BOULDER, Colo. – October 29, 2026 -- Creative Educators Network (CEN) will host a Nov. 11 benefit in Boulder to fund 30 Colorado public educators at the inaugural Colorado Educators Summit, held during the Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 27-29, 2027.
The event, called The Power of Story, starts at 6:30 p.m. at eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St. Tickets cost $65. All proceeds go to the Summit, which coincides with the festival's first edition in Boulder.
CEN selected 30 educators from more than 80 applicants
The first cohort includes film and media instructors as well as general education teachers. Every dollar raised covers the following:
- Screenings, creative conversations and professional development during the festival
- Hands-on industry experience in the Sony Lab
- Networking with Colorado creative professionals from Coupe Studios, La Storia Productions, 11 Dollar Bill and SoundSpace
- Lodging, meals and transportation
- A year-long professional learning community in which each teacher brings a Summit-inspired project back to the classroom
A $5,000 gift fully sponsors one teacher
Under CEN's Adopt a Teacher program, a $5,000 donation covers one educator's entire Summit experience. Donations and pledges at any level are accepted from people who cannot attend the benefit.
CEN describes the Summit as the first step toward a statewide network of educators who prepare Colorado's next generation of creative professionals.
Four Coloradans will tell stories about teachers and learning
The speakers are:
- Paige Doughty, half of the children's music duo Jeff & Paige and CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit Rainbow Socks
- Bill LeBlanc, a Director at Tierra Resource Consultants whose career included Apple and Disney
- Stephen Brackett, co-founder of Flobots and Youth on Record, who leads ONE Denver, the city's Office of Nighttime Economy
- Brad Lidge, the former Philadelphia Phillies closer who went 41-for-41 in saves in 2008 and is now pursuing a PhD at CU Boulder
Colorado singer-songwriter Ryan Dart opens the evening with live music at 6:45 p.m. His latest album, If Love Don't Break You, was named "one of the year's best" by Americana Highways.
First-cohort teacher links storytelling to imagining the future
Josette Lorig, an educator at Vista PEAK Preparatory in Aurora and a first-cohort member, said storytelling is also a way to "world-build" and imagine what could exist beyond current reality. Cohort members focus on helping students find, shape and share their own stories.