HAN Annual Convening 2026: Denver opens with Where Momentum Meets Community — a dynamic conversation grounded in this year’s guiding principle, Collective Strength, Local Action: Sustaining Our Momentum. As communities across the country continue navigating challenges related to health, housing, economic opportunity, and belonging, this opening plenary will explore what it takes to sustain collaborative action that is rooted in trust, partnership, and place.

Moderated by David Zuckerman, President of the Healthcare Anchor Network, the session will feature Karen McNeil-Miller, President & CEO of The Colorado Health Foundation, who will be joined by Matthew Desmond, Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology, Princeton University.

Together, speakers will reflect on the unique landscape of Colorado and the Denver region — a place shaped by growth, innovation, resilience, and evolving community priorities — while exploring how anchor institutions can sustain momentum through intentional local action. The conversation will examine how healthcare institutions, philanthropy, community organizations, and civic leaders can work collectively to strengthen neighborhoods, expand opportunity, and build lasting impact that communities can see and feel.

As the opening session of the convening, this dialogue will set the tone for three days of learning, collaboration, and action — grounding attendees in the shared understanding that meaningful progress happens when collective strength is matched with deep local commitment.