Michael Zalkin was born and raised in Woodridge in Sullivan County, to a family that ran resorts there since the 1930s. He graduated from Fallsburg High School, received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Ithaca College, and an Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is a native English speaker, but is fluent in Spanish, and conversational in Brazilian Portuguese.
Mr. Zalkin has considerable experience in the travel industry. From age 14 he worked in his parents’ camping resort, Birchwood Acres. He was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame from 1985-1990, during which time he was awarded a congressional Fulbright grant to do research in Nicaragua. From 1990-2013, he took over the family resort, joining the Jellystone Park franchise system. The park won many Jellystone awards, including Rookie of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, and (the highest award) Camp-Resort of the Year. Michael was a member of the Sullivan County Partnership, Chamber, and Visitors Association, and the Campground Owners of New York and National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds. He was a Fallsburg School Board member for twelve years, including four as vice president and four as president.
The park experienced significant growth during Mr. Zalkin’s tenure. In November 2013 the park was sold to Sun Communities, an NYSE-traded REIT. Currently Michael oversees real estate and other investments held in his sub-chapter S corp, Birchwood Lodge, Inc. Michael is semi-retired and pursue other interests as well.