Public Health in the Rockies 2026

The Colorado Alcohol Impacts Coalition (CAIC) is a newly formed statewide coalition dedicated to fostering a more healthful environment around alcohol use in Colorado. Excessive alcohol consumption remains a significant and often under-addressed public health concern, contributing to chronic disease, injury, mental health challenges, and health inequities across our state. CAIC brings together public health professionals, community organizations, researchers, and advocates to address these harms through a unified, evidence-based approach.

This presentation will introduce CAIC's founding mission, coalition structure, and strategic framework — centered on education, data, and policy — and outline priority areas for collective action in the months and years ahead. Attendees will learn how to engage with and contribute to this growing coalition as we shift Colorado's alcohol landscape toward one that better supports health and well-being for all.

We request 60 minutes because our presentation covers a wide variety of topics, from founding to current activities to funding. We hope this session will grow our coalition to include early public health professionals, rural stakeholders, and people affected by alcohol use. Therefore, we will include audience participation, coalition sign-ups, and material on funding for a new, advocacy-focused nonprofit. Audience members will be encouraged to share stories about alcohol impacts in their community to help us understand how the Coalition can better serve them.