I’ve spent years building the Jewish Business Network and the four networks under it, Osher, Menorah, Dynasty and Innovation16, around one belief: relationships come before results. The Dynasty x Innovation16 Utah Forum, which we convened in Salt Lake City on May 27 and 28, 2026, was the clearest example yet of what that looks like in practice.

More than 100 Jewish and non-Jewish business, philanthropic, faith and civic leaders joined us over two days. We met at the Utah State Capitol, where the Utah Attorney General addressed the group, and at a private ranch, where the real relationship-building happened away from a podium. We were honored to recognize Bob Gay for his decades of philanthropic leadership and bridge-building across communities, and to sit down with LDS community business leaders for a conversation focused on combating Jewish hatred.

That conversation is a big part of why I keep doing this work. Building a strong Jewish future isn’t something the Jewish community can or should do alone. It takes leaders from outside our community choosing to stand with us, not just attend our events. One participant reflected on it this way: “It was really quite inspirational, everyone here asking how we can learn about philanthropy and how we can do more. It doesn’t matter what religion we are; we’re all children of God, and we want to help those who are less fortunate.” That’s exactly the spirit this forum was built on.

What made the forum matter wasn’t the agenda. It was what came out of it: several new philanthropic collaborations and follow-up initiatives launched directly from the relationships built over those two days. That’s the outcome I care about, and it’s why we’re already planning to bring this same model to Dallas next.

As I see it: “This forum is about giving leaders from across the globe the time and trust to build something together that lasts well beyond two days.”

That’s the idea behind everything we do at JBN: connecting business leaders, philanthropists and civic figures across communities, not just within them. The Utah Forum was a Dynasty and Innovation16 collaboration, and I’m grateful to both teams for helping build something that’s already growing beyond one city. You can read more about how they see the model on the Dynasty and Innovation16 blogs.

Learn more about our networks at osher.com and menorahpartners.com.