Speaker

Kara Napolitano is a human rights advocate and trainer. Kara holds an MA in International Development with concentration in International Human Rights Law from the University of Denver. Before completing her education, she spent eight years working and volunteering in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, working mostly with education-based NGOs in post-conflict areas. This is where she was introduced to the crime of human trafficking. She was appointed to Governor’s Colorado Human Trafficking Council Prevention Task Force in 2018 and the Equitable Access Task Force in 2022 and she is a commissioner on the Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission. For the last few years she has led training and education efforts as the Research and Training Manager at the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking (LCHT) based in Denver, Colorado. She has trained more than 25,000 professionals across rural and urban Colorado on how to recognize and compassionately respond to labor and sex exploitation in their communities. Kara works alongside law enforcement, healthcare providers, those working with systems-involved youth and professionals in other intersecting sectors to build collaborations that prevent exploitation, support survivors, and hold perpetrators accountable in communities across the state.

Speaker

After growing up in a troubled home scarred with substance abuse, domestic violence, and divorce, Dr. Michael Ballard made it his personal and professional mission to help families heal from anger, addictions, and abuse through forgiveness and reconciliation. He is a licensed psychologist, speaker, and published author.

Outside of the office Michael is a competitive runner who completed the Abbott World Marathon Majors by qualifying for and running in the Boston, Chicago, New York City, Berlin, London, and Tokyo Marathons. He is an avid outdoorsman who can often be found in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

Speaker

George Gerchow, Father, Son, friend has spent the last 20+ years in the Technology space with an expertise in Cyber Security. George was born in Panama and moved to Colorado in 1980, Spanish is his first language. As a father of two incredible children, he had a charmed life until March 12th, 2021 when his family suffered an unimaginable traumatic experience that would change their lives forever.

Post-Trauma, George moved permanently to Frisco CO and Co-Founded a 501c (3) nonprofit XFoundation along with his daughter Madison to start helping bring awareness and education to the Fentanyl epidemic, specifically poisoning through fake pills or street scripts. The XFoundation is working hard to break the societal stigma around Fentanyl deaths usually labelled overdoes. George has made it his life’s mission to keep other families from suffering the same kind of trauma and loss.

Speaker

Isabelle Amigues, MD, is a rheumatologist. She trained both in Paris as well as Columbia University, in New York City. She is based in Denver, CO. After being on the faculty of National Jewish Health for over 5 years she opened the first direct care Rheumatology practice in Colorado so that she can offer a holistic approach to her patients. She is also a researcher and the author of multiple book chapters and scientific articles.

Check out her website: www.UnabridgedMD.com

Speaker

Chris Fisher is a professional Mountain Endurance athlete and a resident of Breckenridge. He is widely recognized for his pursuit of speed records across mountain ranges, his long ridge line linkup styles, and his dedication to tagging full lists of peaks in the fastest possible time. Chris has established himself as a record holder in various challenging endeavors.

One notable achievement is his record-breaking traverse of the Tenmile – Mosquito Range, which spans 41 miles of ridge travel, with 31 miles of it consistently above 13,000 feet. Additionally, he recently set the record for climbing all of Colorado's 14,000-foot mountains within a single calendar Winter, completing the daunting task in 72 days. Furthermore, Chris held the World Record for the most vertical feet climbed in a single month in 2021.

Chris Fisher’s focus on the art of suffering sets him apart. He believes in embracing elective suffering, finding joy and fulfillment in voluntarily subjecting oneself to physical and mental challenges. Through this mindset, he has been able to accomplish incredible feats in the mountains, pushing his limits and discovering his true potential. Chris's story is one of passion, dedication, and the pursuit of human potential in the face of challenging circumstances.

Speaker + Performer

Andy Thorn is a banjo player who’s been touring for over a decade with the jam band Leftover Salmon. He’s also a songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and dad. He never expected to go viral. But during the pandemic, he was in his backyard, playing banjo tunes for a wild fox, when his wife caught the whole thing on video. The video made headlines around the world. It was covered on the Kelly Clarkson Show, NPR’s Political Gabfest and more. A New York Times writer called it “a moment plucked from Aesop.” Since then, Andy has continued touring, recording music, and parenting, while enjoying being known as “that fox guy.”

Speaker

Eligar Sadeh, Ph.D., is an Aerospace Professional for the past 40 years and “The Man Who Wrote the Book '' on the human relationship to the space enterprise. Eligar (Eli) is CEO and Founder of Astroconsulting International LLC and the non-profit Astropolitics Institute where he engages in technical consulting and educational programming. He serves as Chief Editor of the academic journal Astropolitics, which covers human factors related to the development of space. Eli is a Professor and STEM educator since 1999 of Aerospace Engineering, Space Operations, Program and Project Management, Business and Entrepreneurship, Astrophysics, Physics, Environmental Studies, and Astropolitics. Professional experiences include work with NASA, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, SpaceX, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, University of Colorado, Colorado State University, U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Center of Space and Defense Studies, U.S. Air Force Space Command, University of North Dakota Aerospace Sciences and Space Studies, International Space University, Western Colorado University, and foreign national space agencies and academic institutions. Currently, Eli is working with the Summit County School District to develop expeditionary STEM educational programs, and to form a center for innovation focused on experiential and applied learning and skill development in technology and business. Eligar’s leadership in aerospace and seminal publications helped revolutionize the way we think about the development and exploration of space.

Speaker

Diane Calvin studied Civil and Environmental Engineering. During her Bachelor’s Degree at University of Texas at Austin and her Master’s Degree at Duke University, she focused on materials and energy efficiency. After school, she worked in local and state government as well as non-profits and private environmental consulting. She worked in energy efficiency and environmental compliance in the Netherlands and started a family there. Later, they moved to South India. In all of these places the contrasts in food systems and societal supports made her interested in food systems, the environment, and public health. When she returned to the US, she worked in recycling in schools and turned her focus to wasted food in schools. Since 2018, she has wanted to settle in Summit County and start a food rescue organization. She and her family resettled in Summit County in late 2020 and she got to work establishing CAFE Food Rescue. Over the last 2 years, CAFE Food Rescue has diverted more than 60,000 pounds of fresh, surplus food to people in need in our community.

Speaker

Garrett Scharton leads partnerships at Servitas, an innovative housing development firm exclusively focused on public-private partnerships. Garrett and his team have forged groundbreaking partnerships with communities across the Mountain West with a singular goal: bringing new housing supply for the benefit of the community.

As a classically trained musician from the Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a credentialed negotiator who knows first-hand the challenges of growing up in Section 8 housing, Garrett brings a fresh and tenacious perspective to this staid industry.

Residing in the Dallas-area, Garrett is a dedicated family man as a husband to his wife, Caroline, and Father to their son, Lincoln, and their mini-golden doodle, Dixie.

Speaker

Dr. Kenzie Reichert is an audiologist based in Denver, CO, who specializes in the treatment of hearing loss, tinnitus, and decreased sound tolerance disorders. She earned her Doctorate in Audiology from Northwestern University and completed her residency at the National Institutes of Health. As a specialist in the field, she has extensive experience in diagnosing and treating hearing disorders, as well as tinnitus management. Dr. Reichert understands the consequences of noise-induced hearing damage, given her own experience with tinnitus stemming from exposure to loud environments when she was young. This has only reaffirmed her commitment to raising awareness of the risks of poor hearing health and advocating for hearing conservation to reduce the onslaught of noise exposure. She is also dedicated to teaching people about the harmful health effects linked with hearing loss, such as dementia.

Dr. Reichert founded the online audiology practice, Hear Lab, which serves as an extensive resource center catering to patients' ear-related needs, ensuring their long-term success in managing their hearing health.

Check out her website at: www.Hear-Lab.com

Speaker

Dr. Sarah Rubinson Levy has an undergraduate degree in business and sociology and holds a Master of Jewish Education degree from Hebrew College, a doctorate in education from Northeastern University, and certificates in Advanced Jewish Studies, Day School Education, and Jewish Educational Leadership. Her areas of focus include progressive/student-centered education, integration of artificial intelligence into education, and teacher professional development and support. She considers herself a scholar-practitioner, drawing from research and data to create effective and joyful learning environments. Most recently, she was a founding head of school for Einstein Academy, a progressive private school in Denver, CO. She currently empowers excellence in education through her work with Sarah Rubinson Consulting and Contracting with an approach that integrates empathy and curiosity, working with each organization in a way that is both realistic and aspirational. She is a proud Colorado native and currently lives in Denver, CO with her four kids, dog, beta fish, and leopard gecko, and she uses every minute of her free time to experience all that Colorado has to offer – skiing, hiking, and just taking in the views.

Emcee

Bio to come.

Original Performance

TLooP (Pronounced Tee Loop) is short for Tony Molina Loops. T combines the artistry for his musical background with percussion into these groovy Ambient, Chill hop, Lofi live loops. Much of his music is played for Yoga and Relaxation however you can find him jamming out in Espanol as well. T is a father, teacher and innovator. Be sure to check out more information at www.tlooparatist.com