We are excited to present one of the most talented and experienced group of counselors you’ll find. Our staffers are a multi-talented group, and they boast a wide variety of valuable experiences with children. Here is our summer lineup.

Palo Alto Staff

Amanda McMurtry - I am a senior at Stanford University pursuing an undergraduate degree in Developmental Psychology and a graduate degree in Education.  I love working with kids of all ages and plan to become an elementary school teacher.  I love to bake, do arts and crafts, run around outside, or just sit and talk.  This is my first year as a counselor at Jefunira Camp, and I am so excited!  I can’t wait to meet you all and have an awesome summer together!

Anna Fraboni - Anna is eager to be back at Jefunira Camp for the third summer in a row.  She will return from a quarter abroad with Cal Poly at Sea traveling to numerous islands in the South Pacific, including Tahiti, Tonga, New Caledonia, and Maui.  Luckily, she gets back the day before camp starts!  She is a super senior at Cal Poly majoring in Social Sciences and Education with hopes of one day teaching first grade.  Basketball and dodge ball are her all time favorites, but she thoroughly enjoys each and every game played at camp.  

Avery Naar -  To be in the sun, or not to be in the sun, that is the question.  Once again, Avery has spent the entire fall, winter and spring pondering this puzzling question at the University of Rochester.  And once again, Avery has become enlightened just in the knick of time for Jefunira Camp.  The poem below, entitled He chose the sun! Because the sun is his favorite! Illustrates his thoughts on the matter.

Avery is ready to step back into the light, where all the snow will be out of sight,

And into the land of otterpops he’ll go, jumping and dodging up high and down low.

The sunny rays of sunlight will gently fall, as Jefuniraers play Bullseye, Gaga, and Peach Volleyball.

Counselors will take a day off at the beach, while Gladiators come as guests prepared to teach.

Eggs will live, and eggs will fly, Eggstravaganza will make us laugh and cry. 

And to dry up our tears we need not a rag, but an all-camp game of Capture the Flag! 

Then we’ll tip the bucket and be slippery snakes,

We’ll tie-dye our shirts and eat treats that we baked!

We’ll joke about our other lives doing laundry and chores,

As we all get lost in the world of Star Wars!

We’re having So much fun that we lose track of time,

Our House of Cards grows so tall it’s a crime!

Now the sun starts to set as we sing songs and dance, the counselor Lipsynch is perfect!

All campers are entranced!

“No we’re not tired!” yelps Sir Isaac Lime, a plea answered promptly by thrilling Story Time!

But at last our day ends and our hearts fill with sorrow,

“Fear not!” proclaims the sun…”I will be back tomorrow!!”

Bella Marriott - or Bella as everyone calls her, is excited to finally be going home to Palo Alto for the summer and reuniting with her family and her cat, Nisha. She has just finished her second year at Brooklyn College's Conservatory of Music as a vocal performance major, and loves singing anything from opera to rock music, playing the piano, working on cool art projects, and getting lost and confused in the big bad city of New York. She can’t wait to reconnect with her Californian roots during camp this summer!

Ben Grossman-Kahn - Having spent the post-college years backpacking through China, teaching 5th grade and preschool, founding a birthday party and treasure hunt business and teaching Kung Fu, Ben has once again been drawn back for his 7th year of Jefunira Camp!  Maybe it's the Otter Pops, maybe it's the chance to play Bennitch (an extraordinarily cool game invented by an extraordinarily cool guy) or maybe its simply the chance to play games, cook pretzels and perform lip syncs with the most awesome group of campers and counselors around! Ben has been busy behind the Jefunira scenes once again this year tinkering in the Jefunira laboratories, and promises campers some intriguing new games this year that may involve paint, 4-Square courts and coconuts..(probably not that last one actually- Ben ate all the coconuts during the experiment phase).  He can't wait to spend another summer out on the field with all the campers, and has been busy writing and learning plenty of new stories to share at story time!

Blakely Strand - Blakely Strand just finished her first year at the University of Oregon and is extremely happy to be back in the California sunshine. She loves to play tennis and is a huge fan of Oregon Ducks football and basketball. She could not live without food and is addicted to Starbursts and Sushi. Frozen yogurt is a close third favorite. Her sister is one of her best friends and she is thrilled that she will be joining her at the U of O next year. One of her favorite pass times is working with kids and she is very ecstatic to be a counselor at Jefunira this summer.

Caitlin Finnigan - Cait is about to leave home for her freshman year of college at USC.  She is a passionate football and basketball fan.  Go 49ers!  Fight on Trojans!  Go Lakers!  She loves reading, photography, singing, and coloring with her younger sister.  Cait has worked at children’s summer camps since fifth grade and is super excited to begin a summer of fun at Jefunira Camp! 

Chelsie Fish - Chelsie just finished her second year at the University of Oregon. She is so excited to spend her first summer away from home in the sunshine state and at Jefunira camp. She loves to play in the sun and be with friends. In her free time she is an avid runner, shopper and movie goer. Chelsie is so excited for camp to start and to meet all the campers!   

Corie Jarrett- Is returning after a 3 year hiatus from Jefunira Camp.  She has just completed her first year of a master’s program in social work at San Diego State University.  Recently returning from a trip to the island of Oahu, Corie has nothing but good things to say about the beautiful beaches, delicious shaved ice, and gorgeous scenery she took in during her visit.  She is so excited to be at camp for a 3^rd year and looks forward to having a fun-filled summer with lots of otter pops!

Daniel Young - Daniel Young is giddily returning to Jefunira Camp after an extended hiatus during which he trained with the elite champions of the UGGF (Ultimate Ga Ga Federation). A native of Seattle, Washington and a graduate of Stanford University, Daniel enjoys rockin' out in the sun, prison ball, house of cards, lip syncs, story time, and...most of all...gladiator day, when he can get some rest and relaxation on the beach with the other counselors. In his spare time, Daniel plays house of cards. He has at least fifteen pets, which are all named after important historical figures. Daniel thinks history is important (he teaches it at a high school in Sunnyvale), and he worships the bucket of fortune. 

Drew Wolfson - When Drew was growing up her favorite part of summer was the sun. She lived to see it everyday and feel it’s warmth shine from above. She always loved to do arts and crafts underneath its rays and run through the sprinklers with her best friends. Now she dreams of traveling the world and opening up her eyes to the hardships and miracles it can bring. She wants to change hatred into love and make an impact during her lifetime. She just finished her freshman year at UC Santa Cruz and is very proud of herself for getting through an extremely difficult year. Drew has an immense amount of compassion and still loves to run in the sun and dream of all the possibilities life will bring.

Eric Stewart - Eric is ecstatic to be back at Jefunira for a third summer. He has spent the last three years mastering the art of frisbee and has been kind enough to be this summer’s resident frisbee expert. Among all of Eric’s passions, he enjoys being outside and active the most.  A passion he developed when he too was a camper at Jefunira not too long ago. He enjoys long walks on the beach, and a romantic dinner, but when he wants to be less active, retires to activities like playing guitar and juggling. He will be entering his third year of college at Johns Hopkins University and intends to double major in Psychology and English. He hopes to pursue a career in Education and feels Jefunira is the perfect place to hone his teaching skills. His main goal this summer is to have fun, and make sure the campers truly know that Jefunira is “the cool way to spend your summer.”

Faye Leong - Faye recently finished her first year at McGill University, where she is majoring in Psychology. She absolutely loves: food, animals, and obviously - kids. She hopes to someday work in the culinary media (ideally the Food Network), and is an avid chef and eater. She is an only child, and so is looking forward to becoming a counselor and "adopting" some surrogate siblings! Faye recently returned from Japan, where spent time with family, and of course, ate about a metric ton of sushi. She is thrilled to be back in the Bay Area after weathering an 8-month winter (a.k.a. subzero blizzard) in Montreal, and is so excited to spend time in the sun with all the campers!

Jamie Gamble - Jamie is very excited to return back to his home state of California after spending 4 years at Oregon State University.  Jamie just graduated with a bachelor of science in Psychology and is excited to continue his studies in graduate school after a year off.  Aside from graduating, this summer is exciting for Jamie for another reason.  Jamie is pleased to say that this summer he will be returning to Jefunira camp to fill the position of Assistant Director.  When asked about his new position at camp, Jamie responded, “I think bacon goes well on most types of sandwiches.”  Jamie has been a camper, CIT and counselor at Jefunira camp and is excited to add a new chapter to his Jefunira career.   Though some of his time will be spent working in the office, Jamie is very excited for another exciting summer full of sun, fun games, and awesome kids.  In the past Jamie has said some of his favorite activities include wiffelball, peach volleyball, capture the flag, prison ball, tip the bucket, and counting grass.  Jamie is also very excited to reunite with his old buddy the Bucket of Fortune.  Jamie is convinced that this is going to be the best summer since French statesman Jules Cardinal Mazarin was born in the summer of 1602! 

Joanna Ingebritsen – Though she just finished her freshman year at Stanford University, Joanna is very much a five-year-old at heart. She enjoys jumping in/through leaf piles, puddles and sprinklers, and eats sweets at every possible opportunity. In spite of a rather severe height deficiency, she loves to play volleyball and basketball and likes having the ability to run around and under the more genetically blessed tall people. Joanna’s goals for the summer include learning how to French braid and mastering the longboard, but the thing she’s most excited about this summer is working at Jefunira Camp!

Katie Zappas - Katie just finished her freshman year at Willamette University in Salem, OR. There, she plays varsity volleyball and is studying Pre-Medicine in hopes of becoming a pediatrician. Now that she is home in sunny California for the summer, she is soaking up as much sun as possible to store for the next rainy Oregon winter. In her spare time, one could find her reading, napping, taking road trips, hanging out with her friends and family, or recycling to save the environment. She absolutely loves playing all sports and games and is immensely looking forward to her first summer at Jefunira Camp!

Nathan Sullivan - Nathan absolutely cannot wait for his third straight summer at Jefunira camp!!! He recently received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Boston University and is very excited to come back home to beautiful Northern California. His interests include playing any kinds of sports and sampling all the fine foods of the world (he has a torrid love affair with Burritos). Nathan also enjoys telling jokes, being goofy, laughing and smiling (smiling is his all-time favorite), and doing any sorts of games that can be played with a group of amazing kids! After having such a great time at Jefunira these past summers, he is literally counting down the hours until camp begins. Nathan is looking forward to meeting all of the campers and an amazing summer!  

Orlie Kapitulnik- Orlie, a fond lover of sunshine and popsicles, just finished her second year at the University of California, Davis. In her free time she enjoys flying kites, going on adventures with her friends, and picnics. Being an art studio major, she is also always eager to craft .After a fantastic first summer at Jefunira Camp, Orlie has finally recovered from eating all those otter pops and is ready to enjoy another great summer with the campers and staff!

Rachel Maiss - Rachel will be returning to Jefunira Camp this summer after a cold and rainy year in Eugene, Oregon where she is about to finish her last term as a Spanish major at the University of Oregon.  So, needless to say, she is definitely looking forward to spending her summer in sunny California with fun games, Otter Pops, and some of the coolest kids in the world at Jefunira Camp!  Rachel is heading to UC Davis for graduate school in the fall where she will study Transportation Technology and Policy.  In her spare time Rachel enjoys yoga, juggling, camping, hiking, singing, dancing, and laughing.  And she will challenge anyone, anywhere to a limbo competition - she has bruises on her knees to prove it.  

Rachel McGillis - Rachel just finished her Junior year at Bucknell University in central Pennsylvania where she is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy.  She is also a goalie on the Division 1 Bucknell Women's Water Polo team.  Rachel has three brothers, and grew up playing almost every sport possible.  She has lived in Los Altos her entire life, and loves coming back to sunny California after surviving the harsh east coast winters.  Her favorite things to do are: laugh, have fun outdoors, play sports, travel, and act like a kid again.  During this past Fall semester, Rachel circumnavigated the globe on a ship while stopping in ten different countries on the way.  This experience has sparked a strong desire for her to go into the Peace Corps or participate in the Teach for America program after her last year in college because her passion is working with kids.  She is looking forward to her first summer with Jefunira Camp and for the opportunity to learn, be challenged, and to have FUN!!!!

Rosalie Bergen- Rosalie has just finished her second year studying psychology at UC Santa Cruz and is excited to return to Jefunira Camp! In her spare time she loves to do all sorts of arts and crafts and enjoy the sunny outdoors (especially when there is water around to go swimming in!). Her favorite things to do are hang with her younger sister, read, play in the pool, go to the beach, bike ride, and attend Oakland Athletics baseball games. She is super ready for another fun filled summer out in the sunshine at Jefunira Camp and cannot wait to get the activities started! Otterpops anyone!?

Sami Johnson - Sami just completed her first year at the University of Washington where she is studying Psychology and Pre Medicine. Her favorite things to do are dance and perform, but she also loves scuba diving, playing on the beach, running (in the rain!) and just having fun and laughing. She must admit that she is also a fan of game shows, Wheel of Fortune being a true favorite. When not occupied by school, dance, or silly game shows, Sami just loves to be with fun people and take part in as many new experiences as possible! Sami is super excited to spend her summer back in sunny California at Jefunira Camp and can't wait to meet everyone and create some amazing memories!

Sara Verhalen - Sara just finished up her sophomore year at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania…and she could not be more excited about spending the summer back in California!!  She was a camp counselor once upon a time and has tried out other types of jobs since.  But trust her, nothing could compare to a summer filled with games, arts and crafts, the sun, tie dye t-shirts, and popsicles!  She simply can’t wait for camp to start.  Her hobbies include acting, beach volleyball, and watching American Idol.  When she is not babysitting or at a rehearsal, she can always be found by a pool with her friends.

Sheefteh Khalili - Sheefteh is returning to Jefunira Camp for her second summer and challenges all the campers to TRY and have more fun than she is planning to have in the Palo Alto sun. In other news, Sheefteh is a Southern California native who has fallen in love with the Bay Area in her two years living here and is sad to be moving back south in September to enter the real world and find a "job" as they are called. Sheefteh just earned her Master's Degree in Ethnic Studies from SFSU and is inching closer to becoming a "grown-up" but don't worry! She is still obsessed with Tie Dye, dodge ball, otter pops, tip the bucket, and making her color group the coolest of them all! She has also been accused of being a "Ninja" but there is not enough evidence yet to prove this. Please keep a close eye on her to see if "Sheefteh the Camp Counselor" is just a cover-up for her secret identity...the SENSEI.

Varoon Bose - Varoon has just survived his second year at Colgate University in upstate New York where he plans to double major in Psychology and Spanish. Besides freezing his behind off in the harsh winters of the east coast, Varoon can typically be found playing basketball, in front of the television watching ESPN or with his friends playing a game of cards. This is Varoon's second year working at Jefunira camp and can't wait to get back to Jefunira to play awesome games and eat otter pops in the California sun! And hopefully this year, there will be no head shavings involved :-)

Mountain View Staff

Amanda Rojas - Hello Everyone, my name is Amanda Rojas and I am returning for my 3rd year here at the awesome Jefunira Camp! I have just completed my junior year at Santa Clara University,Go Broncos! I am super excited to be working with the Junior Group this summer, because they are super fun! I am looking forward to painting the park, looking for mermaid treasures, and playing tip the bucket with the junior groups. my hobbies include watching Disney movies, dancing ballet folklorico, and studying in the library! this summer is going to be awesome, and i can't wait!

Katie Scott- Katie is super excited about her second summer at Jefunira Camp!! She recently completed a teaching credential program at San Francisco State and now is a substitute teacher in San Francisco. She had a fantastic camp experience last year and is highly anticipating another summer full of otter pops, house of cards, tons of tag, bucket of fortune, prison ball, and of course...seeing all the great campers and counselors!!!

Kristen Holloway - Kristen is a fun loving energetic giant kid. Even though everyone else tells her to grow up Kristen refuses to give in to something so boring. While being a student herself at Deanza she also entertains eighth graders at Moreland Middle School during the school year. Now that it is summer she cant wait to continue to entertain and have fun for her summer vacation.

Liz Cauley - After four years in rainy Oregon, Liz is back in California! She just finished her first year of the teaching credential program at San Jose State and will have credential in December. Liz went to Willamette University in Salem, Oregon where she received her degree in History. She loves photography, cheering at Giant's games and watching great movies. Liz is so excited for her first summer at Jefunira!

Mary McClain - Mary is so happy to be back for a sixth summer at Jefunira! Mary is a Santa Clara University graduate ('05) with a degree in Liberal Studies and a minor in French.  She now lives in San Francisco and just obtained her teaching credential from San Francisco State University.  During her commute from SF she brainstorms new tie dye designs and practices the verses to her favorite songs.  Aside from teaching elementary school students, Mary enjoys playing the violin, reading, playing soccer, watching baseball, and spending time with friends and family. She has also taken a lot of time this year to think about new speedball moves, more exciting relay races, and better ways to guard tennis balls and flags...But most of all she is thrilled and eager to spend another fabulous summer in the sun with all of her favorite campers (like you!).

Max Zipperstein - My name is Max Zipperstein and this will be my first summer working at Camp Jefunira.  I’m really excited to become a part of the Jefunira family and am looking forward to all the aspects camp has to offer.  I’ve worked as a counselor in the past at a residential camp in southern California for Camp Ramah when I was seventeen and eighteen years old.  I graduated from Gunn High School in 2005 and am currently pursuing my Bachelors degree in history at the University of Arizona.  I’m a huge outdoors person where I enjoy mountain biking, soccer, baseball, camping, etc.  I cannot wait for what this summer has in store for all of us.  It looks like a summer filled with fun and aspiration.

Megan Vosburgh - Megan spent her childhood in sunny San Jose putting on "productions" with her sister.  She still enjoys entertaining but has now channeled this energy into the classroom.  She just finished her second year at Sonoma State University where she enjoyed gaining experience with children while pursuing her degree and credential in elementary education. Obsessed with the color pink and smiles, she spends her free time at the beach and surrounded by her best friends.  She is excited to spend her second summer with Jefunira Camp and can't wait to enjoy red otter pops after getting drenched by campers in tip the bucket!

Micaela Rios- Micaela has always wanted to work as a summer camp counselor, and now will be working at Jefunira Camp this very summer. She is super duper excited and looks forward to meeting all of you! This fall, Micaela will be a big bad senior at Santa Clara University, where she is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Spanish and Sociology.  When she isn’t such a busy bee with her classes, she enjoys going to the beach, bike rides, dancing like no body is watching, eating lots and lots of ice cream (there are always at least two different types in the freezer, guaranteed), traveling (she spent a semester studying in Spain!), arts & crafts, being a baller (even though she wishes she was a bit taller), and spending time with her family.  When she was little, Micaela’s three younger brothers never wanted to play tea party. She figured that if you can’t beat them, then you might as well join them so she loves playing basketball and baseball.  Well, that’s all folks! I’ll be meeting you all soon!

Paige Armstrong - I just completed my third year at San Jose State University where I’m studying Social Work and Spanish. I love to read, swim, go on bike rides, spend time with my wonderful family, eat just about anything, and live in the moment! Hopefully, the many games I played and songs I sang when I was a kid at various kid’s camps in my hometown of Santa Rosa, California have prepared me for my first summer at Jefunira Camp. I’m looking forward to playing and being silly all summer long!

Peter Hughes - Peter just finished his last year at Palo Alto High School and is heading up to Willamette University later this summer. He plans to study Spanish and International Relations.  Described by his friends and three younger siblings as fun, athletic, and occasionally goofy, this 19 year-old Eagle Scout loves skiing, hiking, biking, and drama, too.  He hopes to be a great counselor and help all the campers to have a fun and memorable summer.

top^Robbie Steinberg - Robbie just finished his third year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a Kinesiology major and is excited to be able to be returning for his third year as a counselor as well.  Jefunira has been the highlight of his summer the past two years and he cannot imagine it being any different this summer. Over the school year he has been working on some camp skills such as tie dying, capture the flag strategy, food art technique, and otter pop speed racing (which usually ends up in a big ice headache) and he is ready to share all of his new skills with everyone.  Robbie looks forward to seeing all of his camper friends from last year and cannot wait to make tons of new friends this year!!