Join Outdoor Industry & Outdoor Equity Summits in September
August 30, 2023You’re invited to the Outdoor Industry Summit and Outdoor Equity Summit in Leadville on Sept. 15 and 16, 2023! We are proud to host them, as these summits share our vision for Leadville and Twin Lakes, Colorado.
Leadville-Twin Lakes Vision
We want to welcome everyone to enjoy the natural beauty and friendly people that our area offers. We want to remove the barriers that keep people from being able to enjoy our great outdoors. We also want to support the local business owners who work hard to grow innovative small businesses that honor this amazing area that we all love. Please join us for these change-making summits!
Outdoor Industry Summit
Friday, Sept. 15
Exploring Sustainability + Responsible Tourism in Business
Leadville CMC Campus
9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Learn more and register!
Do you own or support a Colorado small business? Be sure to catch this inspirational event in an inspirational setting—surrounded by Leadville’s majestic 14ers and sparkling lakes. Explore sustainable business practices and responsible tourism through our four tracks:
- Innovations in Responsible Tourism: Discover groundbreaking approaches to protect our public lands and rural areas while ensuring a thriving tourism industry.
- Empowering Sustainability in Business: Find the tools and inspiration you need for a thriving business that makes a positive impact on the world.
- Inspirational Business Models: Supercharge your sales and revenue with B2B opportunities and business models designed specifically for Colorado’s outdoor industry.
- Collaborative Partnerships + Funding: Discover the power of collaborative public/private sector partnerships, as well as funding and grant offerings designed to support the outdoor industry. Find partners to join forces and make a real difference!
In each session, exceptional Colorado business, nonprofit, tourism, and recreation leaders share their firsthand experiences and insights. You’ll take home plenty of practical advice!
Keynotes on Nature Connection and Building a Better World
Respecting and Celebrating our Planet: Start a great day with the morning keynote, “Honoring + Respecting our Planet while Simultaneously Celebrating our Connection with It.” Hear from Scotty Stoughton, founder of Bonfire Entertainment, frontman with the band Bonfire Dub, co-founder of Stand Up Paddle Colorado and Adrift Adventures Dinosaur, and producer of WinterWonderGrass and Campout for the Cause.
Moving Stories: You won’t want to miss a fresh perspective on storytelling in the afternoon keynote. See through the lens of award-winning filmmaker, athlete, and writer Dani Reyes-Acosta of Nomad Creative and Afuera Productions. She asks if the stories we tell about ourselves, our dreams, and the world around us change how we approach—and accept—life as we know it. This invaluable talk with moving stories from the depths of the sea to the world’s highest summits offers a simple framework we can all use to cultivate a “better world,” every day.
Live Music with Bonfire Dub
Stay for the afterparty at FREIGHT, with live music from Bonfire Dub!
Outdoor Equity Summit
Saturday, Sept. 16
Nuestro Legado – Looking Back, Moving Forward
Exploring the Legacy of Outdoor Recreation & Identity
Leadville CMC Campus
9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Learn more and register!
The Outdoor Equity Summit will bring together professionals from the outdoor industry and the local Latine community as well as other underrepresented groups for a day of shared learning and growth.
With the goal of creating a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable outdoor industry, the voices and experiences of marginalized populations will be uplifted and participants will have an opportunity to strategize ways to address inequities within the outdoor recreation industry.
Topics will include the history of inequity in the outdoor recreation and environmental movement, cultivation of a sense of belonging in the outdoors, and authentic inclusion of queer, BIPOC, and alternatively- abled individuals in both the outdoor industry and the broader outdoor community.
Meet the Speakers
Jose Gonzalez (keynote speaker) is a professional educator with training in the fields of education and conservation. He is the founder of Latino Outdoors. Jose plays with design, words, science, and education—engaging in the interdisciplinary intersections of how we view and engage with the world. Jose navigates through a self-created identity of a “Green Chicano” in a professional sense. In particular he is weaving through the roles of Conservationist/Environmentalist, Chicano, and Educator.
Alejandro Jimenez (poetic performer) is a formerly undocumented immigrant, poet, writer, and educator from Colima, Mexico, living in New Mexico. His work centers and touches on cultural identity, race/ethnicity, immigrant narratives, masculinity, memory, and the intersection of them all.
Vanessa Chavarriaga Posada (panelist) is a mountain athlete and environmental sociologist who focuses on the intersection of people and nature. As an immigrant and woman of color herself, Vanessa recognizes the systemic barriers that purposefully keep BIPOC out of outdoor spaces.
Bianka Isabella Martinez (panelist) is Queer, Black, & Huastec Mexican, and credits her tenacity to being born and raised in Chicago. Winner of the 2023 Ark Valley Pride: Community Superhero Award, her passions include conservation, stewardship, and the rematriation of land.
Trevor Taylor (he/they) (panelist) is a trail worker and community builder. Whether it’s building new trials, teaching outdoor skills, or challenging issues of access and inclusion in conservation, they approach their work with an emphasis on the collective, building and restoring relationships with the land and the people they work with.
Dom Barrera is the co-founder of The Colorado Food Cluster, which provides healthy and tasty food, economic opportunities, and enrichment activities to over 40,000 students across the state of Colorado. Dom currently serves as the Director of Partnerships where he is working with local food vendors to supply culturally diverse food and beverage products.
Outdoor Outing and Fiesta
After the sessions, please join an Inclusive Outdoor Outing led by Get Outdoors Leadville! Then wrap up this inspiring day with a Fiesta with live music, food, and dancing!
