Robert Frisch | Co-Founder & CEO

Bobby co-founded, managed, and sold a boutique hostel and restaurant in Nicaragua called “La Buena Onda” following his service in the Peace Corps. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA ’13 from the Johnson School at Cornell University where he was a Roy Park Leadership Fellow and ran Cornell’s startup incubator as an ELAB fellow. Bobby has provided hospitality consulting services for the National Parks Service in California, for Itza Lodge in Belize, and for glamping installations at some of the largest festivals and sporting events in the country. He is a founding advisory board member of the American Glamping Association. Read a short interview with Bobby.

Emma Frisch | Head of Brand and Food & Beverage

Emma was a top finalist on Food Network Star Season 10, and recently published her camping themed cookbook, Feast By Firelight, with Ten Speed Press. The book is sold in national outlets such as L.L.Bean and Anthropologie, has been featured in outlets such as the NYTimes and Epicurious, and is now in its fourth printing. Her food blog has 500+ original recipes, and she has catered for Columbia Sportswear, Dewars Whisky, The Greenwich Food and Wine Festival, and many others. She co-founded La Buena Onda in Nicaragua, the crowd-funding platform PEAKS, and was a founding member of Groundswell International during her Fulbright Fellowship in Ecuador. She holds a B.A. in Food Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Ithaca, NY with her husband, Bobby, and two daughters Ayla and Cora. Read a short interview with Emma.

Matt Moss | Chief Development Officer

Matt has a passion for innovative, experiential hospitality and extensive experience acquiring, developing and managing hospitality and commercial properties. He was co-founder and developer of The Cooper Square Hotel, a $130 million / 145-room new-build hotel in Manhattan (now The Standard East Village), and co-managed the property from opening until its sale to Andre Balazs’ HotelsAB. Before building and managing The Cooper Square Hotel, Matt oversaw the development of over $100 million of commercial and residential real estate at East End Properties, a real estate development and management firm affiliated with The Related Companies. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Matt lives in New York with his wife and three children.

Jason Smith | General Manager

Jason joined the Firelight team in 2019 with a love of traveling and the outdoors. He was Front Office Manager for Wheatleigh in Lenox Massachusetts, part of Leading Hotels of the World, and The Farm at Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand. Most recently, Jason was the General Manager for The Lodge at Glendorn in Pennsylvania, part of Relais & Châteaux. He holds a B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Niagara University.  

Emma Pure | Front Desk Manager

Emma joined the Firelight Team in 2016 as a camp host, excited to experience her hometown of Ithaca in a new way through the eyes of Firelight guests. As a photographer and Ithaca native, glamping combines her love of the outdoors with her eye for detail and visual beauty. Emma holds a B.A. in Communications from SUNY Geneseo and has spent her post graduation years traveling, working as a photographer, and growing with the Firelight Team. She finds it hard to stay away from Firelight for long, and most recently moved from New York City back to Ithaca.