JCC Association of North America announces the appointment of Rabbi Bill Kaplan as senior vice president of JCC Camps of North America, marking a renewed investment in the largest network of Jewish day and overnight camps on the continent.
In this role, he will lead the development of a dedicated continental department focused on strengthening JCC Camps, building leadership pipelines, and connecting camp professionals and communities. Serving approximately 75,000 campers annually across more than 100 day camps and overnight camps, JCC Camps are a powerful entry point into Jewish life, leadership, and community for children, teens, families and young adults across North America.
JCC Camps are more than a summer program. They are part of a JCC’s broader continuum, a network of early-childhood education centers, family programs, teen initiatives and adult learning opportunities that extends the camp relationship well beyond a single summer. This new department will strengthen JCC Camps directly and help JCCs leverage that connection, promoting deeper, lifelong engagement within the JCC Movement.
“Camp changed my life as a kid, and it’s been the honor of my career to help other young people find that same sense of belonging, identity, and purpose,” said Kaplan. “I’ve seen firsthand what’s possible when a camp community has the right support behind it, and I’m eager to bring that same commitment to camps across the continent. JCC Camps are already doing extraordinary work—my job is to help connect us, strengthen us, and make sure the field gets the recognition and partnership it has earned.”
Kaplan brings decades of leadership experience in the JCC Movement and Jewish camping to his new role. He has served as CEO of Shalom Institute in Los Angeles for nearly 30 years, leading both day and overnight camp operations and transforming what was once a regional camp into a year-round, $8 million nonprofit agency and hub of Jewish life.
Under his direction, Shalom Institute became an independent nonprofit organization, expanded its staff and programs, improved its financial resources, and secured $55 million toward a $90 million capital campaign to rebuild its campus after the 2018 devastating Woolsey Fire and expand its endowment. He also launched Shemesh Farms, an innovative social enterprise that engages adults with diverse abilities and has received national recognition.
Kaplan’s connection to the JCC Movement began during his childhood in Los Angeles, when he attended Camp JCA Shalom. His professional career in the field started at the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles, where he held a series of leadership roles beginning in 1990—including assistant camp director and registrar, and later director of Camp JCA Shalom—before becoming chief executive officer of Shalom Institute.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, an MBA in nonprofit management from the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University) and rabbinical ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles, receiving a JCC Association scholarship toward his MBA.
The rabbi served on JCC Association’s board of directors from 2020 to 2026, and brings additional experience in Jewish education, camping, governance and communal leadership to the role.
Kaplan will begin his new role on a part-time basis in September 2026 and transition to full-time on Jan. 1.
