What It Means to Put Community First
By Marni Mandell, CEO, Shalom Orlando
2 minute read
A look back at last year’s Jewish Film Festival, made possible by the sponsors and community members who continue to support Jewish arts and culture in Orlando
As I think about the Jewish Orlando we are trying to build, and what it means to create a stronger Orlando Jewish community, one of the things I care deeply about is creating a community where our organizations do not simply coexist, but see themselves as part of something larger
Recently, our Jewish Film Festival had a film scheduled for the same morning as a JNF event.
In Orlando, that matters.
We are small enough that many of the same people support multiple organizations, attend events across the community, volunteer in different places, and genuinely want to participate in all of it. At the same time, we are large and active enough that there is more and more happening across Jewish Orlando.
That is a good problem to have. But it also means we have a responsibility to think beyond our own calendars.
When the conflict came up, our Jewish Film Festival committee had choices. They could have said, “Our date was already set.” They could have simply pulled the film. Instead, they chose to move it to another venue at another time so that people would have the opportunity to participate in both.
I am deeply grateful to our Jewish Film Festival committee for making that decision. It would have been easier not to change anything. Instead, they looked at what was best for the larger community.
To me, that is what collaboration actually looks like. I want Shalom Orlando to be strong. I want our programs to succeed, our events to be full, and people to feel connected to what happens here. But I also believe that Shalom Orlando is strongest when Jewish Orlando is strong.
Our success cannot only be measured by who walks through our doors.
If someone finds connection through JNF, a synagogue, another Jewish organization, or a program somewhere else in our community, that is still a win for Jewish Orlando. People should not have to decide which organization is “theirs.”
Jewish Orlando should feel like theirs.
As our community grows, there will be more conflicts on the calendar, not fewer. We will not always be able to move things around, and we will not always get it perfectly right. But we can choose what kind of culture we want to build.
One where organizations root for each other. One where we share audiences rather than guard them. One where we make room for one another when we can.
And one where we remember that, ultimately, we are all working toward the same thing: a stronger, more connected Jewish community. Sometimes building that community requires bold ideas and a big vision.
And sometimes, it starts with something as simple as moving a movie.
A note from me
One of the things I care most about is building a Jewish Orlando where our organizations see themselves as part of something bigger.
We all have our own programs, priorities, calendars, and communities. But the people we serve don’t experience Jewish life in neat organizational boxes. They move between synagogues, schools, programs, events, friendships, and causes.
That’s a good thing.
It means our job isn’t just to build strong organizations. It’s to build a strong Jewish community.
Sometimes that requires big ideas. Sometimes it simply means being willing to adjust, collaborate, and make space for one another. I’m grateful to our Jewish Film Festival committee for doing exactly that.
The more we can root for one another, share our community, and remember that we are working toward the same goal, the stronger Jewish Orlando will become. And that’s the kind of community I want us to keep building together.
About the author
Marni Mandell is the Chief Executive Officer of Shalom Orlando. Before returning to Orlando in early 2026 to lead the organization, she spent fifteen years founding and running technology companies in Tel Aviv, including co-founding the marketing data analytics platform Konnecto. Marni has also led Jewish nonprofit organizations in the United States and Israel for over a decade, and is a co-founder of the Israeli Children's Fund (Atufim B'Ahava), supporting children who lost parents in the October 7, 2023 attacks. A native of Orlando, she attended The Roth Family JCC's Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center as a child.
