About Camp Chrysalis

As a mature staff, well-experienced together, we’ve developed a rich context. Most of us are teachers professionally during the rest of the year. And all of us have unique expertise we love to share with kids. That’s why we keep coming back.

In addition to the veteran staff listed here, Camp Chrysalis benefits immensely from its Counselors-in-Training. These are older (15+) campers — usually though not exclusively Chrysalis veterans — who seek the challenges and satisfaction of taking an active role passing down camp traditions. That many of our staff have grown up through this program is the greatest testament to both its success and to its importance to the program.

Current Full-Time Staff

Lee Tempkin

Lee has been an educator and mentor to young people since 1973 as a teacher and middle school director. After 45 years in education, he is loving retirement where he spearheads Camp Chrysalis between summers and coaches individual students in math. He loves conifers, birds, singing, cooking, and hiking in the Sierras. He tunes the camp organizational engine while sharing his fascination with the outdoors and his vision for building community.

Erika Singer

Erika has been a part of Camp Chrysalis since her first year as a camper in 1994. Since then she has continued to share her love of the outdoors as her role evolved from camper to counselor. After graduating from Lewis & Clark College with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology, Erika has enjoyed traveling around the world and living in new countries, though always returning to beautiful California. At camp, Erika shares her knowledge of local flora, her love for high Sierra vistas and looks forward to learning something new every year.

Yaniv Singer

Yaniv discovered Camp Chrysalis through Erika in 2009, fell in love with it immediately, and has been part of staff ever since. Multi-cultural, Yaniv was born in New York but raised in Israel. After leading a communication group in the IDF, he returned to New York and completed his BSc. in astrophysics and visual arts from Columbia University. Since graduating, Yaniv has been teaching high school math and biology, running an after-school mountain-biking program as well as experimenting in different vocations from finance to photography to construction to video editing. At camp, he loves to share his love for nature, cosmology, geology, outdoor living, photography, and of course, his children, Yarden, Mia, and baby Leo!

Gideon Lazarus

Gideon is a graduate of The New School with dual degrees in dance and history. He currently lives in NYC where he teaches chess to K-5th grade and spends the rest of his time auditioning for local performances. He has been a camp veteran since the age of seven.

Andrew Risinger

Andy first worked at Camp Chrysalis in 2009 and enthusiastically returned to camp in 2016 after taking an eventful hiatus. The epic call of fatherhood, living in the Pacific Northwest, and intensive baseball studies were the focus of the time off. Originally from Pennsylvania, Andy grew up camping and falling out of trees in the Allegheny National Forest. It is in that forest that he developed a love of starry nights, birds, high places, geologic history, and (once moving to California) the ocean and redwoods. When not camping, Andy teaches history at Park Day School, chases his kids around the yard, attempts to fix his house, and tries not to fall out of trees.

Léa Serrar

Léa started going to Camp Chrysalis in 2008 when they were Lee Tempkin’s student in 4th grade. Since that first summer, they have been back as a camper and then staff every year the universe allowed. They graduated from UC Davis in 2021 having studied Mechanical Engineering; they are passionate about applying their knowledge to help humans and nature that are struggling with the impacts of climate change. At Camp, they love to share their love of watercolors, ferns, and nudibranchs. They are excited to bring Thai card games to camp this summer. They love being a part of a beautiful community that blooms every session.

Tyler Miller

Tyler grew up climbing trees and walking goats in Tilden Park, and was a camper at the Sierra and Backpacking sessions. He graduated from Stanford University in 2019, and is now Lead Carpenter for California Shakespeare Theater. When he isn’t building theater sets or getting his shoes muddy on a hike, you can usually find him in the kitchen of his co-op. He returns to staff whenever he can, and this summer he can’t wait to pass on his passion for woodworking, cooking, and Gastropod mollusks.

Jojo Hartman

Jojo started attending Camp Chrysalis in 2013 and after 8 years as a camper, she was excited to join staff. She is entering her third year at Reed College studying linguistics and math and in her free time enjoys knitting, playing volleyball, and cuddling with her pets. At camp, Jojo loves sharing her excitement for backpacking and the outdoors, making friendship bracelets, and being the official camp hairstylist.

Emiliano Garcia-Sarnoff

Emiliano is a UC Berkeley grad, junior high English Development Teacher, and writer living in Chico, CA. He's done an off-trail solo week in the snowy High Sierras, circumnavigated Cuba by bicycle, was kidnapped briefly in Morocco, and wrestled alligators in the Amazon, among a lifetime full of adventures. He's a father of four.

Founding Director:

Michael Rossman

Michael, an ardent naturalist and founding director, died May 15, 2008, after an arduous battle with leukemia. He taught science by looking under every rock, learning to “read” the land and its story, and coming to every new environment with an eager mind and open heart. His passion inspired many campers and staff throughout our camp’s existence, and his spirit continues to walk barefoot through camp as we share his love of road kill and edible wild plants, sing songs and tell stories of working people’s struggles. He lived life according to his own rules and influenced a generation of young people in the East Bay.