National Ramah Leadership
Development Initiatives

Ramah is an incubator for Jewish leadership. Through the daily routines of Jewish living and learning, as well as specially designed programs to foster leadership, Ramah campers and staff internalize the skills and attitudes that facilitate their communal involvement as teens and as adults. A pillar of the National Ramah Commission’s annual programming is the focus on formal movement-wide staff training opportunities to complement the exemplary staff training that takes place within each camp’s staff community.

Bert B. Weinstein Institute for Counselor Training Under the educational direction of the National Ramah Commission, the Weinstein Institute provides an intensive experience of Jewish studies, leadership workshops, and the sharing of best practices. This annual five-day program is designed for a select group of college freshmen and sophomores returning to camp as counselors, chosen by camp directors for their leadership potential.

Louis and Shoshana Winer Institute for Rashei Edot (Division Heads) National Ramah provides four days of intensive training and education for these leaders just prior to the camp season each summer.

Alexander M. Shapiro Fellowship Rabbinical, cantorial, and education graduate students at The Jewish Theological Seminary receive stipends in addition to their summer camp salary as encouragement to become educators and leaders in camp. Their Ramah experience and the fall seminar they attend become an important element of their graduate education.

The Emerging Leaders Seminar By director invitation only, this seminar is for individuals with extraordinary potential to work for Ramah in senior positions year-round. The seminar meets monthly throughout the year, with JTS graduate students and other New York-area senior Ramah leaders, to encourage consideration of Ramah career options.

Ramah Shabbaton in Israel Staff members from all Ramah camps and Israel programs, including shlichim and North Americans studying in Israel, are invited to come together for this annual Shabbaton.

Morton M. and Miriam Steinberg Fellowship National Ramah organizes international trips (including Argentina, Germany, and Ukraine) for select groups of 21- to 25-year-old senior staff members to interact with Conservative youth leadership around the world.