Bread & Salt Dinners

A New Tradition of Meaningful Dialogue

Breaking Bread, Bridging Ideals

Drawing from the ancient tradition of sharing bread and salt—symbols of trust and hospitality—Leadership Ohio’s Bread & Salt Dinners are bringing leaders together for meaningful dialogue about our American ideals. Inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello gatherings and reimagined for today, these dinners create space for leaders - intentionally drawn from conservative, liberal, and independent spheres - to share personal narratives, explore different perspectives, and strengthen our democratic fabric one conversation at a time.

Trust. Openness. Dialogue.

On February 26, 2025, Leadership Ohio hosted the Inaugural Bread & Salt Dinner on American Ideals. The Table was a testament to the enduring power of human connection.

Inaugural Participants

Honoring the leaders who set the table for this new tradition
Lisa Duty – Executive Director, Leadership Ohio (Host)
Justice Patrick F. Fischer – The Supreme Court of Ohio
Laurie Jadwin – Mayor, City of Gahanna
Ruth Edmonds – Christian Engagement Ambassador, Center for Christian Virtue
Omar Elhagmusa – Senior Vice President, Spring Garden Lending
Matthew Kaido – President, Longaberger Family Foundation; The Ohio Fund
Todd Kleismit – Executive Director, Ohio Commission for the U.S. Semiquincentennial Charles R. Moses – Chairman, Capitol Square Foundation
Eve Mueller, Deputy Director of Communications, Office of Ohio Governor DeWine

📷 View moments from the inaugural gathering below

📩 Interested in supporting a future Bread & Salt Dinner? Contact us at lisaduty@leadershipohio.org for more information.