Our team has curated these interactive, content-rich sessions specifically for you. Offering practical tools and forward-looking strategies, each fits squarely in the domain of a newly launched Center of Excellence: Jewish Peoplehood, Talent Development, or Innovation and Impact. Pick three that will better your leadership acumen and enrich your JCC.
Monday, February 2, 2026 | 2:45 - 4:05 p.m.
CENTER FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT
How You Can Leverage the State of Jewish Nonprofit Talent at Your JCC
Presenters:
Abby Crawford and Isabel Shech, Leading Edge
Debbi Cooper and Clare Goldwater, M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education
Location: Brill Family Activity Room 1
In this interactive session we’ll dig into the state of talent and culture in Jewish organizations. By exploring recent research, including Leading Edge’s report and The Hope Study from M2, we’ll help you demystify the changes you need to make in your own organization and build an action plan for the next 12 weeks. You’ll also get a first look at what’s to come from Leading Edge in 2026, information that will help you strategize and lead when it comes to talent and culture at your JCC.
Session Materials:
Sharpening Team Skills to Navigate Increasing Change and Improve Retention and Productivity
Presenter: Deborah Gilboa, M.D.
Location: Brill Family Activity Room 2
North American Jewish communities face both organic and imposed change. Although change is not new, its rate is ever increasing and involves everything from identities and definitions to focus, funding, and fundamental safety. Meeting these challenges requires strengthening staff, members, and stakeholders to face current difficulties and the changes that inevitably will follow. In this session, Dr. G, a family physician and internationally respected expert on resilience and change navigation, will explain the neuroscience of encountering change and outline the strategies that build individuals’ ability to navigate changes competently, confidently, and more quickly. We will explore the tools that increase resilience and decrease burnout in teams and learn strategies that you can impart to your own people to increase retention and success while decreasing frustration, fear, and overwhelm.
CENTER FOR JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD
Israel and Zionism: Getting Grounded in the Facts and Nuances
Presenter: Rabbi Mike Uram, Chief Jewish Learning Officer, Jewish Federations of North America
Location: Brill Family Activity Room 3
In this session, you’ll gain knowledge and resources to more effectively and more bravely navigate conversations about Israel and Zionism— with Jews and people of other faiths and ethnicities. By focusing on key inflection points in the history of Israel and Zionism, you will better understand the nuances that may seem especially controversial or politically hazardous. Among the questions we’ll explore are these: Was land in Israel acquired legally or illegally? How did the settlements begin? Is the conflict fueled by religion or politics? What do some of the accusations made against Israel and Zionism mean, and where did they originate?
Session Materials:
- Getting Grounded Israel and Zionism
- Facilitation Toolbox for Getting Grounded
- Advanced Facilitator’s Guide Getting Grounded
What the Surge Is Teaching Us: Adapting Jewish Institutions for a New Engagement Era
Presenter: Mimi Kravetz, Jewish Federations of North America
Location: Brill Family Activity Room 4
Building on the opening Movement Moment, we will explore the data behind the post–October 7 surge in Jewish engagement and newly released 2025 community findings. We will unpack what the data is really telling us about who is engaging, where, and why—and examine how your JCC can use the newest community audit data and local insights to identify your strongest points of leverage. Through focused discussion, this session will help you translate trend data into clear, actionable strategies for leading effectively at this pivotal moment.
CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND IMPACT
From Wellness to Wellbeing: How Promoting Health and Healthcare Partnerships Can Create Sustainable Revenue for Your JCC
Presenters:
Kurt Atherton, Senior Vice President, Strategic Growth, Avidon Health
Joshua Lyons, Owner, Pinnacle Medical Wellness
Location: Sophie Hirsh Srochi Discovery Center
Because JCCs possess a wellness infrastructure and are trusted community entities, they are uniquely positioned to lead the way in promoting health and helping members proactively prevent disease.
This session will explore how JCCs can strategically partner with health systems, insurers, employers, and community organizations to expand their impact beyond their members and create meaningful new revenue streams. You will gain actionable insights into identifying community health needs, building evidence-based programs, training staff, and measuring outcomes—so you can equip your JCC to drive value, strengthen partnerships, and sustainably advance community health.
Session Materials:
If Only I Had the Time: Rethinking the CEO’s Role in Fundraising
Presenter: Amy Schiffman and Jessica Grossnickle, Evolve Giving Group
Location: Brill Family Activity Room 5
A strong culture of philanthropy thrives on leaders who serve as key players on the development team. This session will explore the responsibilities of CEOs in capacity building. We will delve into critical questions such as: How much time should a CEO dedicate to development? What constitutes the most effective use of that time? Andh ow can you effectively motivate your board to become willing and active partners in development? We will address the role, responsibilities, and management challenges associated with major gift development and building a robust fundraising team, aiming to identify strategies for the greatest return on your fundraising hours.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | 10 - 11:20 a.m.
CENTER FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Human-Centered Leadership for a Multi-Generational Workforce
Presenter: Andi Campbell, Leadership Advisor, Speaker, and Coach
Location: Kern, Concourse Level
Today’s workforce spans five generations, each shaped by different experiences, expectations, and definitions of success. Although the core principles of leadership remain timeless, leaders are increasingly challenged to understand how generational context influences communication styles, motivations, views on authority, and approaches to work. Human-centered leadership offers a framework to navigate these differences with intention and clarity. In this session, we will explore the nuances among generations at work and how to leverage insights to lead more effectively. By examining what differentiates and unites today’s workforce, you can deepen your ability to build trust, foster connection, drive results, and support wellbeing across your teams. You’ll leave with practical strategies and a renewed perspective to create environments in which people of all generations feel seen, supported, and empowered to contribute.
Leading Through Curiosity: Navigating and Aligning Our Purpose, Practice, and People
Presenter: Robert Calabrese, Business Visions Group LLC
Location: Porter, Concourse Level
In today’s complex and shifting landscape, you as a JCC executive need more than strategy. You need presence, adaptability, and genuine connection to lead effectively. In this session, you will have an opportunity to reflect on your current leadership approach amid real-world, on-site challenges, within the organization, and globally, through three core lenses of leadership—Creating the Future, Managing the Present, and Nurturing Identity. Using these lenses, you will discover how cultivating curiosity in your leadership approach can empower you to lead with more intention, better inspire innovation in your teams, and foster a more resilient, mission-driven culture. We’ll also share best practices and explore how curiosity-driven leadership can help you better navigate uncertainty, strengthen communal bonds, and ensure your JCC has a positive impact in your community and the broader Jewish world.
Session Materials:
CENTER FOR JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD
Cultivating Allyship and Partnerships To Lead in a Time of Rising Antisemitism
Presenter: Meggie Wyschogrod Fredman, U.S. Director for Jewish Communal Engagement and Partnership, American Jewish Committee
Location: Rodgers, Concourse Level
At a time of rising antisemitism, declining public support for Israel in many sectors, deep polarization in American society, and wide-ranging viewpoints within the Jewish community itself, Jewish leaders are navigating a complex landscape. Meeting this moment does not require Jewish organizations to blur their identities or become all things to all people. Rather, it calls for clarity of mission, identifying our organization’s unique expertise, and intentional collaboration across the Jewish ecosystem.
In this session, we will explore how JCCs and other Jewish organizations can have greater impact in their leadership by honing their own areas of expertise while strategically partnering with communal agencies whose work complements and strengthens their broader engagement of American Jewry. We will examine why collective advocacy—both locally and across the continent—is essential in this moment, how alignment on key issues can amplify communal influence, and what it takes to cultivate allies—both Jews and people of other faiths—who are grounded in trust, shared values, and sustained engagement.
Israel and Zionism: Getting Grounded in the Facts and Nuances
Presenter: Rabbi Mike Uram, Chief Jewish Learning Officer, Jewish Federations of North America
Location: Foster, Concourse Level
In this session, you’ll gain knowledge and resources to more effectively and more bravely navigate conversations about Israel and Zionism— with Jews and people of other faiths and ethnicities. By focusing on key inflection points in the history of Israel and Zionism, you will better understand the nuances that may seem especially controversial or politically hazardous. Among the questions we’ll explore are these: Was land in Israel acquired legally or illegally? How did the settlements begin? Is the conflict fueled by religion or politics? What do some of the accusations made against Israel and Zionism mean, and where did they originate?
Session Materials:
- Getting Grounded Israel and Zionism
- Facilitation Toolbox for Getting Grounded
- Advanced Facilitator’s Guide Getting Grounded
CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND IMPACT
Breaking Fixedness: Leading Forward in a Time of Fracture and Possibility
Presenters: Meg Rodarte and Jenn Goldstone, UpStart
Location: Berlin, Concourse Level
This session frames breaking fixedness—ideas or ways of working that are firmly set or unchanging—not as a leadership failure, but as a natural and necessary response to leading inside constrained systems. Drawing on adaptive design principles and Jewish wisdom, we’ll explore how innovation emerges when leaders work with limits rather than against them—loosening assumptions, expanding perspectives, and creating space for learning and innovation without destabilizing trust or established culture.
The AI-Enabled Executive
Presenter: Amanda Loveland, Puzzles and Profits, LLC
Location: Copeland, Concourse Level
In this high-impact session, we will move beyond the hype to explore the strategic realities of artificial intelligence. This isn't only about tools; it's about transformation. You will gain a clear framework for evaluating AI opportunities—understanding the ethical implications of automated decision-making in a community context and identifying immediate "wins" for your organization. You’ll leave with a strategic framework for AI adoption, an understanding of ethical leadership in an automated world, and a readiness to build culture into the future.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | 11:35 a.m. - 12:55 p.m.
CENTER FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Human-Centered Leadership for a Multi-Generational Workforce
Presenter: Andi Campbell, Leadership Advisor, Speaker, and Coach
Location: Kern, Concourse Level
Today’s workforce spans five generations, each shaped by different experiences, expectations, and definitions of success. Although the core principles of leadership remain timeless, leaders are increasingly challenged to understand how generational context influences communication styles, motivations, views on authority, and approaches to work. Human-centered leadership offers a framework to navigate these differences with intention and clarity. In this session, we will explore the nuances among generations at work and how to leverage insights to lead more effectively. By examining what differentiates and unites today’s workforce, you can deepen your ability to build trust, foster connection, drive results, and support wellbeing across your teams. You’ll leave with practical strategies and a renewed perspective to create environments in which people of all generations feel seen, supported, and empowered to contribute.
New Thinking That Leads to Shared Accountability and Better Results
Presenter: Robert Calabrese, Business Visions Group LLC
Location: Porter, Concourse Level
As an executive, you are constantly balancing urgent demands with the long‑term work of building a healthy, mission‑driven culture. This session will introduce a clear and practical framework for creating experiences for staff and members that shape beliefs, drive actions, and ultimately produce better results for your JCC. Grounded in principles from current thought leaders, including Roger Connors, Tom Smith, and Simon Sinek, you’ll rethink how culture is created and how accountability can become a shared, empowering practice rather than a top‑down expectation. We will explore how new thinking leads to new behaviors and how intentional leadership can shift everyday experiences. Using focused discussion and hands‑on applications, you will leave with a simple accountability framework you can use to clarify expectations, reinforce desired behaviors, and support your team in creating meaningful, sustainable change.
Session Materials:
Sharpening Team Skills to Navigate Increasing Change and Improve Retention and Productivity
Presenter: Deborah Gilboa, M.D.
Location: Foster, Concourse Level
North American Jewish communities face both organic and imposed change. Although change is not new, its rate is ever increasing and involves everything from identities and definitions to focus, funding, and fundamental safety. Meeting these challenges requires strengthening staff, members, and stakeholders to face current difficulties and the changes that inevitably will follow. In this session, Dr. G, a family physician and internationally respected expert on resilience and change navigation, will explain the neuroscience of encountering change and outline the strategies that build individuals’ ability to navigate changes competently, confidently, and more quickly. We will explore the tools that increase resilience and decrease burnout in teams and learn strategies that you can impart to your own people to increase retention and success while decreasing frustration, fear, and overwhelm.
CENTER FOR JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD
The 18 x 18 Framework: What's Your Community's Vision for Jewish Life?
Presenters: Debbi Cooper and Clare Goldwater, M²: Institute for Experiential Jewish Education
Location: Rodgers, Concourse Level
In a challenging moment for Jewish communities, many people are searching for grounding, meaning, belonging, and connection. Recent research by Jewish Federations of North America points to a clear surge: a renewed desire on the part of Jews to be part of something larger than themselves and to find authentic pathways into Jewish life. JCCs are uniquely positioned to respond to this moment with leadership, creativity, and care.
In this interactive, hands-on session, we will introduce the 18x18 framework, an educational and strategic lens to understand the many dimensions of Jewish life and the diverse ways people engage Jewishly. We will also explore “The Compass,” an organizational alignment tool designed to help translate values and vision into coherent strategy and practice across an institution.
Using guided exercises, reflection, and peer learning, you will gain an understanding of both these tools and how you can inform visioning, program design, and decision-making. Together, we will imagine new possibilities for vibrant, accessible, and meaningful Jewish life, all of which are designed to meet this moment.
CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND IMPACT
The AI-Enabled Executive
Presenter: Amanda Loveland, Puzzles and Profits, LLC
Location: Copeland, Concourse Level
In this high-impact session, we will move beyond the hype to explore the strategic realities of artificial intelligence. This isn't only about tools; it's about transformation. You will gain a clear framework for evaluating AI opportunities—understanding the ethical implications of automated decision-making in a community context and identifying immediate "wins" for your organization. You’ll leave with a strategic framework for AI adoption, an understanding of ethical leadership in an automated world, and a readiness to build culture into the future.
UpSpark Design Sprint: A Live Innovation Studio
Presenters: Meg Rodarte and Jenn Goldstone, UpStart
Location: Berlin, Concourse Level
The UpSpark Design Sprint is a flexible, active process that will guide you through a clear, repeatable way to move from a big, complex question to a thoughtful next step. Rather than asking you to arrive with answers, the session will focus on how you can learn your way forward—one insight at a time. You will experience a facilitated design cycle that reflects how effective innovation actually happens: starting with discovery, clarifying what truly matters, exploring possibilities, and testing ideas in ways that are intentionally small, human-centered, and informative.
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