Harwood Summit
October 23-25, 2025
National Constitution Center
— Kenny Montijo, Former Executive Director of United Way Lebanon County, PA
A Space for renewed Possibility and Hope
We started the Harwood Summit more than 17 years ago because leaders said they needed a safe space where they could wrestle with tough challenges without the need to perform. It’s unique—there are no speeches or presentations. It’s a carefully crafted, rolling conversation over three days that enables attendees to think deeply about current topics and authentically engage with a highly diverse group of people.
A cross-section of leaders
We invite 50 leaders to come together and work through issues that sit at the intersection of their professional and personal lives—issues that are critical but often left unaddressed. This is a group you won’t normally see together at other professional conferences: local and national leaders, including CEOs of major nonprofits, college and university administrators, faith leaders, foundation executives, private consultants, heads of community-based organizations, journalists, and business professionals. Many Summit attendees form lasting personal and professional relationships
People tell us that the Summit helps them to stay grounded. It’s the place they come every year to rejuvenate. It helps them get “unstuck” in their work and it’s the boost they often need to engage on their professional challenges with more vigor.
A Meaningful Location
Each year, the Harwood Summit takes place at a unique and meaningful location. In the past, we have convened at President Lincoln’s Summer Cottage in Washington, DC, in the very room where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. We have hosted the two most recent Summits at The Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond, VA, which served as a great setting to discuss the current state of our country in the context of its fractured past. In 2025, the Harwood Summit was held at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA.
“What keeps me coming back to the Summit is that every time I’ve gone, I have this huge personal aha moment that relates personally or professionally or both. I get key insights to questions that I’m asking myself about my life and my purpose…I always walk away feeling recharged.”
“I love being with the Harwood group with people who aspire to change the world…it feels lively, it feels noble, it feels aspirational, it feels like a climb toward something sweet and good and possible.”
A Look Back at the 2025 Harwood Summit
We held our 17th Annual Harwood Summit at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA. We remain committed to hosting an annual Summit because leaders desperately need a different kind of space to navigate this tumultuous moment and rejuvenate themselves for the work ahead. There are no speeches, presentations, PowerPoints, or panel discussions at the Summit. Instead, across three days, dozens of national leaders came together for a carefully-crafted, rolling conversation that sits at the nexus of leaders’ personal and professional lives.
Across small- and large-group discussions, we wrestled with pressing topics like hunkering down and its risks, what it means to uphold dignity for others and ourselves, and the cultural and human challenge we face as we seek to move forward in a more hopeful way. Leaders came away reawakened, recentered, regrounded, and rejuvenated.
Reflecting on the experience attending our Summit for the first time, one leader shared, “If you ever feel hopeless… if you ever doubt that good, decent people are still doing good, decent work… if you ever question how we’re going to find our way back to each other during a time of such division… look no further than The Harwood Institute. I was extremely fortunate to be included in this very special gathering with people who care deeply about being agents of change. I came home from the Summit equal parts inspired and also completely filled up with even more questions!”
Frequently Asked Questions
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During our time together, we place a premium on informal and personal conversation, which we generate together through:
Small Group Discussions: Participants join two of these sessions based on topics related to the theme. The conversations are real - they are self-generated by the participants and are not formally facilitated.
Common Sessions: These sessions, facilitated by Rich, include everyone, and often emerge from the small group discussions.
Personal Reflections: At each meal, a different group of pre-selected Summit participants will offer one to two minutes of personal reflections. These run the gamut from serious to funny, deeply moving to satirical—but in all cases, they add to the depth and spirit of the event.
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All we ask is that people engage in the conversations. There’s nothing to prepare in advance.
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Yes, but please contact us to let us know if you plan to do this.
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The Summit is $895, plus travel expenses.