Summit Seeds: Atid – The Wexner Foundation

Summit Seeds 2:

ATID: Becoming a Future-Focused Jewish Leader

Important Reminders

Please book your flight by January 31 for our in-person gathering. Flight Memo Linked Here.

Please also complete this Logistics Survey by January 31.

Goals

To develop meaningful visions for the future of the Jewish People that can guide our communal leadership
To learn the skills of futurism and scenario planning which can aid in wise planning and decision-making in our Jewish leadership work
To hone our narratives about the futures we wish to see for the Jewish People and cultivate our roles in bringing those narratives to life.

The Topic

The Jewish past is long and illustrious. At the same time, our tradition teaches that those who exercise leadership must not only responsibly address the needs of the moment but must also develop visionary and aspirational strategies for our future. The past year has revealed to us in stark terms the need to be prepared for an uncertain path ahead, buffeted by a world that is changing at a dizzying pace.

We find ourselves asking: As leaders, how can we continue to imagine, shape and steward the futures that we want to be a part of, rather than just reacting, responding and defending?

Practices of strategic foresight, scenario planning, and speculative world building are more than just games or fantasies. They constitute new leadership skills that help us interrogate and assess our current reality, proactively learn from unfolding patterns and emerging trends, and fuel bold imagination and hopeful optimism.

Faculty

We are excited to be engaging Lisa Kay Solomon, an expert in the topic from the Stanford Design School and who has taught for WHP: Futurist in Residence, Stanford d.school; LinkedIN learning, Leading like a Futurist ; Host, The Futures Happening and Futures Series; Creator, Vote by Design, TheTeam.org; Author, Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change, Design A Better Business

Participant Roster with Pictures

When will the program take place?

Zooms will take place at 12pm ET/ 9am PT / 7pm IT on the following dates:

January 14
January 28
February 18
March 4

In-person: March 30-31, 2025 in Columbus, OH

Session 1

Join the Zoom, at 12pm ET/ 9am PT / 7pm IT on January 14.

Pre-Work:

Ted Talk- How to Be a Good Ancestor

Post-Zoom Reading:

Slides
The Case for Futures Centered Design, Lisa Kay Solomon
A Word of Torah: On Not Predicting the Future, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The Corporation is at Odds with the Future, Grant McCracken

o Optional: JPPI Scenarios for 2030: Alternative Futures for the Jewish People. Participant note: This project was conducted in 2010 as a long term look at examining key external drivers impacting Jewish Futures and the potential implications of how they might unfold. We are asking you to explore this ambitious project at a high level (you don’t need to read it thoroughly!) to socialize elements of scenario planning that we will discuss in our next zoom.

Homework:

Set up a Futures Portfolio for your ongoing reflections and homework
Identify at least 3-5 high impact external forces shaping the future of the Jewish community (either globally or in your community)
Start to think about a topic area/ project that you might want to apply this in your community
Write a letter to your future self using Futureme.org.
6 word memoir to share next time

Session 2

Join the Zoom, at 12pm ET/ 9am PT / 7pm IT on January 28.

Pre-Work:

Set up a Futures Portfolio for your ongoing reflections and homework
Identify at least 3-5 high impact external forces shaping the future of the Jewish community (either globally or in your community)
Start to think about a topic area/ project that you might want to apply this in your community
Write a letter to your future self using Futureme.org.
6 word memoir to share next time

BACKGROUND ON SUMMITS

Wexner Summits: The Network In Action  is a platform for Alumni of all Wexner leadership initiatives to connect, learn and collaborate across our network. Through Summits, Wexner Alumni are exercising leadership by strategizing and stacking hands to take action that moves the needle on the key challenges facing the North American Jewish Community and the State of Israel. As with all Wexner Summits, regardless of topic, an additional purpose is to connect Wexner Alumni to other extraordinary leaders across the Jewish world and Israel, drawing wisdom, insight and new collaborative possibilities from our network. 

To date there have been six Wexner Summits fostering substantive action:

(Re)Imagining the Israel-North American Jewish Community Relationship (launched 2016)
Social Justice (launched 2016)
Civil Discourse (launched 2017)
Accelerator – for those robust projects from the first 3 Summits electing to continue after their obligatory year of work (launched 2019)
Gender Safety and Equity (launched 2019)
Leadership Skills (launched 2020)
Climate of Change (launched 2021)

Summit Seeds Overview

Who will participate?

Summit Seeds will bring together up to 25 alumni of The Wexner Foundation’s initiatives for volunteer leaders in the North American Jewish Community, professional leaders in the North American Jewish Community, and leaders in Israel’s public service.

What is the commitment?

Summit Seeds participants will commit to participate in four Zoom calls of 90 minutes each. These conversations will entail building connections and trust among group members, exploring the topic at hand, and pursuing possible connections to work together on addressing the topic moving forward.

By the end of the fourth call, members of the group will prepare to meet in person to dig more deeply into possible collaborations or partnerships to deepen their work on the topic.

The meeting will be a day-long gathering at The Wexner Foundation’s headquarters in Columbus, OH. Participants will cover their own travel expenses up to $500; The Wexner Foundation will cover all additional expenses.