transitions
Jeremy Fingerman steps down as CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp after 15 years
Jamie Simon, the group's chief strategy and program officer, will serve as interim CEO until a successor is found

courtesy
Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, speaks at the organization's leader's assembly in 2019.
Jeremy Fingerman, who expanded the reach of the Foundation for Jewish Camp and guided it nimbly through the COVID-19 and Oct. 7 crises, will step down after 15 years as CEO on March 1, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Jamie Simon, the group’s chief program and strategy officer, will serve in the role in an interim capacity while the board searches for a full-time successor. “We are thrilled to have Jamie Simon serve as interim CEO. A skilled and seasoned leader, Jamie’s deep roots in Jewish camping will ensure a smooth transition for our camps, donors, board, and staff,” FJC board chair Jim Heeger said in a statement.
Fingerman said he is stepping down to focus on his children and grandchildren, who are based in Israel. Fingerman will transition to a new role as FJC’s senior advisor during the search for his successor.
“I’m so very proud of what we’ve achieved collectively – camps, funders, federations, donors – to advance the field of Jewish camp,” Fingerman said in a statement. “Now is the right moment to begin to write the next chapter of the Foundation’s story.”
In December, under Fingerman’s leadership, FJC secured the largest grant in its history — $15 million from The Gottesman Fund for capital expansion projects and Israel education initiatives for its network of over 300 camps. Fingerman has also been touted by his colleagues for stewarding FJC through a sequence of crises – securing funding for camps through the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatened the entire camp industry, and leading the organization through the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel and rising global antisemitism.
“Following the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, Jeremy provided essential leadership, helping camps to find ways to continue supporting Israel and, at the same time, acknowledging the nuances and complexities of doing so during the war.” Elisa Spungen Bildner, co-founder of FJC and co-chair of its board of trustees, said in a statement.
Simon, who joined FJC in 2023, previously spent 17 years at the Camp Tawonga Jewish Community Corporation, six of them as the organization’s CEO. In her time at FJC as the organization’s first chief program and strategy officer, Simon “played instrumental roles in securing seven-figure gifts,” and led FJC’s strategic planning process and oversaw FJC’s Leaders Assembly in December, according to a statement.
“Jewish camp is key to the Jewish future. and I’m excited to continue FJC’s important work to ensure that as many young people as possible can experience the transformative power of camp and so that camps have the resources they need to succeed,” she said.