SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Make the Most of the Next 100 Days
GoCampPro Podcast (Hosted by Travis Allison)
February 2022

Featured Guest (with Abigail Stuart) on leading industry podcast, CampHacker, sharing ten easy categories of tasks to do now to make your life easier in preparation for summer 2022.

Investing in Operations & Logistics Staff and Systems at Camp
GoCampPro Podcast (Hosted by Travis Allison)
December 2021

Featured Guest (with Abigail Stuart) on leading industry podcast, CampHacker, discussing how to train and retain top talent for operations and logistics, as well as creating systems to save money and stress.

Using Data to Drive Recruitment Strategy
JCamp180 Conference / Recruitment Cohort Specialty Track
Guest Speaker, Fall 2019, 2020, 2021

Guest presented to a group of summer camp directors and assistant directors on how to use the data from their CRM/camper management systems in order to make more informed decisions during the recruitment process.

Summer Camp Photography Best Practices
Waldo Photos
Presented with
Chelsey Schrader, May 2021

Chelsey and I gave a webinar for camp directors and communications managers on how to set up a photography team and plan for all summer and year-round communications and marketing needs.

Marketing Favorite Tips & Tricks
Foundation for Jewish Camp Leaders' Assembly / SCampCon
Co-Facilitator with Erin Robbins, March 2020 / November 2020

Erin and I led a session for marketing professionals on best practices in social media, photo management, email marketing, and community engagement.
In November 2020, we reprised this session as a rapid-fire back and forth greatest hits of our favorite marketing strategies for SCampCon.

World Events and Response Communication at Summer Camp
Association of Independent Jewish Camps (AIJC)
Guest Speaker, November 2020

Facilitated a conversation with the AIJC Communications Group on when and how they can respond to relevant world events. Rooting communications in camp and Jewish values, camps can show their community that the lessons camp teaches extend beyond the physical site or summer period.

zoom presentation: communications

COVID-19: Programming and Social Media Response
JCamp180 Recruitment Cohort
Guest Speaker, March 2020

During the beginning of shelter-in-place, I presented to JCamp180's Recruitment Cohort on practices from Ramah California in programming and communal responses to COVID-19.

PUBLICATIONS

Finding the Next Radar: Investing in the Next Gen of Operations Camp Pros
American Camp Association Magazine, March 2022
Co-authored with Abigail Stuart

"Are you training people to back you up in logistics? At camp we focus a great deal of time and energy on training the next generation of unit heads, program directors, department directors, and front line “camp people”. But what effort are we putting into training the next generation of operations and logistics managers?"
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AriPolskyGCPBlog2

Communicating the Worst News To Your Camp Community
GoCampPro Blog, January 2022

"Among the hardest experiences we will ever have is trying to hold our community together through the death of a beloved staff, alumni, or camper. What makes it so hard is that we might barely be holding ourselves together..."
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Recruiting Summer Campers for 2021
GoCampPro Blog, July 2020

"It's likely the 2021 recruitment season will similarly find us full of twists and turns. Camps are going to need to adapt and radically rethink the way they approach recruitment, retention, and planning for the summer."
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11 Ideas to Supercharge Your Online Day of Giving
The Summer Camp Society Blog, November 2019

"This season each of our camps tried something new. We wanted to try a “Giving Tuesday” during other times of the year: a day of giving, a day of social media, and a day of storytelling. Most importantly, it was a day free of clutter, free of noise, and free of competition for attention. For Stomping Ground, it was during May in the preseason ramp up. For Ramah, it was smack in the middle of the summer"
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Summer Camps, Fire, and Emergency Communications: Six Lessons Learned During a Fire at Camp
American Camp Association Magazine, July 2018

"How camps respond and communicate to camp families and the community when a fire does occur can go a long way to alleviating any safety fears or panic, especially if a fire occurs while camp is in session."
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