The Z3 Leadership Lab equips JCC professionals with the skills, knowledge, frameworks and peer network to bring Israel, Zionism and Jewish Peoplehood more fully into the daily life of their organizations. Participants will engage in track-specific learning, case studies, peer consultation and practical design work. They will examine how these ideas show up in their own institutional context, identify local challenges and opportunities and begin developing Z3-inspired programs, strategies or practices they can bring back to their communities.

The Lab is not only about creating new Israel programs. It is about helping participants ask deeper organizational questions: Where does Israel appear in our mission, values and priorities? How should our commitments be reflected in resource allocation? How do we strengthen staffing and professional development? How do we engage leadership in this work? And how do we weave Israel and Jewish Peoplehood into the programming and community engagement already happening in our institutions? Through shared learning and applied work, participants leave with clearer priorities, concrete next steps and a national peer community.

• June 3, at 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT: Info session (virtual; optional)

• October 21 at 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT: Kickoff session (virtual; required) 

• November 1-3, 2026: Z3 Conference and Leadership Lab (Palo Alto, CA; required)

• December 2, 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT: Reflection session (virtual; required)

• Spring 2027: Optional Z3 Network events (virtual; required)

Participants in the Z3 Leadership Lab will gain:

1. A shared framework for bringing Israel, Zionism and Jewish Peoplehood into JCC life - 
   Participants will learn how to apply the Z3 lens across mission, values, staffing, leadership, resource allocation, programming and community engagement.

2. A delegation-based experience that supports institutional buy-in - 
   JCCs are encouraged to send professionals from multiple levels of leadership and program responsibility, creating shared language, stronger alignment and clearer pathways for implementation when participants return home.

3. Track-specific professional development - 
   Participants will join seminars designed for their professional roles, with clear learning goals, practical tools, and peer discussion time.

4. Participation in the Z3 Conference
   Lab participants will attend the Z3 Conference, engaging with Z3’s core operating principles: Unity, Not Uniformity; Diversity of Voices; and Engaging as Equal Partners.

5. Define steps for local implementation
   Participants will identify opportunities and challenges in their own institutions and begin developing Z3-inspired strategies, programs or practices that can be woven into work already underway.

6. A national peer network
   Participants will build relationships with colleagues from JCCs across North America who are navigating similar questions around Israel, Zionism, Jewish Peoplehood and communal leadership.

7. Ongoing professional development with access to leading industry professionals and renowned thinkers and scholars.

While not a requirement, JCCs are encouraged to send at least one professional per track across the following tracks:

1. Executives Lab: CEO / CPO / COO / Senior Program Leadership

2. Camp Lab: Camp Leadership

3. Early Childhood Education Lab: Early Childhood Leadership

4. Board Lab: Board Chair or Board Member

JCCs may send a delegation of up to 10 people across these tracks. JCCs are encouraged to send multiple delegation members per track.

The Lab will include general sessions for all professionals, followed by track-specific Lab sessions. Cohorts will be built both by track and by community.

Don’t have a full roster? Apply anyway! JCCs are encouraged to submit an application regardless of if they will have a representative in all tracks. JCCs and other communities that are unable to participate in all tracks also have the option to send multiple professionals to the same track. If you are not a part of a JCC and would still like to participate in the Z3 Leadership Lab 2026, please email us at [email protected].

The Lab is available to JCCs and JCC Camps that have committed to participating as JCC Association Stakeholders at the Partner or Ambassador level. For more information about JCC Association’s Stakeholder Partnership, click here.

The Z3 Leadership Lab is offered at a highly subsidized rate of $650 per participant for the Executives Lab, Camp Lab and Board Lab. The ECE Lab is fully funded.

The program fee includes the full Leadership Lab experience, hotel accommodations, local shuttle transportation and Kosher meals at the Z3 Conference and Leadership Lab. Participants are responsible only for their travel to and from Palo Alto and ground transportation to and from the airport.

• Flights: Upon acceptance to the lab, participants are responsible for booking their own flights. Please arrive no later than Sunday, November 1, at 7:00 AM PT, and depart no earlier than Tuesday, November 3, at 4:00 PM PT. If you arrive on Saturday, October 31, that hotel night will also be covered. If Shabbat travel is a concern, please contact us directly.

• Accommodations: The Z3 team will arrange hotel accommodations in Palo Alto once travel plans are confirmed.

• Meals: Kosher meals will be provided throughout the conference and seminar. Please let us know in advance about any dietary restrictions.

• Transportation: Transportation will be provided between the hotel and program locations.

Q: When is the Z3 Leadership Lab?
A: The Z3 Leadership Lab in-person experience will last from November 1, 2026 to November 3, 2026.

Q: How much will the Z3 Leadership Lab cost?
A: There is a $650 program fee per participant plus travel expenses to Palo Alto.

Q: What is included in the $650 program fee?
A: The program fee covers participation in the Z3 Conference, hotel, shuttle to and from the hotel and program locations, Kosher meals and 2 full days of dedicated Leadership Lab content.

Q: Do I need to book my own travel arrangements?
A: Participants are responsible for booking their own flights and ground transportation to and from the airport. The Z3 team will book hotel accommodations and will provide a shuttle to and from the Leadership Lab venue.

Q: Where will the Leadership Lab take place?
A: The in-person experience will take place at our Oshman Family JCC campus. The remainder of the Leadership Lab schedule will be virtual on Zoom.

Q: What if I don’t have enough people to fill each track?
A: Apply anyway! Institutions who are unable to send a representative for each track may still participate.

Q: What if I am not a JCC?
A: Please contact us at [email protected]