Meet Our Directors
Justin & Cassie Mayer, our full-time Directors, have an extensive background in summer camping.
Having been campers, counselors, division leaders and ultimately head counselors within the Timber Lake Family of Camps, (Justin at Timber Lake/Tyler Hill and Cassie at Timber Lake West) Justin and Cassie have experienced the full range of what camp has to offer. Their daughters, Jolie and Sydney, spend their summers at West, so they really understand how it feels to be camp parents! Most importantly, Justin and Cassie consider all of their Timber Lake West campers and counselors to be their second family. During the winter months, they stay in contact with parents, campers and returning staff while also spending a great deal of time interviewing and hiring new staff members for the following summer.
Justin adds a sense of fun to everything he does at camp and is committed to providing West campers with the best possible summer experience. He spends his days and nights at camp working with campers and their families, guaranteeing that their needs and expectations are being met.
Cassie spends her summers working with prospective and current families, as well as West’s “camp mom,” a role that allows her to take care of our campers while also maintaining close ties with their parents. She does everything from clip campers’ fingernails to tuck campers in at night and her passion for West is evident from the minute that you meet her. Her Masters Degree in School Psychology provides her the base to give her all to each and every one of our campers.
Justin serves as the President and Board Member of SCOPE (Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education), an organization that funds “camperships” for children from low-income families attend not-for-profit sleep-away camps in the Northeast, thus providing the benefits of a safe, well-supervised and enriching summer camp experience. Justin is also an active volunteer of the American Camp Association.
Jill Lazarow, our full-time Assistant Director and Lower Camp Boys Head Counselor, has been a part of the Timber Lake West Family since 1999 when she was a Freshman Girl eagerly looking forward to an amazing summer. Since then, she has grown up at West, moving through her eight years as a camper followed by many years on staff as a junior counselor, general counselor, group leader and Assistant Program Director.
Jill has a unique passion for and connection to Timber Lake West. She is grateful to camp for teaching her about independence, confidence, dedication and the true meaning of lasting friendship. At West, Jill met her husband Andrew, who was also a camper and counselor, and in December 2021, they welcomed baby Talia into their family, their own future TLW camper!
Prior to joining the West team full time, Jill worked as a preschool teacher in Manhattan at the Bankstreet School for Children and the Blue School. Her love for early childhood education plays a huge role in her approach to supporting our youngest campers during the summer. This year and coming years, she looks forward to continuing to build strong bonds with campers and families as she introduces them to the magic of Timber Lake West.
Our Staff
Unique to Timber Lake West, and an integral piece to the puzzle, is the role of our Leadership Staff at camp. Each group has a Head Counselor and a Friendship Coach who act as the liaisons between parents and their children throughout the course of the session. Mature Division Leaders are the direct supervisors of the campers and counselors in their group and assist with all activities, bunk issues, and staff performance/evaluation. The role of the Coach is actually very similar to that of a parent. The Coach will provide attention and care to each camper by paying close consideration to the relationships and interactions they have with other campers and staff, monitoring that all special needs are being met, and serving as a compassionate and empathetic adult figure.
The key to your child’s great summer camp experience has everything to do with the quality of the staff. At Timber Lake West, we adhere to a simple formula: we want the BEST staff, at the BEST pay, trained to do the BEST JOB. With a 1:2 staff to camper ratio, we work to ensure the best possible care, instruction and supervision for our campers.
Our staff salaries are the highest in the industry, ensuring a wider pool of quality applicants (college sophomores start at a $3,000 base). Our full-year training program, which employs the services of top psychologists and experts in the child development field, provides our staff with the proper “tools” to work with campers to achieve our goals of building relationships and enhancing self-esteem.
Our in-bunk general counselors are chosen based on several interviews, reference checks and background checks. Our “specialty” counselors go through the same screening process, but are also all professionals in their fields. Our lead instructors come from winter jobs at esteemed private schools, universities and athletic facilities.
Additionally, our counselors are evaluated by their supervisors throughout the summer and are eligible to earn an additional $600 in cash bonuses. This Evaluation Program has evolved over the years and is one of the reasons that our staff grow so much throughout the summer. This means NO TIPPING for parents on Visiting Day or at any other time of the summer.
