Executive Staff Frank Silberlicht, Camp Director Frank Silberlicht became director of CYJ-Texas in 1998. Raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he has always believed strongly in the Jewish and Zionist traditions that are the foundation of the YJ movement.
Frank has worked in summer camps for more than 12 years and has made multiple trips to Israel. In 1995, he served as the Assistant Regional Director for the Texas/Oklahoma/Louisiana Region of Young Judaea. From 1996-1998, Frank was the assistant camp director at Tel Yehuda, YJ's senior leadership camp in upstate New York.
Frank holds a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Oklahoma State University. He loves working with children, and his hobbies include traveling, reading, and playing tennis and soccer. Frank, his wife Simone, and their sons Elan and Jacob are delighted to be part of the CYJ family. Frank is looking forward to watching both his family and Camp Young Judaea grow.
Yael Twito, Assistant Camp Director Yael grew up in Plano, Tx where she was involved in Young Judaea since the age of 8. She attended CYJ from Nitzanim until Bogrim. She then moved on to be a camper at Tel Yehudah and went to Israel on Machon.
She worked as a staff member at CYJ before heading off to Year Course. She returned to go to George Washington University, majoring Middle Eastern Studies. She took time during college to study abroad in Israel at the University of Haifa and returned to finish up her degree at GWU. She worked for many summers at Camp Young Judaea-Texas during college, one summer at TY, and one summer as a counselor on Machon in Israel.
After she graduated, she returned to Israel to work as a counselor on Year Course. When she got back to Texas, she decided to move to Houston to work for CYJ full time.
She got married to Bar in December 2007 and they are currently living in Houston and working for camp together.
Bar Twito, Director of Operations As Director of Operations, Bar oversees all year-round activities and retreats at the Young Judaea Retreat and Conference Center. In December 2007, Bar married Yael Kahalnik, Assistant Camp Director.
Abby Finkelstein, Camp Bookkeeper Abby Finkelstein is the bookkeeper for Camp Young Judaea and the Young Judaea Retreat and Conference Center. She is a native Houstonian, a CYJ alumna and a life member of Hadassah. Abby has three children who have been very involved in the Young Judaea movement. Shana, Matthew and David have all attended CYJ for years. Shana and Matthew have also been CYJ tzevet and both attended Young Judaea Year Course in Israel. Abby’s participation on the CYJ team goes far beyond her bookkeeping duties, as she is involved in making decisions on a variety of subjects throughout the year.
Robin Dorfman, Camp Registrar Robin Dorfman , our Registrar and a Life Member of Hadassah, comes to CYJ-Texas with many years of administrative and camp experiences. She worked for almost ten years for the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Utica, MS, as Food Service Director, has taught 7-12th grade English, and has held a variety of positions as a volunteer in the Jewish community. She and her husband Lu have three children who grew up in Jewish camping, visited Israel as a part of their camp experience, and all attended the University of Texas in Austin. Robin sits on the board of the Jewish Children’s Regional Service and is excited to be able to continue to make a contribution to Jewish children in the area.
Barbara Eisenbaum, Administrator Barbara Eisenbaum, our Adminstrator was born in Miami Beach, Florida. Barbara has a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Florida International University and a degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Houston. She and her husband Ben have two sons that both attended Camp Young Judaea. Jeffrey has workied 4 summers at camp and this past summer Kevin was in Israel with Machon, Young Judaea's Summer Israel Program. Barbara is a Life Member of Hadassah.
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View this past summer’s highlights in our camp video.
