2026 Ethical Leadership Forum

Join business, civic, and community leaders in Vail for a day on leading with integrity, purpose, and shared responsibility.
About this Event

Stand Shoulder-to-Shoulder for a Day of Ethical Leadership

Friday, October 9, 2026 • The Sebastian, Vail, Colorado • 8:00 AM – 1:30 PM

Health Care as a Moral Ecosystem

At Students Shoulder-to-Shoulder, we believe ethical leadership is the "big idea" that can meet humanity's most pressing needs — and that no single sector can carry it alone. Health, like leadership, is a shared responsibility. It's built when healthcare providers, businesses, nonprofits, civic organizations, and everyday citizens all stand shoulder-to-shoulder for the health of the communities they serve.

This year's Ethical Leadership Forum brings that big idea to life for the general public in one day — breakfast, working sessions, and a keynote lunch — built for community members and professionals every sector who want to see ethical leadership in action, right here in Vail Village.

One Day, Three Conversations

The day opens with a regional Rotary breakfast meetup which is open to all, then moves into a business conversation on investing in people and place, and closes with the Forum's full-group keynote lunch — a Jeffersonian-style conversation grounded in this year's theme.

Ripple Effect: A Regional Rotary Breakfast Meetup (8:00 – 9:15 AM)
Open to all, and sponsored by the Vail Edwards Rotary Club, this breakfast brings together Rotarians from across the region. Hear about the grassroots work of Common Ground Relief in New Orleans — one of our Shoulder-to-Shoulder nonprofit partners — and get a firsthand update from Dr. Karambu Ringera, former President of the Rotary Club of Meru, Kenya and founder of International Peace Initiatives, on an ongoing water project supported by Rotary.

Business Session: Employee Health as a Community Investment (9:30 – 11:00 AM)
Produced in partnership with Vail Valley Works, this panel brings together local business visionaries investing in the health of their people and the health of their communities — proof the two aren't separate strategies, but one shared value.

Keynote Lunch Session: Health Care as a Moral Ecosystem (11:15 AM – 1:30 PM)
The full Forum convenes — educators, students, business leaders, philanthropists, and nonprofit changemakers, shoulder-to-shoulder in one room — for a panel discussion and Jeffersonian-style conversation on this year's theme. Rather than treating health as the responsibility of hospitals alone, we'll examine our shared obligation to build communities where every person has the opportunity to flourish.

Who Should Attend?
This day is for anyone in the Vail Valley community ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow changemakers — Rotarians, business leaders, healthcare professionals, nonprofit and NGO partners, philanthropists, and engaged neighbors alike.

Our Aim Is Simple
Every attendee leaves not just inspired, but connected — equipped with a clearer sense of their own role in the health of society, and the relationships to start acting on it, shoulder-to-shoulder. Breakfast and lunch are included.