Shechunah Shel Ramah- Meet Mandi from Bishul (cooking)

Meet Mandi Firoved! Her last name is an old Prussian name and can be hard to pronounce at first but is sounded out as follows: Fi(long I like in “Hi”) Ro(long O as in “Row”) ved. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia she and her husband ended up back in Norfolk, and have called it home for the past 14 years.

Mandi teaches Bishul which is indoor cooking and has been on Tzevet (staff) at Machaneh Ramah for five years. When asked what brought her to Machaneh Ramah and what her favorite part of her job is Mandi said “We go to a Reform Shul and Chabad in our hometown of Norfolk, Va. Though I love both shuls so much, we felt our children needed more Jewish education and Jewish inclusion outside of Shabbat services and holidays. My goal is to have every camper have the best summer ever, just like I want my children to have the best summer. Bi Shul is a wonderful place to cook, talk, eat, laugh, play games and a chance to make each camper feel special and happy. My favorite part about my job is seeing the campers come and tell me how much they love Bishul.” Another highlight of being at camp is reuniting with her camp friends during the summer and has cherished the opportunity to have made wonderful friends from all over the world at Machaneh Ramah.

When Mandi is not at camp, she is an occupational therapist who specializes in lymphedema, wounds and burn trauma. She also treats adults with neuro disorders, such as traumatic brain injury and stroke, and neuromuscular disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease. Mandi teaches anatomy and physiology at a local community college and teaches an international interprofessional global health course at Old Dominion University (ODU). She is a Ph.D. candidate at ODU for motor behavior and rehabilitation currently researching how the brain and muscles work together in healthy and injured clients to determine the best treatment approaches after an injury.   

Outside of work, Mandi loves to be outside and walking. She loves traveling with her family and really enjoys reading early English, Irish, Scottish and French history. Something to know about Mandi is that people tell her that she smiles all the time, but she loves it because people always smile back and that makes her very happy. Mandi, we are so happy that you have brought your amazing talents to share with our Chanichim (campers) here at Machaneh Ramah!