Hello GUCI Family,

My name is Brandon Kaufmann, and I am beyond thrilled to be joining the full-time team at GUCI! GUCI has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From my early days as a camper to my summers on staff, including my most recent role as Head of Migdal (our climbing tower program) as part of the Bogrim team. I’ve cherished every opportunity to contribute to the energy, connection, and magic that make camp so special.

I’m currently finishing up my year at Iowa State University, where I’m majoring in Business Administration. Outside of class, I spend way too much time getting humbled in intramural basketball and hanging out with friends. I also met my girlfriend at camp, and after this summer, we’ll be moving into our first apartment together as a reminder of just how much GUCI has shaped my life.

Camp has shaped so much of who I am personally, professionally, and spiritually. It’s where I found confidence, built lifelong friendships, and discovered a passion for creating meaningful, joy-filled experiences for others. Through camp, I even had the opportunity to travel to Israel on a NFTY in Israel trip, which opened my eyes to the wider world and deepened my connection to Jewish culture and community. Being able to give back to the place that’s given me so much both at home and abroad is truly a dream come true.

Looking ahead, I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come. I’ll be staying connected to our beloved Avodah program as one of the Unit Heads for summer 2025, and I’m so grateful for the chance to help shape such a meaningful part of the GUCI experience. Whether you’ve been coming to camp for years or this will be your very first summer, I can’t wait to meet you, learn with you, and be part of the memories we’ll create together. Let’s make this summer unforgettable!

See you this summer!
Brandon

 Hello GUCI family,

My name is Hanna Gurwin and I am so excited to be the next Assistant Director of GUCI! I started attending camp at the age of 12 in 2012. I spent five years as a camper, starting in Shoresh, was a member of Avodah 2018, was on staff in 2019 and 2022, and then Gezah Unit Head in 2023. I currently live in Michigan with my husband, Jack, who is in medical school at Wayne State University, and our dog Maggie.

Growing up at GUCI, I have always dreamt about working for camp as a full-time job. Without GUCI, I would not be the person that I am today. My experiences at camp helped to mold my character, it is where I met my husband, and it has built the foundation of my Judaism. Being such a special place, I have always found my way back to camp in one way or another, year after year, and now it is so unbelievable to say that I get to be at camp full-time.

The career path that led me to GUCI started there as well. Because of camp, I knew how important it was to have a supporting Jewish community around me. This led me to be very involved in the Hillel at Michigan State University as an undergraduate. Through this involvement, I realized that I had a passion for a career in Jewish life, and after graduating in 2021, I began working for the iCenter, an organization committed to the field of Israel education. Following this, through a GUCI connection, I worked for the Hillel at Indiana University before transitioning to the Hillel of Metro Detroit at Wayne State University. Though I have always loved my experiences working for these organizations, the goal was always in my head for my career path to lead to GUCI, and now it officially has! I am so excited to give back to the place and people who have given me so much, and I am so excited to see you all this summer!

Looking forward to all the summers to come!

Hanna

To my GUCI family,

When you asked 18 year old Dori what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have quickly and confidently answered a Camp Professional. While I don’t know if I fully understood what that meant, I knew it included spending 12 months of the year thinking about camp and having the “best summer ever” every summer… and also driving golf carts, having a walkie-talkie, and wearing Chacos as part of my work uniform.

Fast forward to today, I cannot believe how lucky I am that I got to do my dream job… and it was even better than I expected because of this community I got to work with. So much of my role was relational, and I cherished that my job was to engage and enjoy this experience with so many wonderful people. An off-season filled with recruiting visits, calls with new families, staff interviews, and endless conversations on how to grow camp made August through May almost as exciting as summers. And then spending summers engaging with and supporting our staff, jumping into programs with campers, watching Chug presentations, singing breakfast songs, making endless tie-dye, exchanging friendship bracelets, and all the other little moments that made this job all that we know to be so meaningful. From the full-time team, to seasonal staff, to faculty, to campers, to camper families, to visitors, and beyond, I deeply thank you for the impact each of you has made on me. This job has been some of the most fun of my life because of each of you!

GUCI will always be my home away from home. This is where I got married. This is where I spent my third trimester pregnant (because if you’re going to be hot and uncomfortable while pregnant, you might as well do it at camp where you are happy!). This is where I brought Sophie for her first (of many!) summers at camp. And while these events have made the space special, it is the memories and relationships with all of you that have made it so important in my heart.

While my time working full-time at GUCI is ending, my love for this community never will. I am excited this next chapter will allow my love for GUCI to grow in new ways, whether it is as a Shabbat guest, visiting with Austin on faculty, or in just a few years becoming a camp parent to Sophie (Avodah class of 2039!). And in my new role as the NFTY Program & Events Manager, I’m excited to continue to support our teens in having more meaningful and impactful experiences during the year, just like they know they can get at camp.

Thank you, my GUCI family, for making my dream of working at camp come true. It has been my greatest joy and privilege to have spent these years as one of your Assistant Directors.

It’s never goodbye, always l’hitratot. I cannot wait until our paths cross again!

With all my love,
Dori Singer Zoot

For the last 28 years, the Union for Reform Judaism has offered a rising 11th grade program trip to Israel with a specific bus allocated to the GUCI community.  Connection to and travel to Israel are core mission issues for GUCI and the URJ and the URJ’s Yallah Israel Program (formerly NFTY in Israel) has proven a transformative experience creating a lasting connection to our Homeland.  Yallah Israel provided 50 URJ camp teens with an incredible 2024 summer and currently has almost 75 teens already enrolled for summer 2025, even though we know the war and post October 7th has created a new reality for us all.  We are still hoping for as many URJ teens as possible to attend Yallah Israel/Europe this summer. And, given feedback we’ve received, we are happy to share new opportunities for our rising 11th and 12th graders.

To that end, starting with summer 2025, we are offering both Avodah and Yallah Israel to our rising 11th graders, and offering the paid Machon counselor-in-training program option to rising 12th graders.  This change will ensure that all rising 11th graders have meaningful Jewish engagement opportunities through the camp.   

Prior to introducing the rising 11th grade Israel opportunity, Avodah was offered as a rising 11th grade program immediately following second year Anaf.  Our Machon counselor-in-training program (“Machon”) was offered to rising 12th graders. We know from historical success that both programs work well at these ages.  There are benefits to offering these two programs at younger ages. Currently, rising 11th graders not interested in an Israel experience have no option to attend camp that summer.  Teens who choose not to go to Israel and who want Jewish engagement that summer are left without the ability to return to their “home away from home.”  For some campers, this marks the end of their GUCI experience.  It is important that we offer as many opportunities for engagement at GUCI and the URJ as possible for all ages.

It is essential to reiterate that Israel education, connection to Israel, and travel to Israel remain central pillars of the URJ and GUCI programs.  We are not eliminating the possibility of rising 11^th graders participating in a trip to Israel with other GUCI teens.  Rising 11^th graders will now have the option to go to Israel or to apply for the Avodah program.  Following Israel or Avodah, we hope that participants will return to GUCI as a staff member.  Participating in Avodah or Israel is not a prerequisite to being hired as a staff member at GUCI.

We recognize that this is a significant change to our program and staff offerings for rising 11^th and 12^th graders and are available to assist rising 11^th and 12^th graders as they navigate this shift. See here for answers to questions we believe will arise.

We thank you for all your support to date and we encourage you to contact us directly if you have any questions not answered in the FAQs or have a specific set of circumstances we should consider together.  Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Be well,
Jeremy + The GUCI Team