Zack Garber: Busy Helping Baltimore


To pin down Zack Garber’s involvement in the Baltimore Jewish community, and the greater Baltimore community, would be difficult. From his professional career as a financial advisor on the Garber Wealth Management team, to his time spent on various boards, task forces and volunteer organizations (not to mention a personal project or two), Zack’s day is filled with one goal – how to help others. Zack sat down with us earlier this month to give us a glimpse into his day-to-day, what inspires him and what advice he has for those looking to change the narrative.

Did you grow up in the area?

I did. I grew up in the Owings Mills area, went to Beth Tfiloh for elementary school and then went to McDonogh for middle and high school. After that I took a training program in London for four months before moving to New York and then ultimately earned my MBA at Penn.

Were you aware of The Associated while you were growing up?

My family has always been involved with The Associated. I remember my parents going to events, missions and meetings ever since I was a child. I have a vivid memory, when my mom served as president of Pearlstone. My little sister had her bat mitzvah there, so that was particularly memorable. When I moved back, I knew I wanted to get involved.

How are you involved with The Associated?

When I moved back to Baltimore, I reached out to The Associated and participated in their Young Leadership Council (YLC) program, among other things. Today, I serve on the board for IMPACT, The Associated’s Young Adult Division, as well as the general board.

How has IMPACT and YLC helped you?

For one, it’s a great way to get connected to The Associated and the Baltimore Jewish community. But it also gives you a big picture level of what The Associated is doing. In participating, you become an ambassador and truly understand the community. It’s also a great way to make friends and contacts. I still keep in touch with a lot of people from my YLC class.

Other volunteering?

I’m involved in a wide variety of volunteer organizations, locally and nationally, Jewish and non-Jewish. In addition to the work I do with The Associated, I frequently attend a volunteer organization that gathers like-minded individuals for high impact volunteer event and run my own networking group which highlights local Baltimore leaders. And I host a podcast!

A podcast?

It’s called Charm City Dreamers, and it’s 100% a personal endeavor. I interview diverse leaders about how they are achieving their dreams and why specifically they’re doing this in Baltimore. The goal is to highlight amazing visionaries that are achieving incredible things on a daily basis in Baltimore – people that we just don’t hear about. I want to help change the narrative around Baltimore City.

You have a busy schedule. What’s a typical day look like?

First thing I do is work out at the gym around 6:00 am, and then I head into work. I’ll be at the office from about 7:30 am to 6:00 pm. After that I either have a board meeting, a client event or a dinner with friends until about nine. Then, and this is my guilty pleasure, I probably watch like an hour of TV or read a book before bed.

What’s the last book you read that inspired you?

his is one of my favorite questions – so I have multiple answers. One topic I’ve been reading a lot about is water. Previously, I read Let There Be Water by Seth M. Siegel. I also recently read a book called Thirst by Scott Harrison. Seth Seigel just came out with a new book called Troubled Water that I just ordered and am looking forward to reading. And then I have two friends that recently published books, so that’s been very interesting!

If you could sit and have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?

I’ve thought about this and I think, if it’s someone that is alive, it would be Jeff Bezos. He’s an owner of a company that is going to have the largest impact on the world over the rest of our lifetime. I want to hear how he built what he did, understand what his vision is of the future, and how he’s managing it all.

Last question, favorite Jewish holiday and why?

I’d say Passover. I love the story of Exodus. I think one of the things about Passover that’s special is the concept of L’dor V’dor – Watching each generation and having multiple generations at the dinner table talk about the history of our people.

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