THE PRISM LEADERSHIP LAB
Prism’s Vision: We imagine an even stronger Jewish Cleveland that is known as a community where people of all generations and perspectives feel capable and compelled to wrestle honestly—with each other, with the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian reality—grounded in belonging and committed to holding multiple truths, empathy, and emotional resilience.
The Prism Leadership Lab is a key part of realizing Prism’s vision. We aim to convene up to 20 courageous and compassionate Jewish Clevelanders over 6 months early in 2026 who are drawn to our vision and want to be part of creating a leadership culture in Jewish Cleveland that supports that vision.
KEY DATES
Wed, January 7th @ 2-5pm:
Online Welcome Session
Wed, January 14th @ 6:30-9:30pm: In-Person Listening Forum
Sun, Feb 22nd and Mon Feb 23rd @ 9am-7pm: In-Person Immersive Retreat
Sun, March 8th @ 12-6pm:
In-Person Prototype Lab
Sun May 17th @ 12-7pm:
In-Person Closing
Dates & Times TBD:
Between-Session Work
More detail is listed in the pink box further down.
What questions will the Prism Leadership Lab explore?
How might we expand the Jewish community’s capacity for dialogue across our differences through skill-building and practice fields?
What are our vision(s) for learning about Israel and our interconnectedness with the Palestinian people for our entire community—adults and children—that resonate with our Jewish values?
How might we normalize multiple viewpoints in Jewish Cleveland culture?
How will we build a diverse and impactful cohort?
Our vision is to build a group that is diverse across generations, religious affiliations, and political leanings. We seek those who are part of organized Jewish life and those who feel more on the outside of organizational life. Most importantly, we seek a courageous group willing to experiment, dream, and be with the challenges of our times.
We welcome people who are interested in projects that relate to Prism’s 3 Questions above. Some areas of particular interest are:
Bringing Prism’s approach to dialogue into new settings (home gatherings, synagogues, schools, friend groups, etc.)
Articulating a set of “competencies” (knowledge, skills, values, and practices) for a refreshed community approach to Israel learning
Surveying our community (using simple tools) so we better understand ourselves, the ways we relate to the Israeli-Palestinian reality, and our needs as a Jewish community
What is the structure of the Prism Leadership Lab?
This is a five-month, cohort-based program for people to strengthen their leadership skills related to Israel learning and conversation in Jewish Cleveland. The program combines virtual meetings with in-person sessions, including a two-day retreat and two half-day gatherings. All dates are listed in the pink box below.
Based on Theory U, a framework for transformational systems change developed at MIT, the Prism Leadership Lab offers a reliable and practical set of tools for personal and collective transformation.
You will develop a prototype or personal project to test ideas, take action, and learn by doing. Your prototype will take shape within a setting you are already active—whether as a new, standalone initiative or through subtle but meaningful shifts in existing programs or gatherings. Throughout the process, you’ll receive support from your cohort and staff.
What will I gain from this program?
The Prism Leadership Lab offers a unique and timely opportunity to strengthen as an individual and as a collective.
For You:
Gain insight into your leadership approach and how to act from a place of deep integrity and with impact
Explore tools to design and implement a project that matters to your community and aligns with your values, skillsets, and sense of calling
With your cohort:
Deepen relationships with peers across difference
Build a community that practices dialogue and deep listening; giving feedback, holding each other accountable, and supporting each other when it’s risky to go alone
Collective courage to hold difference within the Jewish Cleveland community and help each other act thoughtfully
What are the Prism Project’s Guiding Principles?
We seek to foster conversations and learning spaces rooted in the beliefs that:
The fate of both peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, being intertwined and both deserving of dignity, safety, security, sovereignty, and all the joys, large and small, of being human.
A resistance towards seeing the situation in simple dualities (us/them) and seeking conversational spaces that embrace complexity (of identity, political analysis, etc) and nuance.
Wanting to learn together, have emotional resilience to hear views that might be difficult to take in, and making spaces in their hearts for others.
A commitment to grounding conversation and learning about Israelis and Palestinians in evidence-based inquiry, empathy, and open-mindedness.
A desire to transform Israel conversations and learning in Cleveland so that young Jews growing up in this community will have the capacity and desire to participate in ongoing conversation and learning.
We ask all applicants to the Prism Leadership Lab to indicate your acceptance of these principles. Please be in touch if you have any concerns or questions.
What are the key dates?
The Prism Leadership Lab application will be open until midnight (ET) November, 15th 2025. Eligible applicants will be interviewed on a rolling basis beginning in late November, and the cohort will be announced in late December. Program dates:
Wednesday, January 7th @ 2-5pm: Online Welcome Session
We will build our “Social Soil” and introduce the Prism Leadership Lab, cohort, and frameworks.
Wednesday, January 14th @ 6:30-9:30: In-Person Listening Forum
The Prism Project will host an in-person “Listening Forum” to gain insight from teachers, parents, young adults and students on a community agenda for learning about Israel and our interconnectedness with the Palestinian people. This event will be open to the wider Prism community.
Sunday, Feb 22nd and Monday Feb 23rd @ 9am-7pm: In-Person Immersive Retreat
We will focus on core learning, cohort building, and beginning our personal projects/prototypes.
Sunday, March 8th @ 12-6pm: In-Person Prototype Lab
Cohort members co-design and test their experiments.
Sunday, May 17th @12-7pm: In-Person Closing
Participants will work individually on their personal projects with ongoing peer-to-peer coaching and support.
RSVP for our info session on Wednesday, October 22nd
@ 12-1pm ET
What am I committing to if I apply to join the Prism Leadership Lab?
Attend all in-person and online gatherings listed above (see FAQ below for exceptions).
Take on a prototype or personal project that will advance The Prism Project’s mission and work.
Commit to and work towards Prism’s Guiding Principles listed above.
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Yes. The application fee is $300. No one will be turned away for financial reasons.
The full cost of the program is generously subsidized, making it possible to offer participation at this rate.
We understand that financial situations vary. If the cost presents a barrier, please don’t hesitate to reach out. For any questions related to cost, please contact us at sara@insytepartners.com.
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The program welcomes up to 20 individuals who care deeply about fostering thoughtful conversation and learning in Jewish Cleveland around the Israeli-Palestinian reality. Participants will join a diverse cohort with a wide range of perspectives and experiences, learning with and from one another. Pairs and teams are encouraged to apply.
This program is a great fit if you:
See yourself as part of the Cleveland Jewish community and have an active leadership role—or want to take on one
Are involved in at least one Jewish space where this topic is relevant. This could be your family, friend community, congregation, school, institution, student organization, or any other space you experience as Jewish and are part of
Are excited to connect with a diverse group, explore what awareness-based leadership looks like, and support each other in working toward individual and communal goals
Resonate with our Vision and the Prism Principles and feel comfortable signing on to them as part of participating in the Leadership Lab. Prism Vision: We imagine an even stronger Jewish Cleveland that is known as a community where people of all generations and perspectives feel capable and compelled to wrestle honestly—with each other, with the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian reality—grounded in belonging and committed to holding multiple truths, empathy, and emotional resilience.
You are willing to experiment, have the courage to dream, and show resilience when things get challenging.
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The program unfolds over five months and combines virtual and in-person learning with hands-on project work. The Prism Leadership Lab launches in the midst of other Prism activities, which you are of course encouraged to participate in. Two of those are designed to be part of the Leadership Lab. Acceptance to the program requires participation in the in-person retreat, all online and in-person sessions, and implementation of a prototype during the program.
Please review all key dates on the page above. If you apply or are considering applying we recommend that you put these dates in your calendar.
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Each cohort member will develop an actionable project to implement in their organization or community setting during the program. You will identify an area of potential that you feel called to address and design a step-by-step plan rooted in your perspective, strengths, and the needs of the system.
The goal of the prototype is to learn through experimentation—creative, open-ended, and intentional—while working within existing constraints, including time and resources. The prototype is designed to be feasible—it will occur before completion of the program on May 17th.
During the two-day retreat, participants will crystallize their vision for a prototype, define a focus area, and identify potential collaborators within their organization or community. In the post-retreat Prototype Lab, they will work with their teams to translate that vision into concrete, actionable steps—from big-picture goals to practical plans.
Some prototypes may be standalone projects. Others can build on work already in progress—this is about experimenting with a fresh approach, not adding extra work. Prototypes are a tool for discovery—“failures” are just as valuable as successes, providing concrete insight into what works and what doesn’t.
Here are some examples of Prism Prototypes developed by our Vision Team this past year:
an intergenerational dialogue between seniors and college students;
a project focused on deep listening and collecting information from young people who signed a petition in December 2023;
and a dialogue tool designed to accompany community film and book events.
Looking ahead, possible directions for new prototypes might include
bringing our Prism Dialogue Toolkit into new settings such as home gatherings, synagogues, schools, or friend groups;
articulating a set of “competencies” — the knowledge, skills, values, and practices — that could shape a refreshed community approach to Israel learning;
or surveying our community using simple tools to better understand the many ways we relate to the Israeli-Palestinian reality and our evolving needs as a Jewish community.
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Yes! In fact, we welcome it. Having two people from the same organization can spark deeper learning and more lasting transformation. Participants from the same organization may choose to develop their own individual prototypes or collaborate on a shared project to implement within their organizational setting. Either way, we believe that when more than one person in an organization is practicing awareness-based leadership, impact amplifies.
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Applications for the inaugural cohort are now open (you can apply here). The deadline to apply is November 15th. Eligible applicants will be interviewed on a rolling basis beginning in late November. As part of the selection process, we will be in touch with references provided.
The cohort will be announced in late December.
We understand that schedules change and life happens. If you submit your application and discover you are no longer able to commit to the dates , please reach out to us at sara@insytepartners.com
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Aside from the criteria listed above, we will seek to build a cohort that is diverse and represents great promise for moving us closer to Prism’s vision for Jewish Cleveland.
If you are not selected, there are many ways to get involved with Prism, from attending ongoing events [insert hyperlink] to joining the Vision Team—a group of about 35 changemakers who help guide Prism, participate in Prototype Boot Camp, and stay connected through occasional gatherings and a WhatsApp group. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, reach out to us at prism.expanding@gmail.com.
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Prism is evolving. There are many ways to get involved after the program. You can keep developing your prototype or step into leadership roles that you have carved out for yourself during the program, join the Vision Team to help guide the project, or contribute through sub-committees focused on areas like communications.
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Who leads the Prism Leadership Lab?
The Prism Leadership Lab is developed and guided by the Prism Core Team, a group of dedicated Clevelanders who meet monthly to shape and steward the work of The Prism Project, together with Insyte Partners.
Prism has partnered with Insyte Partners over the past several years to design experiences and conversations that help organizations and communities lead from the future they want to create—rather than re-enacting patterns of the past. For more than 20 years, Insyte has worked across sectors, including many Jewish institutions, supporting organizational repositioning, leadership development, and collective impact projects.
The Prism Leadership Lab is designed and facilitated by Liz Alperin Solms, Principal at Insyte Partners, and Tirtzah Bassel, Consultant Partner at Insyte. Together, they draw on Theory U, a proven framework for transformational change developed at MIT and used by communities of change across the globe.
Liz Alperin Solms has been working for 25 years as a trusted partner— “being there” for leaders at the moments they are ready to cross thresholds. It might be —co-creating new strategic direction, shifting culture, activating collective leadership, creating a future that is distinct from the past. She takes great joy in creating the conditions for people to access their innate wisdom, see the humanity in each other and find the courage to act–even when it’s not perfect.
Liz is principal of Insyte Partners and a senior practitioner with the Presencing Institute. She holds a BS degree in industrial engineering from Lehigh University and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. She has worked as an industrial engineer, a Peace Corps teacher, a program officer for a national research and policy organization and a workforce learning consultant. Liz and her husband live in Philadelphia, PA on the banks of the Schuylkill River–in the same building as her son, brother and four lifelong friends–a “vertical village.”
Tirtzah Bassel is a strategic thought partner and trusted facilitator who supports mission-driven organizations and leaders to navigate complexity, clarify vision, and design processes for meaningful and measurable impact. With a background in nonprofit leadership, Jewish learning, and the arts, Tirtzah brings a multidisciplinary approach to consulting—combining deep listening, creative thinking, and a commitment to pluralism.
Tirtzah has partnered with organizations such as Prism, Gray Fellowship for Principal Excellence, Olam Chesed Builders, and Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah to lead inclusive visioning processes, develop leadership capacity, and design participatory professional development experiences. Her consulting is grounded in her extensive experience as an educator and executive, including roles as Vice President of Partnerships and Jewish Learning at OneTable, Program Director at Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, and Assistant Director at the Brandeis Institute of Music and Art.
sara montijo
sara serves as Project Manager at Insyte Partners supporting the Prism Project. She is your go-to person for any questions related to the Prism Leadership Lab.
sara brings over a decade of facilitation experience spanning the US and beyond, valuable perspective envisioning and implementing end-to-end curricula, designing corporate training, and conducting programmatic and leadership evaluation at dozens of companies. She is an alumna of New York University, friend of attention, and a-long-walk-to-clear-your-head enthusiast.