Uli Kortsch

Uli designs financial architectures that move capital at the scale of nations, yet serve communities at heart. As founder of Global Partners Investments, LLC., he structures sovereign-backed transactions and secondary markets to fund infrastructure, sustainability, and development initiatives across the globe, advising and speaking in over 50 countries. He also advises a private fund that channels investment into projects that deliver enduring benefits to humanity rather than mere financial return.

Uli has led economic conferences for the Federal Reserve Bank, the Swiss constitutional reform process, and the Central Bank of Greece, convening policymakers and economists to reimagine the foundations of global finance. He has authored two books that expose the systemic fragility of debt-based economies and advocate a shift toward sovereign money systems, where states issue currency debt-free rather than delegate that power to commercial banks…

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Kiley Hartigan

Kiley’s nearness to life’s impermanence has clarified what matters: love, presence, and forgiveness. This understanding draws her to the mother-daughter bond, where those virtues are most deeply tested. As a coach and counselor-in-training, she works alongside her mother to guide women through a structured, compassionate process to evolve from the past and choose a new story. She begins graduate study in family counseling this year to deepen her practice.

Guided by the belief that how we relate matters more than what we face, Kiley draws on the image of the tide beneath the waves, a quiet pull between Earth and moon. She sees depth not as something to reach, but as a return to what lies beneath coping and silence. Her work invites others to reconnect with the deep current of compassion that has always been there, much like the timeless bond between mother and child…

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Luke Hanley

Luke Hanley strives to reshape the relationship between industry and carbon by building his company, 1089, as a platform to make decarbonization measurable, profitable, and widely adoptable. With little fanfare, he has aligned major players across diverse industries such as oil and gas, renewable energy, agriculture, and finance into a unified system designed for real-world impact. His approach is practical and incentive-driven, focused on making climate action something people can do, not just discuss.

Luke’s clarity comes from a life spent bridging divides. At fifteen, he brought internet to a post-Soviet Russian school; later, he developed solar finance models and led wilderness programs for at-risk youth. After a severe health collapse forced him into retreat, and a family crisis called him back, he re-started with nothing but a vision, cold-calling his way into boardrooms and building from scratch.

Luke is a devoted husband and father of twin daughters and a new baby boy. With his wife’s steady support, he found the strength to begin again. His work now reflects a more profound belief that real change happens when people are met where they are and invited to move forward together…

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Matthew Klein

Matthew Klein dedicated his career to building and scaling companies like Backbone PLM and Sweater Ventures. Now, he helps founders and families make pivotal financial decisions in his role at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Having once relied on mentors and networks to grow his own ventures, he now pays it forward, offering guidance with the benefit of experience and perspective.

At this stage of his career, Matthew has shifted from chasing outcomes to showing up, investing time and care into keeping his family connected as each member grows in their own direction. He sees the family as its own ecosystem, requiring the same thoughtful attention he once paid to business. Health and presence have become core priorities…

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Jacqueline Malcom-Peck

At the heart of Jacqueline’s work lies an old, elegant instinct: to gather people in spaces where kindness and imagination may unfold of their own accord. Trained first as a chef in the high-tempo world of Michelin-star kitchens, she carried forward a finely honed intuition for adaptability, care, and grace under pressure into her event destination, Greystone Castle, nestled in the Boulder foothills. There, Jacqueline fosters a culture attuned to the quiet architecture of experience.

Jacqueline believes that most meaningful moments arise not from grand gestures, but from the subtle attentions that help others feel at ease. In her world, conversation always triumphs over transaction, and curiosity over formality. Elegance resides not in extravagance, but in the simple, generous act of making others feel they belong. With this sensibility and confidence in her ability to problem-solve in the face of chaos, Jacqueline cultivates spaces and relationships where authentic connection and creativity can take root.

Away from her vocation, Jacqueline cherishes time with her close-knit family and her horse. She channels her penchant for risk-taking into poker games, where the stakes are low but she puts it all on the line. A devotee of the quiet arts, she delights in calligraphy, hand-lettered notes, and the simple pleasures of good food shared among friends…

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Matthew Sopiars

Matthew’s life has unfolded in leaps—bold departures from the known into the uncertain. From landing in Los Angeles with $200 and a backpack, to a decade expanding a startup across Europe and Asia, each move was a wager on possibility. In Serbia, a short-term assignment became a long-term life—he met his wife, led international growth, and came to feel “almost Serbian.” His company Olive Tree Ventures continues to actively cultivate new B2B ventures with the same enterprising spirit that brought him halfway around the world.

As founder of Sales Clover, Matthew runs a cross-continental consultancy helping tech firms modernize their go-to-market strategies. What compels him is not scale, but soul: finding overlooked talent, solving tangled problems, and giving good ideas their rightful chance. He’s particularly drawn to models that uplift rural and international workers, reflecting his own winding path from college dropout to global operator.

Matthew believes each person is granted one or two true opportunities in life—quiet, pivotal moments that must be seized fully. Back in Boulder with his wife and two young children, Matthew creates more time for learning, getting outside, spending time with his family, and contributing to his community. He’s exploring new ventures at the intersection of workforce development and global hiring—building pathways for untapped rural and international talent to break into tech…

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Sara Knuston Zervos

Growing up on a Minnesota farm where rest was rare, Sara adopted a forward-leaning mentality: keep moving, keep doing, find purpose in the work.

That drive led her to economics, where math meets psychology, blending structure with insight into human behavior. Opportunistically jumping at the chance to travel the world while simultaneously making an impact, she built a career in emerging markets, drawn to their volatility, cultural richness, and the immediacy of consequence. At Oppenheimer Funds, she led global debt portfolios, managing billions with clarity and care…

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Ted Barrett-Page

Across four decades as a therapist, Ted has witnessed a stubborn tragedy: most relationships don’t fail for lack of love, but for lack of skill. From this lifelong witnessing emerged his life’s work—the Safe Harbor Method, a deceptively simple structure designed to transform conflict into communion. Its tools? Three rules, a willingness to listen, and a two-minute sand timer.

Ted’s approach is grounded in the belief that being truly heard is more healing than being right. With gentleness and rigor, he teaches that the real work of relationship begins not in problem-solving, but in presence. Across continents and generations—from couples on the brink to kindergarten classrooms—his method restores dignity to difficult conversations.

A widower, father, and now grandfather, Ted carries his wisdom lightly, modeling the very vulnerability he teaches. He lives his legacy each day in ordinary acts—listening, sharing, and inviting others to slow down long enough to hear one another fully. His message, timeless and timely, is simple: every relationship deserves a safe harbor…

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Zoya Voronovich

Zoya splits her time as a neurosurgeon between high-stakes trauma care and slow, systems-level reform. In Omaha, she manages emergency spine and cranial injuries, while off-call, she’s building a grassroots program for osteoporosis fracture care—piecing together data, designing pathways, and pushing for change in a system slow to move. Zoya is most energized by practical interventions that make a real difference—especially when no one else is stepping in to solve the problem…

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Bill Pollak

After a storied career steering media and software ventures—from the New York Times to the helm of private equity-backed firms—Bill retired as Group President of Fortive, a publicly traded industrial conglomerate. His work spanned the boardrooms of corporate America to the intricacies of niche B2B technologies, leaving behind a wake of leaders now helming companies of their own.

As Bill embarks on his “retirement” (for now), he’s giving back. Guided less by ambition than by stewardship, he now devotes his days to mentoring first-time CEOs, serving on the board of The Boulder Reporting Lab, and mapping the civic and entrepreneurial networks of Boulder. His enduring passion for journalism, kindled in his Times years, finds new expression in strengthening The Boulder Reporting Lab’s voice, vigilance, and fundraising.

Between mentorship calls and strategic plans, Bill hikes and skis with the joy of a man no longer tethered to the terminals and time zones of work travel. A grandfather, husband, and civic neighbor, he’s aiming to stay active, stay useful, and maybe take up biking this season…

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Amy Nack

Curiosity and adventure drive Amy. Whether researching impact investments, writing poetry, or swimming with whales, she moves through the world with a hunger to explore and create meaning. Raised by a journalist and a non-denominational minister, she inherited a deep belief in living with purpose—a legacy she’s passing on to her two children.

Amy builds trust through action. She volunteers at food pantries, supports nonprofits, invests in start-ups, and helps launch music and arts initiatives that deepen Boulder’s sense of connection. In 2025, she plans to launch a Donor Advised Fund to further align her values with her giving.

Nature is her compass. From hiking Chautauqua to riding horses in Cotopaxi, or diving Raja Ampat’s coral reefs, she finds the call to courage and presence. A recent fall from a cliff in West Papua left her with scars—and deeper gratitude for the world’s beauty.

Each year, she and her husband take on a new challenge. In 2025, it’s Surf Skiing and building a beachfront home in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. They dream of winter months in the jungle, better Spanish, and lifelong learning…

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Ann Watson

Ann’s journey has been anything but linear—spanning decades in New York City, launching startups in psychedelic medicine and a lifelong exploration of how we heal, individually and collectively. Her North Star? A relentless curiosity.

Ann’s transformation didn’t happen on a distant mountaintop—it unfolded in the everyday act of bringing hard-earned insights into the noise and nuance of real life. From meditating in the mountains of Tibet to navigating the fast-paced world of biotech startups, she’s guided by a deep belief that healing and innovation begin with asking better questions.

Today, Ann serves as Chief Marketing Officer at Conceivable Life Sciences, where she’s helping reshape the future of IVF. By leading the creation of the world’s first AI-powered automated IVF lab, she’s helping shift fertility care from exclusive concierge medicine to a widely accessible health solution…

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Marcela Solari

Our reality is shaped by those who hold power, the stories they allow to be recorded, and what is remembered or erased. History is filled with hidden knowledge, too often deemed heretical. What truths have "gone missing" simply because they did not fit within permitted narratives? Marcela seeks truth in ancient history, antiquities, censored books, and millennia-old discoveries from Mesopotamia and Egypt.
 
Growing up in Argentina during the military dictatorship, at a time when thousands of people were being "disappeared" because of their dissenting views, taught Marcela the importance of freedom. Propelled by a desire to be free and grow, she left Argentina with a backpack, a math scholarship, and a passion to challenge established narratives and uncover what life is really all about.

Her journey from math student, to technologist, to real estate broker reflects a conscious choice toward more meaningful work, human connections, and the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. Alongside her best friend and husband, Paul, Marcela finds that life unfolds when we question our own "sacred" assumptions…

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Rachel Yeates

While Rachel Yeates fights battles in the courtroom as a litigator, other battles unfold in her mind—quieter, messier, yet just as fierce. Drawing inspiration from the great epics, where heroines cross vast landscapes, battle monsters, and emerge transformed, she reimagined that struggle to write a spy novel, turning the external quest into an internal war against the mind’s shadows.

At the Securities & Exchange Commission, Rachel defends investors from financial fraudsters. Yet, in the latest federal shakeup, the very system designed to protect the vulnerable now threatens to cast her aside. Rachel is now caught between being the protector and needing protection herself. 

Rachel adapts as her external and internal fights evolve. With a sharp mind, compassion, and enough eccentricity to keep things interesting, she fights for those who cannot fight for themselves—just as others once did for her…

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Mike Shanley

The world is deeply interconnected—economically, politically, and socially. A decision made in one country sends shockwaves through markets, affecting regions, and reshapes global alliances. To ignore this reality is to be unprepared for its consequences. Isolation does not insulate, it weakens. Nations that disengage do not gain control. Instead, they lose influence, ceding ground to those willing to step in. Resilience is at the heart of understanding and navigating these global currents.

Mike strengthens the ties that keep the world connected by continuously identifying new global opportunities. His work has taken him from the Peace Corps in Ukraine to the working on U.S. foreign policy through guiding governments, businesses, and NGOs with more efficient ways to deliver better outcomes with limited resources. 

When systems change, the strong adapt. As sweeping policy shifts challenge decades of global cooperation, Mike is combining his decades of government contracting experience with his proven track record building AI products for niche markets to re-tool in order to foster stability and growth. In this unpredictable world, Mike is positioning our government and its partners to deliver better outcomes for their people…

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Lydia Jones

Lydia Jones believes values must be lived by taking deliberate action — a necessary ingredient for living a life of meaning and integrity.

Lydia carried this belief to the slopes for four years while working as an adaptive ski instructor for people with disabilities. Creativity was essential—there was always a way to get someone on the snow. Through this process, she came to understand the simple but profound truth that the only real limits are the ones we accept.

Except, of course, for time. The fact that it is fleeting gives it weight. So instead of focusing on what she is doing, Lydia focuses on how she is living. She searches for beauty amidst life’s small frustrations, knowing that each moment is irreplaceable.

Soon to be pursuing her MBA at CU, Lydia plans to apply her independent thinking to explore the intersection of business and sustainability. Given that social and political issues are rarely black and white, she strives to uphold her value that progress comes from questioning assumptions, fostering empathy, and engaging in meaningful conversations across perspectives…

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Brandon Wood

Growth comes from stepping into the unknown with unrelenting positivity while remaining adaptable to the challenges along the way. Optimism, in its truest form, is quiet confidence—an understanding that uncertainty is not an obstacle but a force of change. Those who embrace it will always find a way forward.

Brandon Wood has built his life on this belief. When a well-worn career path led to stagnation, he created his own. In short-term rentals, he discovered that risk is not something to fear but something to master. Small, intentional choices—like a handwritten note for a guest—turn a simple stay into a lasting relationship.

Adaptation is a skill sharpened by experience. Brandon sees it in business, relationships, and the unpredictability of fatherhood. Have we mistaken ease for progress, allowing comfort to dull our instinct to evolve? True growth comes from learning, adjusting, and trusting that every challenge is an invitation to move forward…

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Niko Kovacevic

Most of us live within a scaffolding we did not build, inheriting beliefs and ambitions without question. True understanding begins with interrogating these unseen forces—questioning what drives us to bring our lives into clearer focus.

A mathematician by training and a software engineer by profession, philosophy drew Niko in as a way of sharpening his thoughts and actions. He then realized that much of life is dictated by unexamined assumptions about success, purpose, and happiness. Engaging with great classical works exposed him to timeless debates and profound insights, challenging his assumptions and deepening his critical thinking ability. This, in turn, reshaped his priorities in life, reorienting him toward building his family and philosophical community. 

Through Parnassus House, the organization he co-founded, Niko leads Socratic seminars that challenge participants to wrestle with fundamental questions: What is the good life? How should technology shape our future? Niko sees philosophy not as a source of fixed answers but as a means to ask better questions. By bringing our lives into sharper focus, we may not find certainty—but we may find wisdom…

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Julia Vitarello

Systems resist change, stalling progress. Sometimes, only an unstoppable force can break through the impenetrable. For Julia, that force was a mother’s resolve - sharpened by necessity, forged in grief.

When her daughter, Mila, was diagnosed with a fatal genetic disease, Julia refused to accept medicine’s rigid boundaries. Science had outpaced the systems built to deliver it, leaving life-saving innovation tangled in red tape.

Left with no other choice, Julia became the architect of possibility—rallying scientists, regulators, and biotech leaders to cut through bureaucracy at unprecedented speed. She proved that medicine could move faster, that barriers could yield, and that the impossible was simply untried.

Mila is gone, but Julia’s fight continues. She moves forward as if Mila is still beside her - because in every battle, she is. Loss fuels momentum; grief transforms into purpose. She refuses to let the cracks she forced open be sealed shut….

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Alicia Curtin

Some awakenings arrive in an instant. Others unfold slowly, shaped by years of listening, questioning, and allowing. Alicia finds herself embracing the process of becoming by moving through life like a gardener—nurturing what is meant to thrive and releasing what cannot be sustained. 

Alicia has spent a lifetime in motion—raising four children, caring for a husband through illness and death, shaping landscapes, teaching minds, and healing bodies. She now moves with a different rhythm, seeking the path forward in something she follows, not in something she forces. Meditation, breathwork, and deep listening have taught her that alignment isn’t about passivity—it is about working with what is ready rather than pushing against what is not.

Alicia believes that when one meets life with openness, the right opportunities reveal themselves. That is how she stepped into landscape design, found herself guiding cancer patients through nutrition, and her training in breathwork. Not everything is meant to be mapped out. Some challenges must simply be met with an open heart…

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