Common Good Forum is an annual gathering of activists, artists, thinkers, and dreamers designed to inspire and empower all participants to advance the Common Good.
2025 Program Theme: “Common Ground for the Common Good"
In today’s hyper-polarized world, common ground can feel elusive. Through speakers, panels, comedy, and music, we will explore themes of common ground — finding it, nurturing it, and championing it in service of the Common Good.
All Events at Pine Street Church, 1237 Pine St, Boulder, CO 80302 Tickets required; variable pricing ($40 / $20 / $10 / Free) Gathering Coffee & Conversation (8:30 AM- 9:00 AM) - Hot and cold beverages and a light continental-style breakfast provided.
Opening Keynote (9:00 AM - 10:15 AM) - Paula Stone Williams: TED Speaker & Mayor Pro Tem - Lyons, CO "When Their Enemy Is You" - Responding With an Open Mind, a Receptive Spirit, and a Curious Soul
Colorado Mayoral Panel Discussion (10:30 AM - 12:00 PM) - "Civility in Civics" - Four Mayors Finding Common Ground Moderator: Rae Solomon(Journalist, formerly with KUNC) Panelists:
Closing Keynote (1:30 PM - 2:45 PM)- Nancy Norton: Award-Winning Comedian - Boulder, CO "Tromedy for the Common Good" - Take your pain and play with it. Transmute trauma and stress with comedy.
Thank You & Dismissal: 3:00 PM
About the Speakers
Paula Stone Williams – Keynote Speaker Paula Stone Williams is an internationally known speaker on issues of gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy, and religious tolerance. She has been featured in TEDWomen, TEDSummit, the New York Times, Red Table Talk, TEDxMileHigh, the Washington Post, NPR, Good Morning America, CNN, ABC News, PBS, and scores of other media outlets. As a keynote speaker, Paula has spoken for hundreds of corporations, conferences, and universities around the world. Her TED talks have had over nine million views. Paula’s memoir, As A Woman – What I Learned About Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2021.
Colorado Mayoral Panel Discussion
Rae Solomon - Panel Moderator Rae is an award-winning audio journalist based in Northern Colorado. Her stories have been regularly featured on national public radio programs including NPR, Marketplace, Reveal, The World and 1A. While reporting for KUNC, she focused on rural topics, climate, energy, agriculture, economics, housing and social issues. She lives in Denver with her two kids. Before working in audio journalism, Rae was a licensed architect.
Aaron Brockett (Mayor, Boulder) grew up in the small college town of Sewanee, TN. He attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where he majored in Music and met his wife-to-be, Cherry Anderson. After 8 years of living together in Stamford, CT, Aaron and Cherry moved to Boulder in 2003. They've raised their two children in North Boulder and ran a small software development firm together for 20 years. After serving for 5 years on the city's Planning Board, Aaron was first elected to the city council in 2015, was re-elected in 2019, and became mayor in November of 2021. In his time on City Council, he has focused on climate change, housing, transportation, economic vitality, social justice, and racial equity.
Katy Brown (Mayor Cherry Hills Village) has served the residents of Cherry Hills Village for more than 14 years, including 10 years on City Council and 4 years as Mayor Pro Tem. She began her service to Cherry Hills Village on the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission. Professionally, Katy is a pioneer in the web development field who parlayed her expertise into a boutique web development company specializing in the tourism industry. Katy holds two degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is married to fellow MIT alumnus Brian Brown and has two children. Her family has lived in the village for 18 years.
Ty Coleman (Mayor, Alamosa) is a dedicated community leader with a strong passion for promoting health and wellness, fostering business and youth development, and expanding access to housing opportunities. He actively serves as a mentor, coach, author, motivational speaker, a volunteer - consistently working to inspire, support, and uplift those around him. He is on a mission to be a positive voice for Colorado, taking action through active listening, collaboration, problem-solving, and community engagement. He believes in the T.E.A.M. approach—Together Everyone Achieves More—ensuring every voice is heard in building a brighter future.
Hollie Rogin (Mayor, Lyons) is in her second term as Mayor of Lyons. Prior to being directly elected Mayor, she served as a Trustee and a Planning Commissioner. As Mayor, Hollie is a member of the Colorado Municipal League Executive Board, a Board Director for the Denver Regional Council of Governments, an active member of the Metro Mayors Caucus, and is honored to be a part of the Local Indigenous Leaders group at National League of Cities. Hollie's professional background includes award-winning positioning and messaging strategy and creative copywriting for a wide variety of business-to-business and social change organizations.
Nancy Norton - Closing Keynote "Tromedy for the Common Good" Nancy, RN CHP, delivers uplifting, interactive, hilarious as well as actionable keynotes to organizations nationally and internationally with The Power of Humor which can be customized to focus on and address specific challenges for all kinds of industries. Adaptive humor enhances teambuilding, resilience, creative problem solving, job retention, stress relief, burnout, and more. Nancy’s background as a Registered Nurse gives her insight into the particular set of pain points facing healthcare workers, and her background as an award-winning comedian and storyteller makes these messages fun, energizing and memorable. In 2024, Nancy completed a 3 year course of study with the Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor to become a Certified Humor Professional (CHP) and she now applies therapeutic humor when hosting the weekly Tromedy podcast aimed at helping heal herself and others by transmuting traumas, stresses and pains with comedy. Tromedy makes life more manageable and much more fun! Tromedy is not a replacement for trauma therapy, but it may help you get by and laugh a little between sessions.
Pine Street Church is the host and founding sponsor of the Common Good Forum, and is seeking promotional and financial sponsors that want to collaborate for the common good. This could include:
Individuals & Foundations (either named or anonymous)
