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
I. 5 - 7 PM: Forum Mixer
Sponsored by The Sebastian Hotel
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
I. 7:30 – 8:30 AM: Alumni Breakfast: Where Are You Now, and What Comes Next?
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.
II. 9:30 –11:00 AM: Business Session — Employee Health as a Community Investment
Produced in partnership with Vail Valley Works
A panel of local business leaders examines emerging practices for supporting employee health and strengthening the communities they serve — proof that investing in your people and investing in your community aren't separate strategies.
III. 11:15 AM – 1:30 PM: Keynote Lunch Session
Health Care 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 the opportunity to flourish.
IV. 2 - 3 PM: Bringing Ethical Leadership into College, Career, and Daily Life
SStS Alumni Panel
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.