Public Health in the Rockies 2026

Public health professionals are trained to solve problems. But the most persistent challenges facing public health organizations today — burnout, equity gaps, community trust, cross-sector coordination — resist the kind of solving we are trained for. They are adaptive challenges, not technical ones. And adaptive challenges cannot be resolved by authority alone. They require leadership from everyone in the system, regardless of role or title.

This session begins with a single, clarifying distinction: authority and leadership are not the same thing. Authority is the act of providing direction and order in exchange for cooperation. Leadership is mobilizing yourself and others to make progress on daunting challenges. Authority is a role. Leadership is an activity — and anyone can exercise it. Participants will explore what this distinction means in practice and where in their own organizations the two are most commonly confused.

From there, participants will apply the technical versus adaptive challenge framework to a real challenge from their own work. This is not a theoretical exercise. Participants will examine an actual problem they are facing, diagnose its nature, and begin to surface what kind of response it actually requires — and who needs to be involved in making progress.

The session closes with a structured peer consultation practice using Troika Consulting from Liberating Structures. In rotating groups of three, participants bring a real challenge, receive powerful questions from peers, and listen without defending. The experience builds the habit of asking before advising — a foundational leadership behavior that transforms how teams diagnose and respond to adaptive challenges together.

Participants will leave with one reframed challenge, a set of questions worth sitting with, and a leadership practice they can use the following week.

Instructional Methodologies: Brief didactic framing of authority versus leadership and technical versus adaptive work; individual challenge identification and small-group diagnosis; Troika Consulting (Liberating Structures) as structured peer practice; large-group debrief focused on insight and next action.

Measuring Skill Development: A brief post-session reflection will ask each participant to name the challenge they brought, the most useful question they received, and one leadership action they will take within the next two weeks.

Artificial intelligence is showing up everywhere, in the news, in our inboxes, and increasingly in our workflows, but for many public health professionals, the big question remains: how does this actually help me do my job? This interactive skill-building session is designed for practitioners who are curious about AI but haven't yet found their footing. No prior expertise required, just an openness to experimenting.

In this 90-minute hands-on session, presenters from Omni Institute will guide participants through a structured exploration of AI tools applied directly to public health challenges. The session opens with a warm-up activity designed to lower the stakes, spark creativity, and build both confidence and community among participants.

From there, participants will work in small groups through a series of facilitated exercises using real AI tools. Each exercise is anchored to common public health tasks such as synthesizing community feedback, drafting communications, exploring data patterns, or designing program materials, with guided prompts that participants can adapt and take back to their own organizations. Small groups will also have the opportunity to apply what they've learned to a realistic public health scenario, practicing how to integrate AI tools into their existing workflows.

The session closes with structured reflection and peer sharing. Participants will leave with practical strategies and resources tailored to public health use cases that they can begin applying immediately.

In the United States, ~14.1% of the population relies on private wells for drinking water. In Colorado, that estimate is closer to 7%. Although the Safe Drinking Water Act charges the Environmental Protection Agency with setting regulations for water quality to ensure that specified contaminants are not present above the Maximum Contaminant Level, private wells are not included under the umbrella of regulatory authority for public water systems. Concurrently, there exists a very limited support framework for domestic well users in Colorado and nationally. The purpose of this session is to share what private well stewardship workshops revealed about how community members learn, engage with, and act on well water management, and to help others apply such insights in their own programs.

The session will cover the following content: 1) Private Well Stewardship and Why It Matters 2) Workshop Design & Approach 3) Stakeholders and Community Engagement Strategies 4) Key findings from the workshops.

Alongside a short presentation from the facilitators, participants will engage in several hands-on activities to build their skills. Examples include interactive activities where participants will assess how private well use becomes a public health issue, a real-world case study of the Boulder County Public Health–academic partnership, small-group mapping of key stakeholders and partnership strategies, and guided discussions on how local public health agencies can adapt private well stewardship efforts within their own county context. Audience polls will be used to explore participants’ current familiarity with private wells, perceived local public health agencies (LPHA) roles, and barriers to engaging private well users. An applied activity will invite participants to identify one potential partner, one local barrier, and one first step for advancing private well stewardship in their jurisdiction. The session will conclude with an open forum for participants to ask questions, share insights, and discuss opportunities for strengthening private well stewardship across Colorado communities. Recommendations for resources and partnership approaches to support future LPHA engagement in private well stewardship will be provided.

This session supports best practices and skill development by introducing practical approaches for private well stewardship, helping participants strengthen skills in community engagement, partnership development, and applied public health practice. Through the Boulder County case study, participants will examine how LPHAs can collaborate with academic partners to better understand private well users’ concerns, testing behaviors, and stewardship practices. The session will also highlight regulatory gaps, equity considerations, and communication challenges in private well use. By engaging in applied activities, participants will identify local opportunities, barriers, and potential partners for advancing private well stewardship within their own communities.

A pre- and post-workshop assessment will be used to measure knowledge and skills developed during the session. Using a brief survey, participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding private well stewardship, LPHA roles, community engagement, and partnership development will be assessed before and after the workshop. A brief qualitative assessment will also be included post-session to understand what participants’ most valuable takeaways, learnings, and how they plan to apply private well stewardship strategies within their own public health context.

This session will highlight The Power of Purposeful Partnerships and how the Healthy Families Partnership (HFP) of Douglas County directly embodies the conference theme, Stronger Together. Established in 2023 in response to community-identified needs, HFP brings together 15 expert organizations—including all four county hospitals—to improve maternal and child health across the community. Guided by child fatality review data, the Public Health Improvement Plan (PHIP), and continuous community feedback, HFP builds strong connections across sectors to enhance access to essential services and resources that promote maternal and child health. The partnership was intentionally designed to break down traditional silos and create meaningful, sustained collaboration among healthcare providers, community organizations, local agencies, and families.

HFP was developed through collaboration with 15 subject matter expert organizations, including all four county hospitals, local government, schools, libraries, mental health providers, and other family-focused agencies. The initiative distributes specially prepared “new family bags” containing a sleep sack, safe sleep education, developmental milestone information, child passenger safety guidance, perinatal mental health resources, and materials from partner organizations. Community engagement involving individuals with lived experience is central to HFP’s model and continues to inform the evolution of services.

Since its launch, HFP has strengthened cross-sector relationships, increased family engagement in planning, aligned messaging across organizations, and expanded coordinated access to services from birth onward. In its inaugural year, HFP distributed bags to more than 4,300 families who gave birth in Douglas County, demonstrating tangible community impact.

Participants will gain actionable strategies to launch and sustain community-centered partnerships rooted in shared purpose and responsive to community-identified needs, strengthening maternal and child health outcomes.

Request for 1-Hour Session:

Requesting a 60-minute session ensures at least 15 minutes for participants to engage with presenters through discussion and questions, supporting meaningful dialogue and practical application to their own community contexts.

The Colorado Community Survey Data Results Report offers a comprehensive, statewide snapshot of the lived experiences, challenges, and priorities of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. Across 503 responses, 288 of which were validated, participants shared a resounding call for systems that are accessible, person-centered, and inclusive across every stage of life. The findings reveal both progress in areas like respect, engagement, and access to medical care, and continued disparities in communication, behavioral health, housing, and employment.
Respondents consistently reported difficulty navigating fragmented systems, especially during major transitions such as aging out of school or the loss of family caregivers. Families emphasized the importance of succession planning, clear benefits guidance, and conflict-free case management to sustain quality of life and autonomy over time.


Employment data showed both potential and inequity, 57% have work experience, but only 15% feel confident in finding jobs without rejection. Families cited inconsistent job coaching and employer bias as major barriers. In education, only 28% of respondents were currently enrolled, revealing significant gaps in accommodation, communication, and accountability within schools.
Most respondents live with family (57%), reflecting limited access to affordable, accessible, and independent housing options. Transportation challenges, especially in rural areas, compound these barriers, with 78% depending on family or informal supports and only 22% using public transit. Accessibility and safety issues were widespread.

Thematic and content analyses from focus groups reinforced survey findings: participants value belonging, meaningful work, and community engagement, while expressing deep concern about system fragility, workforce shortages, and aging caregiver crises. Families urged for a shift from reactive systems to proactive, disability-informed solutions that honor lived experience.

As first year medical students interested in medical student well-being, we initiated a literature review on well-being initiatives by medical training institutions. Our review revealed that while wellness interventions such as mindfulness, reflection, and compassion-based curricula have been well received and shown variable benefits in reducing stress and burnout, their effectiveness is limited when programs are isolated from curriculum or fail to address structural stressors. Outcome measures remain inconsistent and students from underrepresented backgrounds face additional burdens that are largely unacknowledged, with few interventions using culturally responsive approaches or disaggregating outcomes by identity.

Motivated by these findings, we created and implemented an event called “Flourishing Fest,” a novel initiative grounded in the KNN Framework for Flourishing. Flourishing Fest took place over two-weeks and was designed to mitigate identified barriers to flourishing. The student-led, self-guided activities were chosen to promote connection, physical activity, playfulness, presence, and renewal. Students participated via bingo format that encouraged exploration and personal choice in selecting activities aligned with individual needs and preferences. Using an anonymous post-event survey with validated Likert-scale questions, we assessed multiple dimensions of flourishing. Survey results and qualitative feedback demonstrated students’ appreciation for the impact on connection, physical activity, mindfulness, and its contribution to an institutional culture that supports flourishing.

We have adapted the Flourishing Fest bingo card for subsequent events as well as for a KNN Student Conference. For PHiR, we have created a collaborative design activity. Small groups would identify barriers to flourishing within their own organizations and design their own Flourishing Fest bingo card tailored to their organizational context including implementation planning. Bingo cards would be displayed and there would be a gallery walk for participants provide feedback to each other. Facilitators will highlight common themes, celebrate innovative approaches, and reinforce the framework of inclusive inquiry, implementation, evaluation, and iteration.