Get ready for an epic experience at the Outdoor Industry Summit! We’re tackling urgent challenges head-on and unlocking exciting opportunities. Join us to be inspired and empowered as we showcase innovative businesses and public sector models that are revolutionizing the Outdoor Industry in Colorado:
Outdoor Industry Summit
Exploring Sustainability + Responsible Tourism in Business
Friday, September 15, 2023 at Leadville CMC Campus
Calling all Colorado Small Businesses and Industry Supporters! Don’t miss out on this awe-inspiring event set amidst Colorado’s majestic 14ers in Leadville, CO, the highest incorporated city in North America, at 10,152 feet.
We explore the realm of sustainable business practices + responsible tourism through our four curated tracks of focus:
Innovations in Responsible Tourism: Colorado’s tourism boom is straining resources, but we’ve got the solutions! Discover groundbreaking approaches to protect our public lands and rural areas while ensuring a thriving tourism industry.
Empowering Sustainability In Business: Businesses today face crucial challenges. But fear not! We’ll equip you with the tools and inspiration to remain relevant, thrive, and make a positive impact on the world.
Inspirational Business Models: Ready to supercharge your sales and revenue? We’re shining a spotlight on B2B opportunities and mind-blowing business models designed specifically for the outdoor industry in Colorado. Get ready to expand your horizons and boost your bottom line!
Collaborative Partnerships + Funding: Together, we can achieve so much more. Discover the power of collaborative public/private sector partnerships, as well as funding and grant offerings designed to support the outdoor industry. Let’s join forces and make a real difference!
Secure your spot now for the Outdoor Industry Summit on September 15, 2023, at the Leadville CMC Campus. Let’s rock the outdoor world together!
Meet Our Keynotes:
Morning Keynote
Scotty Stoughton
Bonfire Entertainment | WinterWonderGrass | Adrift Adventures
Honoring + Respecting our Planet While Simultaneously Celebrating our Connection With It
Afternoon Keynote
Dani Reyes-Acosta
Nomad Creativa | Afuera Productions
Director. Producer. Athlete. Strategist.
Can A Wild Thought Change the World? Connecting People to Themselves, The Great Outdoors, + Their Wildest Dreams They Never Thought Possible
About the Keynote Topic: Dani Reyes-Acosta 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 useful 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.
Scotty Stoughton – At the heart of all his endeavors, Bonfire Entertainment Founder Scotty Stoughton is a connector. He lives and breathes music and the world that holds its sound waves. Onstage as frontman with Bonfire Dub or behind the scenes producing his many festivals and events, including WinterWonderGrass and Campout for the Cause, Stoughton values music as more than a platform where rhythm meets beat. For him, it’s an expression that sets the stage for a life worth living, a vision worth having, and a dream worth creating. Stoughton’s production company, Bonfire Entertainment, puts a spotlight on community and interpersonal connection, as well as the overall impact we have on the environment. Stoughton finds solace and inspiration in the natural world, especially on the water, and is the co-founder of Stand Up Paddle Colorado and Adrift Adventures Dinosaur. His support of international non-profit organizations, along with local involvement through community events, always keeps his hands moving quickly without ever losing the beat.
Learn More About Scotty’s Life Work:
Gather Community Connect Simplify Sustain
Dani Reyes-Acosta – Award-winning filmmaker, athlete, and writer Dani Reyes-Acosta inspires individual action and collective communion through stories of reciprocity in the outdoors—rewriting the story of how we build community along the way.
Her goal is to find the limits of her possible, searching out the peaks and valleys that tell the story of Mother Earth’s most impacted people and places. She believes that in community with ourselves and the world at large, we can reEarth the power within—to form a better future for us all.
Her perspective has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Climbing Magazine, and in five anthologies, on topics ranging from splitboard mountaineering and mountain running to rural living, community-building, and climate solutions.
An emerging filmmaker, her latest project, OUTLIER: Trust, premiered at Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2022, with nine other festival selections as of June 2023. Honored by Protect Our Winters as “Alliance Member of the Year” for her community advocacy, she is also an Explore Fund Council Member for The North Face, charting a path forward for a new generation of explorers.
Whether chasing a story or harvesting from her orchard of heritage apple trees, Dani’s finds inspiration in her favorite places, the Sierra Nevada and San Juan mountains.
She speaks Spanish fluently, French somewhat passably, and can make a mean taco plate from scratch, likely with food from her farm in SW Colorado.
Learn More About Dani’s Life Work:
Filmmaker. Athlete. Cultivator.
Nomad Creativa | Afuera Productions
Also Register for The Outdoor Equity Summit: Nuestro Legado - Looking Back, Moving Forward
Sept. 16, 2023 Leadville CMC Campus
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, the cultivation of a sense of belonging in the outdoors, and the authentic inclusion of queer, BIPOC, and alternatively-abled individuals in both the outdoor industry and the broader outdoor community.
September 15, 2023 AGENDA:
We are thrilled to bring you a diverse lineup of keynotes, guest speakers, + panelists. Our hope is to inspire + empower the next generation of problem-solvers + innovators + contribute to a better future for all.
8:00am Check In/Registration Leadville CMC Campus
901 US-24, Leadville, CO 80461 in the Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center and tented surrounding areas
8:30am Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center in the Main Stage Gym –
Welcome from Our Emcee
Cassie Strid, Sr. Account + Merchandising Manager, Elastic Suite + Outdoor Industry Merchandising Manager
Welcome from the Colorado Mountain College (CMC) Team
Elevating Business Resources,
Hannah Krieger, State Director,
Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network
Conor Hall, State Director, Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office
The Outdoor Industry Summit: Exploring Sustainability + Responsible Tourism in Business, Jamie Billesbach, Director, Central Mountain Small Business Development Center
Morning Keynote:
Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center in the Main Stage Gym
Honoring + Respecting our Planet While Simultaneously Celebrating our Connection With It,
Scotty Stoughton, Founder + Musician, Bonfire Entertainment, WinterWonderGrass, Adrift Adventures
10:00am Break + Outdoor Exhibitor Hall
10:30am Main Stage Gym – Telling Your Story to Inspire + Connect with Your Audience,
Olivia Omega, Senior Director MarComm, Denver Scholarship Foundation, Branding Strategist, Diversity + Inclusion Advocate, Entrepreneur
Helping Societies Move into a Sustainable Future (achieving small business growth while maximizing community empowerment) Chris White, Founder, Yurts at Poncha Pass + long time advisor of Atmocean with Ocean Based Climate Solutions
12:00pm Lunch Outside Large Tent + Outdoor Exhibitor Hall
1:00am Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center Main Stage Gym – Elevating the Outdoor Industry Panel Discussions
Empowering Sustainability In Business –
Igniting Radical Change + Building for an Inclusive, Sustainable + Equitable Future,
Missy McDaniel, Senior Key Account Manager, Fjallraven + Sustainability Education
Collaborative Partnerships + Funding –
The Colorado Outdoor Partnership + Parks + Rec
Jody Kennedy, Regional Partnership Program Manager at Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Adam Beh, Director Parks, Recreation, and Open Space at Lake County Colorado
Innovations in Responsible Tourism –
Building Resilient Communities + Sustainable Tourism and Recreation,
Adam Ducharme, Tourism Director for Leadville & Twin Lakes
Natalie Ooi, Sustainability in the Outdoor Industry Specialization Lead,
CU Boulder Sustainable Tourism + Recreation
B2B Opportunities for Growth in the Outdoor Industry Panel Discussion –
Maria Uspenski, Founder, + Anna Brumbaugh, Sourcing + Custom Projects Manager, The Tea Spot;
Dom Barrera + Felipe Vieyra, Founders, OSO Meals
Ingrid Malmberg, Agency Director, Momentum Media PR
Gina Lundby, Sr. Account Manager, Elastic Suite
2:30pm Break + Outdoor Exhibitor Hall
3:05pm – Breakout Work Sessions
Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center Main Stage Gym Inspirational Business Models –
Siobhan Phillips, Merchandise Manager, Obermeyer
Justin Talbot, Founder, Galena Mountain Projects + Talbot Photo
Dave Smithey, Founder, Top Out Adventures
Facilitated By: Jamie Billesbach, Director, Central Mountain Small Business Development Center
Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center Room 401
Empowering Sustainability In Business –
Dan Omasta, Program Officer, North Central GOCO Great Outdoors Colorado
Wendy McDermott, Executive Director, Central Colorado Conservancy
Dominique Naccarato, Faculty Integrative & Public Land Management at Western Colorado University
Supporting Participants: Adam Beh, Director Parks, Recreation, and Open Space at Lake County Colorado and Jody Kennedy, Regional Partnership Program Manager at Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Facilitated By: Cassie Strid, Sr. Account + Merchandising Manager, Elastic Suite + Outdoor Industry Merchandising Manager
Outside Large Tent
Innovations in Responsible Tourism –
Natalie Ooi, Sustainability in the Outdoor Industry Specialization Lead,
CU Boulder Sustainable Tourism + Recreation
Facilitated By: Conor Hall, State Director, Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office
Exhibitor Hall
Collaborative Partnerships + Funding – B2B Sales, Funding, Public/Private Sector Support Agencies + More
4:30pm Afternoon Keynote:
Climax Molybdenum Leadership Center in the Main Stage Gym
Can A Wild Thought Change the World? Connecting People to Themselves, The Great Outdoors, + Their Wildest Dreams They Never Thought Possible
Dani Reyes-Acosta – Nomad Creativa | Afuera Productions
5:15pm Interactive Audience Observations + Adjourn
5:30pm – Freight Afterparty with Bonfire Dub
320 E 9th St, Leadville, CO 80461
2023 OIS Speakers
A gracious thank you to our sponsors!
Come Early – Stay Late:
Explore our Central Mountain Regions:
Fifteen Mountains Over 14,000 Feet
World Famous Gold Medal Arkansas River
80% Public Lands
Two Natural Hot Springs
Browns Canyon National Monument
And a Community Inspired Spirit for Adventure
Visit www.colorfulcolorado.com + www.leadvilletwinlakes.com
