About the Conference

In a city defined by innovation and reinvention, CAJM’s 2026 Conference will explore how museums can confront the urgent challenges of our time - from rising antisemitism and social fragmentation to new opportunities for collaboration, creativity, and renewed public trust.

Facing the Future: Museums as Catalysts for Change invites leaders from across the Jewish museum field and the broader cultural sector to examine how our institutions steward memory, strengthen civic life, and lead with purpose in a rapidly shifting landscape.

Our planning is guided by three core concepts:

• Hope and honesty in equal measure - pairing optimism with clear-eyed engagement.

• Detroit as a learning landscape - drawing insight from the city’s legacy of creativity, reinvention, and complex histories.

• Museums as catalysts - fostering connection, deepening understanding, and modeling new pathways forward.

Partnerships & Host Institutions

The conference is presented in partnership with the Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO).

The Zekelman Holocaust Center (CAJM & AHO member) will serve as our primary host, grounding the convening in shared learning and dialogue.

We are proud to collaborate with Detroit partners that reflect the strength of the region’s Jewish civic ecosystem, including the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan (CAJM member) and the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue.

Additional programming will take place at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and Fair Lane.

Conference details will be updated regularly, including speaker announcements, field trips, and evening gatherings. Scholarship and fellowship opportunities will be announced in March.

*The full program will be shared closer to the conference date*

Conference Sponsors

Thank you to the partners helping make our 2026 Conference possible, including:

• Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO)

• CANVAS

• Joanne Marks Kauvar Fellowship & Scholarship Fund

• Anna R. Cohn Fellowship Fund

• C&G Partners

• The Kaplen Brothers Fund

• The Gottesman Fund

• Mike Schon

We look forward to adding to this growing roster. If you know a corporate sponsor, nonprofit, foundation, or individual interested in supporting CAJM’s work and our conference cycle, please contact executive@cajm.net.

We look forward to adding to this growing roster of partners.

Thanks also to our partner sites:

• Zekelman Holocaust Center (CAJM & AHO member)

• Jewish Historical Society of Michigan (CAJM Member)

• Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue

• Detroit Institute of Arts

• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

• Fair Lane

Conference Leadership

Conference Co-Chairs

• Jamie Miskowski, Zekelman Holocaust Center

• Susan Bronson, Treasurer, CAJM and President, Yiddish Book Center

• Gemma Birnbaum, Vice Chair, CAJM and Executive Director, American Jewish Historical Society

Conference Committee

• Samantha Abramson, Executive Director, Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC)

• Alisha Babbstein, CAJM Secretary & Director of Collections and Exhibitions, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

• Rebecca Frank, Curatorial Assistant, The Jewish Museum, New York

• Jordanna Gessler, CAJM Board Chair & Vice President of Education and Exhibits & CAJM Board Chair, Holocaust Museum LA

• Gabriel Goldstein, Interim Director and Chief Curator, Yeshiva University Museum

• Lydia Rae Levinson, Chief Development Officer, Zekelman Holocaust Center

• Rachel Libman, Chief Curator, Toronto Holocaust Museum

• Flo Low, Founding Executive Director, BAMAH

• Gail Mandel, Interim Executive Director, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

• Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, Chief Executive Officer, Zekelman Holocaust Center

• Katie Chaka Parks, Ph.D., Director of Education, Zekelman Holocaust Center

• Josh Perelman, Ph.D., Senior Advisor for Content and Strategic Projects, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

• Rachel E. Richman, Geniza Project Manager, Princeton Geniza Lab; PhD Candidate, Princeton University

• Jane Rips, Executive Director, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society

• Alissa Schapiro, Ph.D., Curator and Collections Specialist, Skirball Cultural Center

• Harry Smith, Education Manager, Zekelman Holocaust Center

• Rachel Stark, Vice President of Education and Family Programs, Skirball Cultural Center

• Evelyn Tauben, Curator, FENTSTER; SHVILIM Core Team

• Lance Wheeler, Vice President of Learning and Engagement, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

Stay tuned as we share details. Interested in joining the Conference Committee: Please contact executive@cajm.net