Breaking Bread, Building Bridges
(B4) Dinners 2026-27
[Fall Theme]
Where Do We Go Now? Third Spaces and the Business of Belonging
Third spaces are the foundation of community: public places where people connect outside of work and home, with no agenda. Barbershops, coffee shops, bars, and ethnic enclaves have long been where people share news, build support, and talk through the issues that matter, especially in immigrant and minority communities. As technology and culture have shifted, so have these spaces. Some vanished, others became commodities, and many moved online. This semester’s dinners explore that evolution, who it has affected, and how third spaces should evolve to strengthen communities today.
How it works:
Small Group Dinners
Dinners of 8 or fewer people where students can authentically connect with classmates
Trained Facilitators
Student facilitators go through training on holding space, navigating difficult conversations and drawing out perspectives that might have otherwise gone unheard.
A Shared Starting Point
Before each dinner, participants get a short list of readings meant to ground their understanding of the topic. At dinner, everyone brings their own experience to the table, and the readings serve as thought starters to build on.
Past Dinner Topics
Some conversations don’t fit in a classroom. B4 Dinners bring small groups of Haas students around a table each semester to talk honestly about identity, equity, belonging, and who gets to lead in a changing economy.
B4 started in 2017 as “Dialogues over Dinner,” a student-led project of the Haas Race Inclusion Initiative. Today it’s run by students in partnership with The Consortium, the Center for Responsible Business, and Berkeley Haas. Every table has a trained student facilitator whose job is simple: make it safe to say what you actually think, and make sure everyone gets heard.
Past dinner topics included:
2025–26
Spring 2026: Who Thrives in the AI Era?
Fall 2025: Inclusion and Access in the Era of AI
2024–25
Spring 2025: Should DEI Classes or Training Be Mandatory at Haas?
Fall 2024: Housing Crisis and Affordability: A Global Struggle for Equity and Belonging
2023–24
Spring 2024: Bridging the Divide: Socioeconomic Status and Inequality
Spring 2023: Breaking the Monolith: The Plurality of International Students in MBA Programs
2022 and Earlier
Fall 2022: Indigenous Identities and National Parks in the US
Spring 2022: How COVID-19 Affected Different Racial Groups, in the US and Around the World
Spring 2021: Food, Cooking, Cultural Appropriation, and Immigration in the US
Spring 2020: Showing Up as Equity-Fluent Leaders in Times of Crisis
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