. She has been a teacher for the past 12 years, and is currently teaching 5th grade in Keyport as well as coaching Keyport’s Middle School Field Hockey team and running the Student Council. Valerie spends her free time playing softball and rugby. Her daughter Kristina loves being a camper at Ivy League and asks throughout the winter when she can go back!