Camp Chi Alumni Committee

Meet Some Of Our Members

Alex Levin

SIT Year: 2004
Nickname: Levin
Current occupation/employer: Attorney Laner Muchin, Ltd.
About Alex: I attended Camp Chi from 1996 until 2005. I went on the Pacific Northwest Trip in 2003 and was a SIT of 2004. In 2005, I worked as a specialist in the Woodshop.
Memory: CHI burning will always be a special memory for me!

Carrie Ross

SIT Year: SIT of 2000 and SIT Director in 2007
Current occupation/employer: School Social Worker at Highland Middle School in Libertyville
About Carrie: Carrie was growing up in Highland Park when she went away to Chi for the first time in 1993. By the end of the session, she had found her home away from home and didn’t want to leave. About four years later, when her parents told her they’d be moving to Florida, the first thing they said to her was, “but you can still go to camp!” She took that challenge to heart and really hasn’t stopped going. Carrie was a SIT of 2000 and then worked as a counselor, village leader, SIT Director, and eventually as one of the camp social workers and the Mental Wellness Supervisor, a title she still holds, and hopes to hold for years to come. During the school year, Carrie is a school social worker at Highland Middle School in Libertyville, where she ironically and luckily gets to work with one of her first friends from her first cabin at camp. Carrie lives in Vernon Hills with her husband, Ricky, who she also brought into the Camp Chi world via Keshet, and her two daughters, Lainey and Peyton, who have spent their summers up at Chi almost their entire lives.

Courtney Rohrbach

SIT Year: 2000, 2004
Nickname: Coco
Current occupation/employer: Event planner
About Courtney: A native of Deerfield, Courtney’s parents thought certainly camp wouldn’t be for their girl. Spoiler alert: the Chi flame got sparked, and she went on to go to camp for 13 years, 1995-2008 (with a brief hiatus in 2005). Launching her event planning career from the hallowed halls of the Camp Chi Machsan, ultimately serving as Program Director in 2007 and 2008, Courtney now spends her days planning corporate events for premier media organizations and financial institutions. Outside of work, she spends her time saying ‘hello’ to every dog she sees on the street, taking all the fitness classes and pontificating about politics. After a post-college stint in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, Courtney made her way to Washington, DC in the summer of 2013 and now calls herself a proud resident of The District. After not going to camp for about 10 years, she went back for Alumni weekend in 2003 and plans to go back for summers to come.
Memory: Too many memories to share but, of all of my life experiences, I am always in awe of how Camp Chi is everywhere and it’s a never ending bond.

Liz Robbin

SIT Year: 1998
Nickname: Lizzie
Current occupation/employer: Speech-Language Pathologist (school based)
About Liz: I was at camp from 1994-2021 with a few breaks. My camper and counselor days inspired me to be a PNW leader. My last decade at camp was spent working with Camp Firefly where I worked my way up to the director. These days I spend my summers in Chicago, which is the next best place to a summer at Camp Chi. When the weather is nice, you can find me by the lakefront. Even when it isn’t nice, I’m often at Solider Field cheering on the Bears during football season. I love to travel, read, and spend time with family and friends in my free time.
Memory: Stargazing on the tennis courts (before there were lights on the athletic field) with my camp friends was something we always looked forward to on closed nights of camp. It was the perfect way to end the day when we were counselors.

Rachel Hirsh

SIT Year: 2005, 2009
Nickname: Hirsh
Current occupation/employer: Anti-Defamation League
About Rachel: Rachel Hirsh, Ph.D. is a dedicated educational leader and nonprofit executive with over a decade of experience in program administration, strategic planning, and relationship development. She has a strong background in fostering equity, inclusion, and professional growth within diverse communities. Most recently, Rachel served as Senior Director & Trainer at Mary Baldwin University’s McCree Center for Life Success, where she led initiatives to enhance student engagement and career development. Rachel holds a Ph.D. in Technology and Humanities from the Illinois Institute of Technology, with research focused on the #MeToo movement and the power of storytelling for social change. Her experience spans leadership roles in nonprofit management, higher education, and K-12 education, where she has consistently created inclusive environments and supported underrepresented voices.
Memory: My favorite memory is our sophomore prank in Noar. We knew that the sophomore class from the year before had gotten in trouble because they had broken many rules carrying out their pranks. Because of this, our Village Leaders banned sophomore pranks. Our cabin, the nerdy one, still wanted to do one, so we asked our Village Leader for permission to carry a prank out. We may have been the only campers to ever ask for permission to pull off a prank.

Samantha Barron

SIT Year: 2005 and SIT Staff 2010
Nickname: Sammi
Current occupation/employer: Public Relations
About Samantha: I’m a true Camp Chi lifer, after being a camper from 1999 to 2004, SIT in 2005, counselor from 2006 to 2009, SIT staff in 2010, Israel trip staff in 2011 and on the alumni committee for many years since my days at camp. I work at a PR agency and currently live in Chicago with my longhaired Dachshund, Rupert. I’m also the Chair of the Israel Cancer Research Fund’s Visions young leadership board of Chicago. My camp friends are still some of my closest friends, and I love planning camp get-togethers for us, whether it’s going out to dinner or brunch, going to a musical or just hanging out at one of our homes.
Memory: When I was SIT staff in 2010, we put the SITs into groups, gave each group an animal and told them to come to breakfast the next morning dressed as that animal. What we didn’t tell them was that we were leaving camp. We took them on a field trip to the Baraboo Zoo, while all dressed as animals, and sent them on a photo scavenger hunt. It’s one of my favorite and most ridiculous programs I planned in all my years as a counselor.

Traci Shapiro

SIT Year: 2005
Current occupation/employer: Digital Marketing for Music Festivals
About Rachel: Traci’s Camp Chi journey began in 2000, and even after breaking her arm during her first summer playing gaga, she couldn’t wait to return. She begged to go back and didn’t miss a single summer, staying through her SIT year in 2005. During her SIT summer, she formed a deep bond with her campers, inspiring her to return as a counselor and guide them, Mr. Feeney-style, through every summer until their own SIT year in 2010. In 2011, Traci capped off this incredible journey by leading them on a memorable trip to Israel. Camp Chi holds a special place in Traci’s heart—it’s where she built her closest friendships, created her fondest memories (midnight gardening, anyone?), and developed a proud sense of Jewish identity. Traci went on to attend USC for her undergraduate degree (Fight On!) and recently earned an MBA from Kellogg. After 15 years in Los Angeles, she moved back to Chicago and now calls Bucktown home. When she’s not contributing to the Camp Chi alumni committee, you can find Traci cuddling with her massively oversized dog, Churro, exploring Chicago’s vibrant restaurant and bar scene, head-bobbing at concerts, experimenting in the kitchen, or binge watching reruns of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Memory: One sneakout as a camper stands out in my memory: my counselors surprised us with a late-night hayride, followed by stargazing on the volleyball courts. It was pure magic. Years later, as a counselor, I had the chance to recreate this experience for my own campers, which made it even more meaningful.