Shoulder to Shoulder Alumni
The Ethical Leadership Forum at The Sebastian Hotel - Vail, Colorado
Your SStS field study was one formative experience in a much longer journey.
Five, ten, or more years later, you may be establishing a career, starting a family, becoming more rooted in a community—or navigating several of these transitions at once. With each come new opportunities, responsibilities, and questions about the person you want to become and the influence you hope to have.
The Shoulder-to-Shoulder Network (SSN) is designed to meet you where you are.
The Ethical Leadership Forum is one entry point: a place to exchange ideas and build relationships with alumni, students, educators, NGO partners, and leaders from across professional sectors, all invested in the well-being of their communities and the wider world.
We are building a SSN beginning with over 1,000 alumni. Depending on where you are in life, the Network may offer professional relationships, mentorship, opportunities to serve, intellectual engagement, or simply renewed connection with people committed to living and leading ethically. How, and how much, you engage is up to you.
Thursday, October 7th
5 - 7 PM Forum Mixer
Enjoy passed appetizers in a Shoulder-to-Shoulder microcosm — a cross-section of educators, NGO leaders, students, philanthropists, and business leaders, all in one room.
Friday, October 8th
7:30 – 8:15 AM Alumni Breakfast: Reconnect and Re-Imagining the Network
The Sebastian - Board Room
Reconnect with alumni from across SStS programs and generations while exploring how the “alumni ecosystem” can support and be strengthened by people at different stages of adult life.
The conversation will consider what would make the network meaningful now: connections across professions, mentorship in both directions, renewed engagement with NGO partners, participation in SStS programming, regional gatherings, and opportunities that alumni themselves may help create.
In one session, we weave the voices and experiences of our NGO partner Karma Sherpa (Co-Founder of The Small World Nepal), Evie and Lía (SSTS alumnae), and Erika Twani (author of Becoming Einstein’s Teacher and The Einstein Mindset, 2027) to illustrate an actionable strategy framework adaptable for already established programs in your school.
8:15-9:30 AM Guiding the Power of Transformation: Moral Imagination, Student Agency, and Technology
The Sebastian Ballroom
Lía Padilla & Evie Blan
SStS Alumni
American School Foundation of Guadalajara & Fort Worth Country Day
Guadalajara, Mexico & Dallas, TX
Erika Twani
Author
Becoming Einstein's Teacher & The Einstein Mindset
Sanam Sherpa
9:50 - 10:15 AM SStS Alumni Panel: A Message to Schools
The Sebastian Ballroom
How does an SStS experience continue to influence choices long after the program ends? In this panel discussion, SStS alumni present directly to educators, school leaders, and younger alumni about how their field study transformed their transition into college, early careers, workspaces, and local communities.
11:15-1 PM Plenary Session: Healthcare as a Moral Ecosystem
The full Forum convenes for a panel discussion and a Jeffersonian-style conversation centered on this year's theme. Rather than treating health as the responsibility of hospitals alone, we'll examine the shared obligations of healthcare providers, businesses, nonprofits, civic organizations, and citizens in building communities where every person has access to healthcare.
Will Cook
President & CEO
Christiana Beveridge, MD
Family Physician & Founder
Craig Jonas, Ph.D.
Founder
Dr. Kent Petrie
1-1:30 PM What’s Next?
The Gambit Bar - The Sebastian
Close out the Forum with an exclusive alumni wrap-up session. Hear updates on current alumni efforts and join a special Zoom-in with our alumni consulting partner to preview an upcoming network project.