RFL Encourages Civic Engagement at Aspen Business Forum

Andrea Palm-Porter, executive director of Roaring Fork Leadership, presenting her keynote speech at the Aspen Chamber Resort Association business outlook forum.

RFL Executive Director Andrea Palm-Porter was a keynote speaker at the Aspen Chamber Resort Association’s forum on Wednesday, April 24 about the importance of civic engagement among the valley’s business leaders and how she has s guided businesses to become more engaged in their communities. Palm-Porter pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of businesses engaging with elected leaders to convey their legislative needs as a business, noting that the COVID crisis galvanized communities to come together and leaders to act on problems they’d never dealt with before.

“When the pressure’s off … we don’t tend to come together as well as we do in the heat of things,” she added.

Advocating at a civic level as a business can help grow local businesses and local economies stronger, she said.

In addition, RFL Academy alum Dwayne Romero, CEO of The Romero Group, moderated a panel of three local leaders during the forum to discuss how they have engaged with their communities. In the Roaring Fork Valley, where housing and cost of living challenges are growing more extreme, business leaders can help advocate for solutions. For more coverage of RFL at the forum, check out this Aspen Times article.