Meet Our Year-Round Team

Jodi Sperling
Director

Jodi Sperling, who joined our team as Camp Director in January, 2004, has been actively involved in informal Jewish education and camping – particularly with teens – since she was a camper herself. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Jodi has her BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Journalism and Jewish Studies, and her Masters of Social Work and certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the University of Michigan. Jodi's professional experience includes Camp Solomon Schechter, the Alexander Muss High School in Israel Program, Tamarack Camps in Michigan, Young Judaea, and Camp Arowhon in Algonquin Park, Ontario. In 2005, Jodi was selected as one of 14 resident  camp directors nationally to be a Mandel Senior Fellow through the JCC Association's Mandel Center for Jewish Education. In 2006 she was named a participant in the Foundation for Jewish Camping's two-year Executive Leadership Seminar. Jodi just completed her 4th summer at Camp Wise and is excited to be another year closer to receiving her 7-year shirt.

Meredith Belman
Assistant Director

After 13 amazing summers at Camp Wise as a camper, counselor, specialist, sports director and Noar village supervisor, Meredith officially joined the Camp Wise year-round staff in the fall of 2005 as Assistant Director! Meredith got her BA in history from the University of Michigan in 2004, and this fall she started work on her MBA at Case Western Reserve University. While some campers may think Mer only comes to camp for battleball, she actually says, "As much fun as I had as a camper, it's even better now being able to give back and help make campers smile and laugh as much as I do!"

Jon Gerst

Teen Services Supervisor

Jon recently joined The Mandel JCC as our Teen Services Supervisor. In this position, he will develop year-round programming for 7th through 12th graders and be a part of the Camp Wise professional team. After growing up in Rockville, MD, Jon graduated from Ohio University in June 2007 with a BS in Recreation Management and a minor in psychology. Jon just completed his 13th summer at Pinemere Camp in Stroudsburg, PA, where he grew from camper to supervisor, and devoted much of his time to learning about working with teens. When not hanging out at “The J”, Jon can be found loving all things sports, including baseball, football, golf, wrestling, and even competitive gaga! On the side, Jon’s an amateur gourmet chef. Although the meals don’t always turn out like the trendiest 5-star restaurant, he’ll never turn down an opportunity to whip up a scrumptious meal, and is looking forward to having some cooking competitions as part of the new teen programming.

Cathy Becker
Camp Registrar

Cathy Becker is a retired 30-year veteran teacher who started at Camp Wise in 1993 as her "summer job." Atfer eight summers she began full-time as the camp registrar. After taking one summer off, she is happy to be back at Camp Wise and hopefully will never leave again! Cathy's married to Paul and is the mother of Allison (Aaron), a CW alum, and she's the proud grammy of Isaac and Brooke, future CW campers!

James Clay

Camp Caretaker

James joined our year-round staff in the winter of 2006 and quickly became part of the family. Originally from Virginia, he moved to Ohio from Kentucky, where he was working at a community arts center. James has worked in theater and film, with extensive experience in audio and set building. He brings creativity and dedication to everything he does, and can always be found with a smile on his face! James lives at camp with his wife, Vanessa, their son, Avery, and their two dogs, Velvet and Chewy.