RE-Introducing Jessie and Ely

The Camp Chi Team is growing! We’re incredibly excited for this post because we’re RE-introducing some long-time friends to the Camp Chi Family. We have two new additions to the Camp Chi Team, and they’re very familiar faces. A big welcome to Jessie Lankford as our Logistics Manager, and to Ely London as our Camper Care Coordinator! Rather than us tell you about these two wonderful people, we thought we’d let them introduce themselves:

Jessie:
My name is Jessie Lankford and I am so excited to be transitioning into the position of Logistics Manager at Camp Chi. I have spent the last 15 years at Camp Chi in a variety of roles such as camper, Counselor, Village Leader, and most recently Programming Director. In this new position, I will continue to manage the programmatic sides and behind the scenes of camp as well as working with American Camping Association to help us maintain our accreditation. I have seen the magic of camp from many sides, and I am excited to bring my years of knowledge, experience, and love for camp to this position.

After receiving both a Bachelor’s in Social Work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago, I became a fully Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Outside of the camp world, I continue to work with children and families providing weekly outpatient counseling and support, a skill I know lends itself well to our camp work. In my free time, I also enjoy baking and cooking, art, traveling, and spending time with my family and friends.

Ely:
Hey Camp Chi! I’m Ely London, and I am beyond excited to continue my camp journey and join the Full-Time team as the Camper Care Coordinator!

Chi has been my home for 12 summers now, 5 as camper, a SIT of 2016, and since 2017 I’ve been on the staff side as a counselor, SIT Counselor in 2020, and a Village Leader for the past two years. At camp I love stargazing, song session, grilled cheese Sundays, and spending my summers with my best friends. As the Camper Care Coordinator, I’ll be supervising our 4th-6th Grade Villages (Shoreshim 4th & 5th and Tsofim 6th) by working closely with the Village Leaders to help create the best summer ever! I’ll also be working with our Community Care Team to set all our campers up for success before, during, and after camp!

I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to give back to the place that has given me so much and look forward to what the future holds in this new role!