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Expanding what’s possible in polarized spaces.

I'M ZACH

What I know about conflict, I learned first in my own body — a speech impediment, a defiant streak, and an ancestral tree shaped by loss.

And I carry a Jewish inheritance of ritual, sacred argument, and the stubborn belief that this world can be made more whole.

 

That stubborn insistence is why, in this moment of fracturing, I hear an invitation to rediscover relationship as the truest form of wisdom.

 

This is the work I've devoted my life to: depolarization, storytelling, and the slow, sacred practice of helping people find their way back to one another.

Let's collaborate

    Depolarization Workshops      Keynotes & Public Speaking 

 Antisemitism Education       Facilitation & Coaching     

    Workplace Culture & Belonging      Storytelling Training 

Conflict Coaching    Conspiracism & Extremism  

    Psychological Safety     Leadership Development

 Dialogue Across Difference      Crisis Communications Support    

Less Polarization. More Possibility.

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As co-founder of Project Shema, I helped build one of the country's leading antisemitism education organizations.

That meant shaping a national approach to Jewish safety rooted in depolarization, compassion, and storytelling while building the culture that made it sustainable: low turnover, deep commitment, and a 20+ person team that stayed grounded through some of the most emotionally demanding work imaginable.


 

Now, as a facilitator, educator, and consultant, I bring that expertise to organizations, leaders, and communities navigating polarization, the breakdown of trust, antisemitism, and culture transformation.


 

I keynote conferences, design cohorts and training programs, facilitate dialogues, coach leaders, and consult on curriculum, culture, and org strategy.

 

Whatever the format, the goal is the same: building the skills, trust, and conditions for people to engage across differences.

Workshops and Keynotes

I keynote leadership summits, design multi-session cohorts, and lead workshops for Fortune 500 teams to Ivy League institutions, NGOs, and government. My work spans depolarization, psychological safety, storytelling, antisemitism, conspiracism, and dialogue across difference. Every session is customized.

Facilitation & Coaching

I work one-on-one with executives, inside teams, and across whole organizations to coach leaders through conflict, facilitate high-stakes dialogues, organize town halls, mediate disputes, and design courageous conversation series that actually change culture. This is hands-on, relational work built around your specific situation.

Curriculum & Program Design

Consulting & Org Strategy

I design curricula, workshops, and multi-session programs, develop conference arcs, build train-the-trainer models, and audit existing programming. Whether you're launching something new or strengthening what you have, help you build the structure that makes the learning experience stick.

Not every challenge needs a workshop. I work alongside leaders as a strategic thought partner on culture change, crisis response, program architecture, and the harder questions underneath. Engagements range from a single advisory session to an ongoing retainer

Partners & Clients

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Senior Vice President, Equity

@ Fortune 500 Company

Faculty & Antisemitism Task Force Chair

@ Ivy League Business School

"Thank you for the incredibly powerful training sessions you led for us over the last two days. We are incredibly grateful for the expertise, insights, wisdom, education, and sensitivity you bring to this critical conversation. I know for certain that our colleagues around the world have benefited tremendously from these learning experiences."

"I just had the privilege of learning from Zach in one of his 4-hour sessions for staff. He was so good in all the ways that matter: personable, vulnerable, credible, approachable, and deeply knowledgeable, handling questions with care and aplomb. We were in such good hands, and the sessions are being so well-received across a very diverse group of staff at the School."

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Contact Me

UNBEARABLE COMPASSION

©2020 by Zachary Schaffer

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