Who We Are...

Executive Director and Psychologist: Roger Friedman, Ph.D. Roger has maintained a clinical practice for 25 years, and is a consultant to child welfare and adolescent/child mental health programs across the country. He is a second generation owner of the camp, lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife Roz and spends his summers at Echo Hill. He and Roz have three children: Amanda, Michaela and David.

Executive Director and Clinical Social Worker: Roz Beroza, MSW. Roz is a clinical social worker with 25 years of experience as a family therapist. She lives with her husband Roger and their children in the Washington, D.C. area and spends her summers working with the staff and children at Echo Hill.

Associate Director: Steve Samet, M.Ed., is Full Professor at San Antonio College, Past-President of Texas College Counseling Association, and a Licensed Practical Counselor. He helps year round by recruiting new staff, doing marketing and facilitating our Winter Open Houses. In the summer he manages the daily flow of camp life, oversees all activity counselors and makes sure equipment needs are fulfilled. Steve has been on our staff for 30 years.

Associate Director: Charles B. “Chuck” Hart, BS, MS helps manage the facilities, organizes Alumni volunteers for work projects at the ranch, and contributes to marketing and management year round as part of our Administrative Team. He served as Wrangler for many years, takes care of the horses in the winter, and is a resource for Shelley O’Neal in running the corral. He is the father and grandfather of Echo Hill campers and staff, and was a staff member in 1960 where he met his wife, Jan Siegel. He’s Past President of Texas Jewish Historical Society and Board Member of Texas A & M Hillel Foundation. Chuck’s been involved with Echo Hill for 30 years.

Administrative Coordinator: Deonna Heath, BS designs the yearbook, manages database registration, and responds to prospective and current parent’s requests for information and help year round. She’s an alumnus of several summer camps and worked at the National Wildlife Federation before joining our staff three years ago. Deonna and her husband Jim are close friends of the Friedman family, and live with their children Riley, Audrey and Dillon in Mt. Pleasant, N.C.

Family Ownership: Echo Hill Ranch is jointly owned by Marcie, Roger and Kinky Friedman, the children of Dr. and Mrs. S. Thomas who founded the camp in 1953.

Director of Food Services & Head of Kitchen:Rosie De Soto has been Senior Chef/Baker and Food Service Manager for over 25 years in the San Antonio Independent School System. At camp each summer, she works with her daughter Sherry Barona and Roz in planning menus and ordering food and supplies. She is responsible for overseeing the preparation of all meals and supervising the kitchen staff. Rosie especially loves baking, and makes cookies, cakes, cobblers, challah, dinner rolls, corn bread, biscuits, and cinnamon buns from scratch. She has been working at Echo Hill for 22 years.

Head Wrangler:Shelley O'Neal, BS is in charge of the corral, 18 horses in the summer, as well as teaching riding skills and leading trail rides. She’s a Certified Horse Instructor, a 3rd generation camper and counselor at Echo Hill and has worked with horses all of her life. Shelley is a Certified Sports Trainer, a 2005 graduate of Texas State University in Sports Medicine, and is currently the Head Athletic Trainer for Luling Independent School District, Luling, Texas.

Head Men’s Counselor:David McDonald has studied philosophy at Trinity University in San Antonio and St. Edwards in Austin. He’s an accomplished guitar player and singer and loves the Texas hill country. McD, as he’s called by campers and staff alike, is responsible for making sure that the camp facility is ready for kids by Opening Day, and has been a leader in our Ecology, Backpacking, Fishing and Wildlife Management Programs. He has been a camper, CIT, bunk counselor, and camp naturalist until assuming the role of Head Men’s Counselor in 2010.

Head Women’s Counselor:Shawn Cohen, BS , graduated in 2011 from The University of Arizona with a major in Family Studies and Human Development and a minor in Judaic Studies. She’s worked at Wings on Words, an Arizona pre-school that focuses on communication and speech pathology, and spent six months in Israel studying at Tel Aviv University in 2009. In her senior year she participated in her first half marathon, decathlon and triathlon! Shawn, who first came to camp in 2001, is a third generation Echo Hill camper and has been a CIT, Bunk Counselor and assumed the role of Head Women’s Counselor in 2010.