Dear LAJF Community,
I am delighted to share that Jenn Zanger is joining the Louis August Jonas Foundation as our new Director of Programs.
After a thoughtful and rigorous search process, Jenn emerged as an exceptional fit for this role and for the future of LAJF. She brings more than three decades of leadership experience in youth development, experiential education, nonprofit management, staff leadership, and community-centered program design.
Most recently, Jenn served in senior leadership roles at Ramapo for Children in Rhinebeck, New York, including Interim Executive Director, Associate Executive Director, and Chief Innovation and Development Officer. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a remarkable ability to build programs rooted in belonging, leadership development, and meaningful human connection, values that sit at the heart of LAJF's mission. As someone who has spent much of her career serving young people and families in the Hudson Valley and New York City, Jenn also brings a deep understanding of the communities and partnerships that help make this work possible.
Throughout the search process, Jenn impressed us with her warmth, collaborative leadership style, strategic thinking, and deep commitment to creating spaces where young people from different backgrounds can build meaningful relationships, engage thoughtfully across differences, and grow as ethical leaders. Her experience in experiential education, staff development, cross-cultural community-building, and organizational leadership positions her well to guide and strengthen our programs in the years ahead.
This transition comes during an important period for our Programs Team, including the recent departures of Elyem Chej and Nick Basalyga. I remain grateful for their leadership and partnership, and I know they will help ensure a thoughtful and successful transition as Jenn begins her work with LAJF.
I am excited about what Jenn will bring to LAJF, Camp Rising Sun, and The Ethical Leadership Experience, and I look forward to the ways her leadership, creativity, and commitment to young people will help strengthen our impact in the years ahead.
Below, you'll find a message from Jenn to the broader LAJF community. I hope you will join me in warmly welcoming her to this next chapter of service and leadership within our global Rising Sun family.
Warmly,
Barrington A. Fulton Jr.
Executive Director, LAJF
Hello CRS and TELE alumni, families, and friends,
I am honored to join LAJF as Director of Programs and grateful for the opportunity to become part of this extraordinary global community. I am profoundly appreciative of Barry, the Board and the entire LAJF Team and Sonia Wargacka, this summer’s Camp Director, for their warm welcome and their kind guidance as I jump into Summer 2026 at CRS. In her transition, Elyem has generously given me a warm handoff, devoting time and care to introducing me to her breadth and depth of knowledge. I feel fortunate to join LAJF as staff and campers begin creating the experiences that have shaped this community for nearly a century. I am especially excited to join a community shaped by generations of alumni whose commitment to ethical leadership and global understanding continues long after their program experience ends.
Jenn leading a session on Adolescent Development during Summer Staff Training this year.
Throughout my career, I have worked alongside young people, families, educators, and communities in schools, camps, and youth development organizations. While each experience has been different, a common thread has connected them all: a belief that young people thrive when they experience communities of deep belonging, when they are challenged to grow, and when they are given opportunities to contribute to something larger than themselves.
In many ways, the work that has guided my career building meaningful programs, cultivating strong communities, and partnering with leaders to create opportunities for young people has been a different expression of the same vision that has animated LAJF for over 95 years. What has struck me most in learning about CRS and TELE is how intentionally these programs create opportunities for young people from different backgrounds and perspectives to live, learn, and lead together.
I have always been convinced that through the building of friendship, the reaching for one another, and a commitment to genuine openness and curiosity, we become indelibly connected to one another and make the world we wish for possible. At a time when meaningful connection across differences can feel increasingly difficult, LAJF’s mission feels especially relevant and important. CRS and TELE reflect a profound belief that young people can and will embrace opportunities to truly see one another, learn from one another, and discover more about themselves in the process. They become leaders who create positive change with creativity, compassion, courage, and remarkable energy.
As I begin my work as Director of Programs, I do so with gratitude, humility, and excitement. It is an honor to support CRS and TELE participants as they deepen their understanding of themselves, others, and their capacity to make a difference. I am equally honored to join a team dedicated to stewarding and strengthening this mission while continuing the legacy and impact of LAJF for future generations.
I look forward to partnering with our staff, alumni, families, volunteers, and supporters to ensure that CRS and TELE remain places where young people build authentic relationships, engage thoughtfully across differences, develop as ethical leaders, and commit themselves to service in their communities and around the world. I am excited to be a thought partner and innovator as we work to expand the reach of LAJF through new programming that invites more young people into this transformative experience.
It is a privilege to join an organization whose values align so closely with those that have guided my own work for more than three decades. I look forward to listening, learning, and working alongside all of you as we continue to nurture leadership, belonging, and global citizenship in the next generation.
With warm regards,
Jenn Zanger
Director of Programs, LAJF
jzanger@lajf.org
P.S. If you are part of the LAJF community, I would love to hear from you. Whether you are an alum, parent, volunteer, supporter, or friend of the Foundation, I welcome the opportunity to learn about your experience and discuss how we can continue strengthening this extraordinary community together.