Board of Directors

Jess Witchley

Board Member

Jessica Witchley began volunteering at Camp Omni in 2013. Over the years she has had various roles, including curriculum development in the off season and Program Director during camp. One of her primary goals in life is to foster a sense of scientific enthusiasm in people of all ages.

Outside of camp, Jess is a postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Gregory Barton’s laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a transplant from upstate New York who moved to the Bay Area for her PhD and decided to set down roots. She received her bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from MIT and her PhD in Genetics from University of California, San Francisco. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamics of host-pathogen interactions.

Joel Layton

Board Member

Former President of Atheists of Utah and Salt Lake Valley Atheists and co-founder of Utah Coalition of Reason (UCORE). Atheist since three hours after conception and an Atheist-in-a-foxhole veteran who grew up in a Freethinking household. Now retired and writing unpublished novels with his son and three stepdaughters, and wife.

Liz Shoemaker

President

Liz began volunteering with Camp Omni in 2012, and has served on the board since 2013. She teaches science to 7th, 8th, and 9th graders in the Sacramento area, and especially loves astronomy and biology.

Rachel Tracy

Board Member

Rachel Tracy is a lifelong learner and thrilled to be on the board of a great organization. Parent, educator, office worker, stage manager, curriculum planner – basically, she coordinates and make connections for people.
In her “down time” she tries to read, sleep and enjoys music, TV shows and movies.

Ray Anderson

treasurer

Ray Anderson began volunteering with Camp Omni in 2017 and currently serves as treasurer. A Minnesota native with a background as an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Ray enjoys helping the campers learn and grow to better understand the world around them. In his day job, Ray works as an agricultural scientist helping to improve water management in California and the Western US.

Ross Blocher

Secretary

Ross Blocher has been a Program Staffer and now Program Director at Camp Omni SoCal, and a regular member of the Curriculum Development Task Force. Ross is co-host of the popular investigations podcast Oh No, Ross and Carrie! in which he investigates fringe religious groups, alternative medicine, and spirituality – all so you don’t have to. He has been an investigator since 2006 with the Independent Investigations Group in Los Angeles, examining and testing paranormal claims. You’ll find him at a number of secular and skeptical groups around the greater Los Angeles area, including Sunday Assembly and CFI-West.

Professionally, Ross works at Disney Animation Studios as a Training Project Manager, and loves that atmosphere of creativity and inspiration. He’s also a fan of reading, running, hacky sacking, movie watching, and the number 47. His son, Andrew, joins him each year for camp, now as a counselor!

Sitar Harel

Board Member

Elle Finn

Board Member

Elle began volunteering in 2016 and has served as program and cabin staff of the gender-inclusive cabin. They aspire to become the kind of mentor to trans and gender-nonconforming youth that they wish they could’ve had growing up. They first heard about camp while attending UC San Diego, where they served as president of the local Secular Student Alliance. They have a degree in psychology and anthropology, and recently completed a credential program to teach high school social science. Originally from Orange County, they now live in San Diego, where they enjoy reading, hiking, video games, and activism with The Satanic Temple. Their pronouns are they/them or she/her.