Dolphin Subsidiary Elle Communications Named Agency for The Longest Table, the Scalable Model a Five-Time CMO Built That Corporate Leaders Are Calling a Blueprint for Rebuilding Trust
Key Highlights
- ➤Elle Communications named agency for The Longest Table.
- ➤The Longest Table supported 200+ tables across 40+ cities and 26 states.
- ➤The movement has connected more than 100,000 neighbors.
- ➤More than 2,000 prospective hosts seek capacity beyond current support.
- ➤Elle will lead thought leadership, media, speaking and events programs.
Expert Statements
Silvie Snow-Thomas, President of Elle Communications
“Maryam has done something remarkable. She spent thirty years as a five-time chief marketing officer building belonging for the world's biggest brands, and then she built the real thing in neighborhoods, one of the most efficient, scalable models in the country for rebuilding trust. At a moment when trust and belonging are what every leader and every brand is chasing, she is exactly the voice they need to hear, and we're proud to help amplify it.”
Maryam Banikarim, Founder and CEO of The Longest Table
“You don't have to wait to be invited. The Longest Table shows that each of us has the agency to rebuild community, one table at a time. Elle understands that this is serious work, and we're excited to bring this conversation to a much bigger stage.”
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 13, 2026 / Elle Communications, a subsidiary of Dolphin (Nasdaq:DLPN), has been named communications and thought leadership agency for The Longest Table. The Longest Table is a movement rebuilding trust and connection at the neighborhood level through one of humanity's oldest traditions, sharing a meal, and it is built on a free, open model that any resident can run without the organization in the room.
The Longest Table began in 2022, when co-founders Maryam Banikarim and Andrew Lerner set a single giant table on a Chelsea street and invited neighbors to a potluck. 500 people showed up, and the flagship event now draws more than 2,000. The movement has since supported more than 200 tables in more than 40 cities, across 26 states and Puerto Rico plus international locations, and connected more than 100,000 neighbors. What makes the growth notable is how organically it has happened. Someone sees a table, or sits at one, and wants to bring it home. Banikarim and a small band of volunteers and freelancers are there to tell them they can, then help them do it, with a toolkit and coaching so each table fits its own neighborhood. Demand has grown swiftly, with more than 2,000 people writing in asking to host their own, more than current capacity can serve. The Longest Table has built the tangible social infrastructure America is starving for.
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