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BB Camp hires three staffers
With the reopening of summer camps, B’nai B’rith Camp has
hired three new staff members to further serve the community and
align with its strategic priorities. BB Camp offers overnight camp
on a lakeside campus on the Oregon coast, several day camps and
year-round youth, family and community engagement programs.
Ben Charlton returns to BB Camp as the chief program officer.
He previously worked for BB Camp in sever-
al positions including five years as overnight
camp director. He moved to Maryland last
year to be closer to his family and serve as
the director of programming at Main Street
Connect, working with adults with disabili-
Cara Abrams with husband, Tony, and daughter, Ruth Micah. ties.
Eastside Jewish Commons Under the direction of the CEO Michelle
hires first executive director Koplan, Ben will build a vibrant Jewish
community through program innovation,
Eastside Jewish Commons has hired its first executive director. development and implementation. Ben’s responsibilities include
Cara Abrams will begin her new post to help build Jewish life on implementing the agency’s strategic vision of program; oversee-
Portland’s eastside on July 6, 2021. ing a portfolio of programs and related services; evaluating the
Cara is a native Oregonian from Eugene who has been in Seattle effectiveness of programs to provide ongoing feedback; helping to
for the past five years. She describes herself as a “Jewish commu- promote and diversify funding through new programs and philan-
nal leader and educator working to build community that is inclu- thropic support; and providing mentoring, guidance, supervision
sive, innovative and intersectional.” She was director of education and professional development to staff.
with the Kavana Cooperative and co-chair and board member of Ben received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in econom-
Limmud Seattle, a global movement of 90+ grassroots and volun- ics from the University at Buffalo and first joined the BB Camp
teer-run learning festivals connected by mission and values. community in 2013 as the Jewish education director. Ben and his
“We are so honored to have the opportunity to work with Cara,” fiancé, Sari, love spending time outdoors, enjoying regular hikes,
says EJC Board Chair Mia Birk. “Her energy, experience and pas- and walking on the beach with their dog, Roger.
sion are a perfect fit for what we’re trying to accomplish: building, Rikki Nouri is BB Camp’s new commu-
expanding and deepening our diverse connections to Judaism.” nity care and inclusion director, who will
Earlier this month, EJC and Congregation Shir Tikvah moved provide culturally competent mental-health
into a shared 13,000-square-foot space at 2420 NE Sandy Blvd. clinical and inclusion services to the diverse
Shir Tikvah has begun having in-person services and educational community of BB Camp. Rikki will guide
gatherings. And EJC is readying the space to host all-ages pro- BB Camp’s inclusive practices, specifical-
gramming presented by numerous organizations and synagogues ly overseeing campers and staff care and
– a goal Cara is ready to aid. well-being to the diverse community of BB
“As a Jewish community builder, the pandemic has taught me Camp. She has a Ph.D. from the Technion,
many lessons about how and why we gather,” says Cara. “We all Israel, in organizational psychology and a bachelor’s in psychol-
seek to feel connected to something relevant and meaningful, and ogy from the University of Haifa. She moved to the United States
EJC is an amazing platform for meeting these needs – socially, in 2015 for her post-doc at Penn State University. Rikki has taught
intellectually and spiritually. I am inspired by the energy driving organizational behavior courses at Portland State Business School.
this venture into action and am thrilled to join the team!” She is on the Greater PDX Hillel board of directors.
For more information about EJC, visit ejcpdx.org. Rikki loves using her vast experiences working with at-risk
Rabbi Barnett to chair Oregon Board of Rabbis youth, people with disabilities and mental health diagnoses. In her
free time, Rikki enjoys Israeli folk dancing, mindfulness medita-
Rabbi Benjamin Barnett will succeed Rabbi Eve Posen as chair tion, yoga and jogging. She enjoys spending time with her husband
of the Oregon Board of Rabbis July 1, 2021. The Oregon Board and three kids.
of Rabbis supports the rabbis of Oregon and Southwest Wash- Nicole Danberg has a long history with BB Camp and is excited
ington. The board comprises rabbis who to be back as the new operations coordina-
are ordained from across the spectrum of tor. Nicole is responsible for assisting in the
Jewish life and observance. OBR serves management of effective and streamlined ad-
to find common ground among colleagues ministrative systems, information technology,
from all movements in Judaism. It ad- safety/security and human resources.
dresses key social and ethical issues and Nicole was born and raised in Portland and
represents the religious voice of Oregon’s spent many of her summers as a BB Camper.
Jewish community. She graduated from Oregon State University in
Rabbi Barnett serves as rabbi of Havurah 2016 with a bachelor’s in psychology. In 2014,
Shalom. In that role, he strives to listen deeply and accompany she became a BB Camp counselor and then worked in several roles
others in ways that support healing, growth and meaning in the for the camp. Before joining BB Camp’s year-round staff, Nicole
lives of individuals and in the community. As a teacher of Jewish worked with people experiencing homelessness and severe mental
meditation and contemplative prayer, he works to inform the pur- illness at a nonprofit in Washington D.C. Most recently, she spent
suit of justice with the wisdom and compassion born of spiritual her time working on various political campaigns.
practice. He is passionate about building multi-faith and multicul- In her spare time, Nicole likes to go camping, attend concerts, say
tural relationships. hi to every dog she sees, and is always on the search for the world’s
For more information, visit oregonboardofrabbis.org/. BEST slice of pizza.
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