The Cohen Family Leaders in Light Institute has two components, the first being a series of monthly seminars over a nine-month period, beginning in September 2026. Upon the completion of the seminars in May 2027, the second component will feature practical application of the seminar content, in which participants will apply their learnings to enhance their own work, raise awareness and inspire action in their respective communities, and catalyze change. Both components of the institute (learning and application) will last December 2027.
Leaders in Light is a group of diverse community leaders from across Cincinnati, bound together in propelling civility and strengthening democratic tradition. We connect to combat antisemitism, extremism, and hate, and inspire community change. We learn from the unique challenges and opportunities each of our communities face, and come together in education and action to build toward a stronger inclusive democracy. We use our extended networks to multiply influence and maximize impact, working together to create systemic change and empower positive outcomes.
Leaders in Light brings together Cincinnati's most committed civic leaders: from business, government, faith communities, arts, education, law enforcement, and nonprofits. We learn from each other. We act together. We show up. Our mission: strengthen inclusive democracy and counter extremism in all its forms, including antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, and hate. We use our networks to multiply impact, creating systemic change across Greater Cincinnati.
Polarization is tearing at our civic fabric. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. Extremism in all its forms, including antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia, has moved from the fringes to the mainstream. Cincinnati needs leaders who can bridge divides, counter hate, and strengthen inclusive democracy. It is now crucial, even necessary, that we develop a network of informed and skilled stewards of democratic engagement; leaders who are equipped with contemporary understanding and modern tools designed to help them steer their respective organizations and networks, as well as our collective community through these volatile, divisive, and polarized times. Leaders in Light is an investment in developing, connecting, and empowering community change makers to strengthen their networks and serve as force multipliers, capable of rallying their communities to counter extremism and hate.
In April 2019, the Jewish Community Relations Council hosted a summit on combating antisemitism and hate where 153 organizations were represented. Overwhelmingly positive feedback from a wide spectrum of diverse and influential attendees clearly showed our community's leaders wanted deeper and more transformative opportunities to address extremism and strengthen civic engagement. Additionally, we learned where to focus next: invest in influencers and integrate education with action projects that exponentially multiply impact. Leaders in Light was born.
In 2019, 153 Cincinnati organizations came together with one message: we need deeper ways to fight hate and strengthen civic life. Leaders in Light was the answer. Two cohorts and forty-seven Fellows later, that vision is now reality.
Leaders in Light has two components, the first being a series of monthly seminars over an eight-month period, beginning in September 2026. These seminars will feature nationally recognized innovative experts and thought leaders, combined with participatory and relational learning that unpacks the relationship between extremism and inclusive democracy, with a focus on particularities of antisemitism and its connections to extremist threats to democracy. Seminars will explore drivers of extremism, such as conspiracy theory, trauma, and scarcity. Participants will unpack the challenges and opportunities of intersectionality, the power and pitfalls of populism, and the way value hierarchies influence differing worldviews and approaches. Participants will also learn critical tools that will transform their ability to lead their community in an environment of extreme polarization. The second component will be practical application, lasting approximately nine months, during which participants will apply their learnings to catalyze community change.
In year one of the program, Leaders in Light requires each fellow to attend seven learning sessions over a period of nine months, with intermittent small group and individualized work to develop plans for practical application of the learning. Participants must be able to commit to the full length of the institute. During the subsequent period of practical application in the community, participants will continue to meet online or in-person for regular check-ins. In this portion of the program, participants will receive dedicated mentoring and organizational support to design and implement personalized action plans. Both components of the institute (learning and application) will last through December 2027.
The goal of the practical application component is to apply institute learnings in order to strengthen and enhance the existing work of each participant. Because each participant's work and role in community is different, it's hard to be prescriptive about exactly what each individual application project could look like. In order to identify the opportunities where learning meets individualized community need, each Institute participant will work alongside Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) staff to process learning, identify opportunities for practical application, develop a practical application plan, and execute it.
An ideal Leaders in Light cohort would be reflective of the diversity of the Greater Cincinnati area, and would include connected influencers in the business, religious, civic, arts, education, law enforcement, and nonprofit sectors, who have the credibility and reach to educate and inspire change within their own personal and professional networks. These influencers will be force multipliers for the work of combating antisemitism and other forms of extremism and stronger stewards of our democratic tradition and civil society. They will be bold and action-oriented, purposeful and persuasive, with the power to bring people together. They will be transformative, authentic, and thoughtful, always leading and driving for lasting change.
An ideal cohort reflects Greater Cincinnati's diversity. We seek connected leaders from every sector: business, government, faith communities, arts, education, law enforcement, and nonprofits, who have the credibility and reach to educate and inspire change within their networks. These leaders are force multipliers: bold, action-oriented, purposeful, and persuasive. They bring people together. They show up for their communities, and for each other.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In September 2021, the first cohort of twenty-seven Fellows gathered, virtually at first, then in person, to begin nine months of transformative learning. Leaders in Light fulfilled its founding principle: bringing together diverse civic leaders who learn from each other and act together.
OUR IMPACT TO DATE
Two cohorts. Forty-seven leaders activated. Eleven community projects launched.
Since 2021, Leaders in Light has equipped nearly fifty influential Cincinnati leaders with tools to recognize and respond to extremism, lead through polarization, and drive real change in their communities.
COHORT II OUTCOMES (2023–2024)
Twenty Fellows completed seven intensive sessions with nationally recognized experts.
More than 90 percent rated the scholar sessions 'Very Satisfied'
Fellows gained proficiency in recognizing extremist ideologies, identifying hate, and understanding how different forms of bigotry overlap.
WHAT FELLOWS SAY
"The program gave me tools to identify antisemitism in subtle and overt ways."
"The discussions on intersectionality were enlightening and helped me clarify my understanding of these complex issues."
MEDIA COVERAGE & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
A major component of Leaders in Light is discourse and dialogue. Scholar in Resident Yavilah McCoy joined former JCRC Director Jackie Congedo for an interview with WVXU's Lucy May on Cincinnati Edition to explore those themes in light of comments made by Whoopi Goldberg.
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Former JCRC Director Jackie Congedo speaks with WLWT's Courtis Fuller on how the Leaders in Light Institute and its cohort is working to end violence, hate and extremism.
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Our scholars in residence, Dr. Arie Kruglanski and Shannon Foley Martinez sit down with facilitator Sherri Goren Slovin at Union Terminal to discuss the rise in violent extremism.
