Sports

John Burdorf, Jr. - John joins the Harbor Haven sports staff for his second year.  He received his B.S. from Montclair University in Physical Education and Health grades K-12 and currently teaches in the East Orange School district. He has experience in Adaptive Physical Education as well.  We welcome John back to Harbor Haven!  

Sports

Leigh Shahbazian - Sports Specialist Having completed her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Biology in 2007 from the Stevens Institute of Technology, Leigh is now working on her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Seton Hall University and expects to receive it in May of 2011.  Leigh is returning to Harbor Haven for her second summer and brings lots of experiences to her position as a sports specialist.  She has worked as a science camp director, a counselor at an overnight camp and a dance instructor.  In college she served as the captain of the varsity lacrosse team.  In her spare time she plays many sports, runs and does weightlifting.  Leigh is CPR and first aid certified.  We are so pleased to have Leigh back at Harbor Haven again.

Head of Pool

Alana Weininger - Alana joins the Harbor Haven leadership team for the first time.  She boasts a Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State University in Crime Law and Justice and Political Science and will be awarded this May a dual Master’s Degree in Elementary and Special Education from Montclair State University.  Alana is an accomplished string musician and was a second seat cellist in the Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra.  In addition she started a K-5 string program as a volunteer and has been a substitute teacher for a couple of years while working on her master’s degree. Alana was a lifeguard and swim instructor at both Willow Lake Day Camp and Jefferson Lake Day Camp.  We are so pleased to have Alana in charge of our pool this summer!

Arts and Crafts I

Rhonda Grindell - While completing her degree in Early Childhood Special Education and Psychology at Kean University, Rhonda is also working at Temple Sha’arey Shalom in Springfield in their pre-school.  She works in the classroom but also provides music and creative arts activities. Rhonda is a professional drummer on the weekends with City Sounds Music, a Long Island based band.  Rhonda also plays guitar.  Her creativity in providing the most exciting art projects for our 5-9 year olds is only rivaled by her dynamic personality and energy.  We welcome Rhonda back to Harbor Haven for her second summer!

Arts and Crafts II

Shannon DeCoursey - Harbor Haven is very pleased to welcome Shannon DeCoursey as the arts and crafts specialist for our older divisions.  She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and her Art Teaching Certification from Montclair State University.  She currently works for the Florham Park Board of Education and previously completed her student teaching at Whippany Park Regional High School. Shannon is sure to bring innovative and creative projects to the Harbor Haven arts and crafts program!

Music

Joanne Schlacter - We are excited to have Joanne as part of our performing arts team.  Joanne is a board certified music therapist, and also certified as a yoga instructor for the special child.  Joanne works for the Jersey City Public Schools as well as maintaining a private yoga and music therapy practice.  Joanne brings her own brand of “camp music” to Harbor Haven and we love her.

Academics

Dawn Rayner-Caicedo - Academics I
Having received her undergraduate degree from Penn State, Dawn went on to obtain her teaching certification in special and elementary education from Bloomfield College.  She is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Education.

Dawn is a second grade inclusion teacher in the Wood-Ridge Public Schools and concurrently works for the Lovass Institute, Northeast Office in South Orange, NJ having been trained in the Lovaas Model of Applied Behavioral Analysis. 

We are lucky to have Dawn join our staff of specialists!  We have no doubt her classroom will rock with dynamic learning and we will see great cognitive progress in our student campers!

Katherine Brooks - Academics II
Katherine is a graduate of Seton Hall University where she had a dual major in Special Education and English.  She is currently teaching in a self- contained 6^th-8^th grade class in the Montclair Public Schools as a Language Arts and Social Studies teacher.  In addition she teaches mathematics in an inclusion class.  This will be Katherine’s 2nd summer working as an Academics Specialist at Harbor Haven.

Drama

Jessica Zodrow - Having received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Southern Oregon University, Jessica went on to obtain her M.A. in Theatre Education from NYU.   Jessica has worked with children of all ages and in many different settings, creating drama and theatre experiences for them that facilitate expression, creativity and that build confidence.  We are looking forward to having Jessica join our performing arts team this summer at Harbor Haven!

Dance, Nature & Wonderworks

Patricia Toter - Having received her degree in music education in 2003, Patricia is currently a music teacher in the Jersey City Public Schools on the elementary school level.  In addition to her teaching responsibilities she has also produced school theatrical productions as well as piloted a dance instruction program in her school.  In all of her endeavors she believes in the concept of inclusion for all children in the music and dance areas and is pursuing her graduate degree in special education.  Patricia loves the outdoors and all things having to do with nature. This summer, 2010, Patricia will be implementing our new Wonder Works program at Harbor Haven.  This hands-on science based program is sure to capture the attention of campers of all ages!  Way to go, Patty!

Cooking

Nona Seid - Nona has been our cooking specialist for many years (too numerous to count!)  Nona is a certified nutritionist and a great cook!  The children love going to “Nona’s area” and love the great recipes she has for them each summer.

Bikes

Christopher Romano - Chris will be joining the Harbor Haven staff for his second year this summer.  With a degree in Physical Education and Health, and an avid bicyclist himself, Chris was a natural to become our bikes specialist.  He teaches physical education in an public elementary school in Bloomfield. 

Social Skills

Derek Ressa - Derek is joining Harbor Haven for the second summer.  Having been our Challenge Sector/Fun Zone specialist last year, for the summer of 2010 Derek will be our social skills group facilitator.  Derek has a B.S. degree in Psychology; an M.A. in Educational Psychology (with School Psychology certification) and an M.A. in Educational Administration and Supervision.  He is a school psychologist in the Bernards Township Public Schools.  He conducts social skills groups within his school district and in other settings as well.  We are fortunate to have Derek creating our fun and learning filled social skills sessions, a very important component of our program!

 Challenge Sector and Fun Zone

Jacky Karlsson - Having received her B.A degree from Seton Hall University Jacky is currently obtaining her M.A. degree in School and Community Psychology, also from Seton Hall.  Jacky has had numerous experiences with special needs children having worked as a paraprofessional, home therapist and substitute teacher for the Clifton and Tenafly public school districts.  Jacky’s ability to enhance social skills with children will have a powerful impact on our Challenge Sector and Fun Zone activities.  We welcome Jacky for her first Harbor Haven summer!

Our Therapist

All of the speech and occupational therapists who work at Harbor Haven are fully board certified, school certified, licensed and experienced in working with our population of children.  They work for school districts, therapy centers and privately.  We are lucky to have many of them return to us each summer. 

Speech                                        Occupational Therapy                      Wendy Peitzer                           Regan Lakritz
Rona Birnbaum                                                    

Mailing Address: 1155 West Chestnut Street, Suite G-1, Union, NJ 07083
Tel 908-964-5411; Fax 908-964-0511 (Year round numbers)
Address during the Summer Season only:
1418 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052
info@harborhaven.com