Audrey Edwards, Joy Brand-RichardsonKatz

Make every connection count. This dynamic, interactive workshop is designed specifically for Jewish Community Center staff across all departments. Whether you work at the welcome desk, lead programs, or manage a team, this fast-paced session will transform how you engage with the community. You will participate in peer-to-peer conversations and leave with practical, hands-on tools you can put into action the very next day.

Annie KeithDance Room 1

What does perfection look like in a programmatic context and how is it different from excellence? How does our ever-changing landscape provide opportunities to evolve and improve? In this interactive workshop, JCC coordinators, managers and directors will examine how “the way we’ve always done it” and the belief that we are already the best can limit learning and innovation. Using realistic cross-department scenarios, participants will practice challenging assumptions, protecting non-negotiable standards, and identifying small experiments that support continuous improvement.

Jay JacobsDance Room 2

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: Evaluate whether their JCC’s current culture authentically reflects its mission, vision, and core values. Identify how leadership, employees, and organizational practices shape workplace culture and member experience. Assess whether their culture promotes inclusion, engagement, morale, and organizational success. Identify opportunities to strengthen or redefine culture so it becomes a true difference-maker for employees and members. This session will make you think, get you engaged and make you ask the question is your agency/department culture a difference maker setting you up for success.

Avi MelamedGES2 (Aerobics)

Conversations about Israel and the Middle East surface across the JCC, among people with very different perspectives. In this interactive session, Avi Melamed introduces the Inside The Middle East framework through a mini-briefing on the Axis of Resistance, showing why apolitical, intelligence-based education works across diverse audiences. Participants will leave with a practical lens for asking who most needs this education, what they need to understand, and where it can have the greatest impact, moving beyond programming to strategic thinking.

Mark S. YoungGES1 (Yoga Studio)

The member won't let it go. The staff conversation you've been avoiding won't wait. This hands-on session for JCC professionals' tools and strategies to utilize after these triggers hit, and understanding how we can shift from below the line, where our ego tends to lead us, to above the line, where taking responsibility and leaning into curiosity can guide us to long-term sustainable solutions. Great for managers to create a strong culture with their teams and for all of us to be make smart choices and be our best selves at work for our JCCs.

Joy Brand-Richardson, Dror GershoniDance Room 2

Creating a culture where employees feel they belong, have fun, and are empowered to make a difference. Using the FISH! philosophy, this interactive workshop explores how to view your staff as a community of its own. Participants will learn practical ways to build connection, trust, engagement, and a sense of belonging, creating a workplace culture where people feel valued, energized, supported, and motivated to contribute.

Nicole ErdfrochtGES2 (Aerobics)

A candid conversation on what authentic leadership looks like in practice. Nicole is interviewed by her father, Simon, about leading as herself in the Jewish nonprofit world, a field they have both spent years in: how she has balanced professionalism with genuine self-expression, built trust through transparency, and seen authentic leadership shape her career. Along the way, she reflects on the leaders who influenced her approach and offers advice to those early in their careers. The session closes with audience Q&A.

Sandra Chaberman, Debbie LombardKatz

Every center’s road to inclusion looks different. This interactive session will explore how to create and grow inclusive programs for individuals with developmental disabilities while also building a more inclusive culture throughout your entire center. Through open conversation, we’ll share successes, challenges, and lessons learned from programs at different stages of development. We’ll explore what has worked, what hasn’t, and where centers may face barriers. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to inclusion. By learning from one another and finding solutions together, we can create centers where everyone has opportunities to participate, connect, contribute, and know they belong.

Alan Sataloff, Paul FrishmanDance Room 1

This session explores the skills, mindset, and strategies needed to advance your career, from mid-level roles to executive leadership. Participants will learn how to identify their core strengths, develop them with intention, and position themselves for growth. Attendees will leave with practical tools to map out their professional path and take meaningful steps toward their goals.

Veronica Maravankin, Lital DayanGES1 (Yoga Studio)

What do Jewish values have to do with aquatics, fitness, sports and recreation, cultural arts, accounting, HR, or any other JCC department? What makes our practice Jewish? For some departments, the connection seems obvious; for others, it may take a bit more digging. When we look at our work through Jewish lenses, they generate compelling new meanings and serve as foundational and transformative guides. Join us to explore how to look at your work through a Jewish lens, become more intentional, and elevate the experiences for our members, our colleagues, and ourselves

Fanny HanonoGES2 (Aerobics)

Whatever Path You Take, Do It Wholeheartedly Fanny Hanono thought she was going to become a lawyer. Instead, her path led her to warehouses, automotive parts, entrepreneurship, and eventually building and leading a successful business. In this session, Fanny shares why success doesn’t have to follow the path you originally planned. Whether your choice is building a career, raising a family, starting a business, or changing direction entirely, Fanny believes what matters is owning that choice and doing it wholeheartedly. She’ll share lessons from her own unexpected journey and why it’s never too late to decide that a different path is the right one.

Stephanie EssenfeldTheater

In this session we'll explore the myths and limiting beliefs we hold about setting boundaries, why it feels so hard to set them, and the real costs of not having them - how that affects our mental health and our relationships. We'll cover how to set boundaries in a respectful and assertive way, how to release control over what we can't control so we can sustain them long-term, and the positive impact this has on our mental health.

Matthew Pottala, RingCentralDance Room 1

Deploying AI is no longer the goal—scaling it across your unified communications solution to drive actual business value is. In this session, we cut through the noise to show you how seamlessly embedding AI into your existing communications stack enhances customer interactions at every stage of the journey. See RingCentral’s latest AI-powered innovations in action and learn how agentic AI can help your team streamline operations, empower employees, and turn conversational data into smarter decisions—all within one unified platform.

Lenny KrayzelburgDance Room 2

Lenny Krayzelburg, four-time gold medalist and founder of SwimRight Academy, reflects on navigating setbacks, adapting after injury, and growing his swim school into a national program. Attendees will gain a fresh perspective on staying focused, rebounding from challenges, and applying an athlete's discipline to their own professional goals.

Gabriel GroismanGES1 (Yoga Studio)

Is it time for American Jews to leave? Former Bal Harbour mayor Gabe Groisman says no: it is time to fight for America. Drawing on his new book, The Jewish Fight for America, Groisman examines the forces challenging American Jewry, from campus radicalism and political extremism to assimilation and efforts to distance American Jews from Israel. He offers a practical blueprint for responding with strength: investing in Jewish identity, education, and community, and keeping Israel central to Jewish life.