Rabbi Yonason Goldson

Biography

A rabbi walked into a bar (after hitchhiking cross-country and sailing up the eastern seaboard in a yacht seized by the Coast Guard for drug trafficking) to enjoy a private performance by a jazz band that cost him the price of a beer.

No, this isn’t a joke. This is a life. And it’s only one small piece of it.

Weaving together the ancient wisdom of King Solomon and modern research with a delightfully colorful personal narrative, Yonason Goldson demonstrates how the power of ethics and diversity can transform company culture by replacing distraction, disengagement, and conflict with passion, purpose, and productivity.

Through powerful stories of successes and failures, these keynotes will leave audiences with vivid mental models to help them navigate the waters of ethical turbulence and reach the safe harbor of prosperity and profitability. They will come away with an understanding of why compliance is often the enemy of ethics and how, by creating an ethical mindset, compliance laws take care of themselves.

Rabbi Yonason Goldson has circumnavigated the globe, seen the Taj Mahal, the pyramids of Giza, and the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. He’s hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and to the tops of the Sierra Nevada. He’s jumped out of an airplane and undergone open-heart surgery (but not at the same time).

He’s studied at the University of California and the University of Edinburgh, earned his rabbinic ordination in Jerusalem, and taught high school in Budapest, Hungary. He’s a TEDx speaker, has published hundreds of articles and five books, raised four children, and has been married to the love of his life for over 30 years.

His eclectic background, academic discipline, and lyrical style of storytelling all combine to create an entertaining, educational, and inspirational presentation that can be found nowhere else but from the keynote speaker with 3000 years’ experience.

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Testimonials

Here's the great piece: Yonason's presence did not teach; it actually modeled. We don't want a speaker to teach us something; we want him to have us think. And Yonason through his speech did just that. From the time he stepped on stage to the time he ended it, the audience was excited, engaged, and listening... which is really what his speech was about -- open-minded listening. Don't we all need that?

– Bob Kittridge, Behavior Performance Consultant, Kittridge Connection, Inc., Colorado Springs

LOVED your talk. Wow, it is so captivating, interesting, thoughtful, and profound. Your message teaches us to be open to those who may not immediately look as if we will connect. Your scripting, delivery, and natural humor made this a rewarding and nurturing experience to listen to it. Congratulations!

– Patricia Fripp, CSP Hall of Fame Speaker, Past President of National Speakers Assocation

Yonason spoke at our Missouri Health Care Association 70th Annual Convention this past August. We received a lot of really great feedback about his session. He was great to work with in the planning process, always prompt and friendly. I will definitely keep Yonason on our list of go-to speakers!

– Shauna Frank, Meetings & Events Coordinator, MHCA

We were privileged to listen to Yonason for our team meeting. He delivered his remarks virtually through Teams as most of us are still remote. EXCELLENT presentation! It surpassed even my lofty expectations. His program was both highly relevant to today's environment AND timeless. Thank you, Yonason!

– Kristin Bolton, Vice President, Fidelity National Title

We had the privilege of having Yonason Goldson present on ethics at our Winter Professional Development Conference. He was well received by police command officers who are generally skeptical of a non-cop civilian teaching them anything about ethics. Rabbi Goldson was witty, entertaining, and thought-provoking. It was nice to have a different viewpoint on a topic that is critical, not just to our profession, but to our everyday lives.

– Chief Neal Rossow, retired Director of Professional Development, Michigan Association of Police Chiefs