The Impact Lounge at the 2026 Aspen Ideas Festival

What happens when health meets Hollywood?

Please join us in a thought-provoking discussion with leaders from medicine, media, and philanthropy on how storytelling can expand public understanding, influence behavior, and accelerate the future of health innovation. After the session, we'll dive deeper with a special case study from The Redford Center on how investigative storytelling helped turn an environmental health crisis into awareness, action, and solutions.

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Cocktails, canapés, and networking with breathtaking mountain views

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Story Rx: How Storytelling Expands Health Innovation

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM: Black Sow: A Case Study by The Redford Center

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Peak Connections Mixer 

Speakers:

Sindy Escobar Alvarez, Program Director for Medical Research at the
Doris Duke Foundation

Kate Langrall Folb, Program Director at Hollywood, Health & Society,
USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center

Andrea Downing, President and Founder, The Light Collective

Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS, Executive Director, Infodemiology
Initiative, The Public Good Projects
Dr. Jeremy Faust, Editor-in-Chief, MedPage Today; Emergency Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Moderator: Manoush Zomorodi, Author, “Body Electric”; Host, “TED Radio Hour,” NPR