Emily Odesser considers Camp Ramah in New England her happy place — an “oasis in this crazy world.” It’s where she met her husband and now works year-round, applying her background in social work.
The Rockville resident has served as the director of camper care at Camp Ramah since August 2024.
Before that, she was a hospice social worker for five years between Montgomery Hospice and JSSA.
Odesser also has work experience at Ramah Day Camp of Greater Washington, Young Judaea Israel, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County in Michigan and Shalem College in Jerusalem. She belongs to B’nai Israel Congregation in Rockville.
Tell me about your Jewish upbringing and background.
I grew up in Potomac going to Beth Sholom and Ohr Kodesh [congregations]; my family belonged to both. I went to [Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School] K through 12 and I went to Ramah all the way through, as well. [Attending CESJDS] was awesome. My best friends in the world were in my kindergarten class and we’re all still really close, which is great. And two of my three kids are there now too.
Have you always wanted to work at a Jewish summer camp?
Yes, I’m a social worker by training. I grew up going to camp; I worked at camp as a counselor for a bunch of summers. I was a Rosh Edah — unit leader — at Ramah and on staff for seven years. … I actually worked in hospice care for around five years, and then this opportunity at Ramah Camp came up. I was like, “This is awesome. This camp is my happy place. My kids get to grow up there.” When I set out to become a social worker, I did a Jewish communal leadership program. I got a certificate in Jewish communal leadership and the social work degree, but my focus had been clinical. So, when I graduated, I wasn’t necessarily expecting that I’d be working at camp, but it definitely makes sense in the long run.
What are your responsibilities as the director of camper care?
During the off season, all year, I’m doing new camper intakes. When someone applies to camp, I do a conversation with the parents to make sure the camp is the right fit, finding out if there [are] any different needs or supports that they need to be successful at camp and assessing [to see] if a kid is ready. I’m involved in the planning of the camp program. At camp itself, I oversee the whole camper care team; every age group has a camper care adult who works with them and deals with social, emotional, mental health-type things. I oversee that team and get involved as needed.
Your career is marked by lots of Jewish communal involvement. Why do you do what you do?
I think that’s just how I grew up. I was the youngest of four kids, and my siblings are all a lot older than me; my sister closest to my age is 10 years older than me, so I was basically the only child in my house for a while. I had a lot of years where I was at home with my parents and my school friends, so my JDS and Ramah friends became like family to me, like siblings in a way. I think that communal connection is what kept me there. Then, when I went to college, it was just natural to find a place in Hillel, and I kept going back to camp every summer to work. For the longest time, that was my only real work experience, and the community aspect of that job was so much a part of what I loved about it.
Today, I work at the camp I grew up at. My kids are at the school I went to. Just because of the amazing experience I had, I just like to give back. It’s about the community and the social connections.
What are some of your upcoming personal and professional goals?
At camp, I was walking a lot — the campus is really big, so I was walking like six miles a day, and I would like to maintain a healthy exercise routine while I’m at home over the year.
Now that I’ve had one summer under my belt [in my role], I have ideas of little things I might want to do differently or trainings I want to plan for staff week about how we respond to kids’ behavior. [We want to look] at behavior as something that’s telling a story and trying to tell us that something deeper is going on, as opposed to [the children] just being defiant.
