Interested in joining our team for the summer? Check out our staffing opportunities for the summer of 2021.
And if you have kids, they come for free!!
Year-Round Administrative Staff
Michael Humes
Camp Owner, CEO
Michael has been the Owner and Director of Camp Regis Applejack for 40+ years after buying the business from his parents, the founders of Camp Regis Applejack, Pauline and Earl Humes. Mike has spent his whole life at Camp Regis Applejack, first as a camper, administrator, and finally Director. Michael is a graduate of Pace University with a degree in Education. Michael continues to be a huge part of Camp Regis Applejack now supervising the new Directors and managing the camp property.
Seasonal Camp Staff
Bella Baer Cortez
Music Director
For the past 20 years, Bella has been teaching music and singing opera all over the world from Italy to Austria, England, and Mexico. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she obtained her Master’s Degree in Opera and Music Education from the Italian State Conservatory of Music in Salerno, Italy.
Her love of children led her to create a completely original method of music education where students play instruments, sing, dance, and learn self-expression through rhythm and movement. She also loves languages and speaks Italian, French, German, and Spanish.
Her husband is also an opera singer and her daughter loves to sing as well! During the school year she lives in Mexico City with her family and she teaches general music, voice, choir, and piano to 425 students each week.
Jesse Cleveland
Athletics and Boating Director
Jesse Cleveland brings years of experience to camp both as a former counselor and a long-time CRAJ camper. During the year Jesse works as a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach and is a nationally renowned expert in teaching snowboarding to women and children. Having grown up waterskiing and actively playing sports both at home and at camp, she is excited to bring her passion to her roles as Director of Athletics & Boating. Moreover, she is very excited to share camp with her children and to resume her spot in the weather committee!
Michael Lemma
Visiting Artist
Michael is a former CRAJ Alumnus who is volunteering his time this summer to come to camp and teach our campers about the Ukulele. He is leading two programs, “Build Your Own Ukulele,” and “Campfire Songs for Guitar.” In Build Your Own Ukulele, campers will undertake steps in lutherie to make a fully functioning instrument they take home after the summer. In the Campfire Songs for Guitar, campers of all levels learn how to play and sing songs in a group or community setting- from folk songs to classic rock!
Since being a camper, Michael continued to enjoy many of the same activities and pursued a career in music education- teaching, performing, listening, and helping others reach their goals. He earned a Master of Arts in music education from Columbia University and has been Director of Music at a New Jersey magnet high school since 1994, where he established a nationally recognized music program. He created unique courses such as Musicians Workshop, where students build guitars, ukuleles, and custom-tuned wind chimes. He integrated music and science with Sound Wave Audio Lab, a maker space course where students solder electro-musical devices (mini amps, digital drum machines, overdrive effect pedals, Theremins).
Michael was Director of National Guitar Summer Workshops throughout the United States, co-founder of Bergen Makerspace, and Director of New Jersey Guitar & Music Society. As a musician, he plays mandolin, guitar, and bass. He was a member of Bloomfield and New York Mandolin Orchestras for over 10 years and formed World View, a flute and guitar duo that performs international favorites. He presents educational clinics at venues from small elementary classrooms to national music education conferences.
Michael is married with 2 boys that love sports, the outdoors, and the arts… and still finds time to perform for community events now and then. He is grateful for the gifts that music lends to humanity and truly believes it can positively influence the lives around us. The memories and skills he took from CRAJ have given him a lifelong love of the outdoors that he now shares with family and other young people… and he still likes to indulge in treats now and then!