2025 Conference on World Affairs Wrap-Up
Thank You for Attending the 2025 Conference on World Affairs
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the more than 3,500 registered attendees who engaged in the 2025 Conference on World Affairs. This year’s conference was a remarkable gathering that brought together a diverse group of entrepreneurs, artists, filmmakers, scientists, performers, advocates, journalists and policymakers. Engaging in in-depth conversations on many of the pressing issues of our time, the conference offered attendees a sold-out keynote and more than 30 panels, all collaboratively planned by CU and Boulder community members.
Session Recordings Now Available
If you would like to rewatch a session or you were unable to attend, the conference panels have been uploaded to the CWA YouTube channel.
Keynote Highlights
Special Thanks to Our Volunteers, Donors and Sponsors
We would like to give special mention and thanks to our volunteers, donors and sponsors, without whom the conference could not happen. Special thanks to CU Boulder Continuing Education, CU Center for Leadership, Colorado School of Public Health, Elevations Credit Union, KGNU and University Memorial Center at CU Boulder.
Celebrating Our Graduating CWA Student Leaders
Huge congratulations to our incredible graduating CWA student leaders! Your passion, dedication, and hard work have helped make CWA such a special experience. We can’t wait to see where your journey takes you next and are so proud to cheer you on as CU Boulder and CWA alumni!
Support CWA
Your support helps us continue to offer free events to the Boulder community, students, faculty, staff, alumni and the broader public. Please donate (please enter/select "Conference on World Affairs Fund" on our central giving website when you do) to keep CWA running for years to come—and thanks once again.
Next Steps for the Conference on World Affairs Vision Implementation
A Letter from Jon Leslie, Interim Director CWA
Dear Conference on World Affairs community,
As another academic year comes to a close, I want to share with you some exciting announcements regarding the continued implementation of the CWA visioning plan. First, I am pleased to announce Benjamin R. Teitelbaum as the new Faculty Program Director for CWA. Many of you will recognize Ben’s name from his past work with CWA, and we are excited to have Ben join the leadership of CWA as the appointed faculty program director. Housed in the Office of Public and Community Engaged Scholarship (PACES), Ben will work to engage faculty and students in the program development for CWA while maintaining the university-community partnership that makes CWA such a special event.
Secondly, as outlined in the visioning plan we adopted last year, the CWA board will now transition to a CWA Steering Committee. Led by Ben, the steering committee will include the CWA community program chair, the CWA student program chair, the strategic events team director, academic and administrative leadership, and additional representatives from the university and the community. The steering committee will play a crucial role in setting and achieving the goals for CWA.
Of course, none of these developments would be possible without the tremendous dedication of the CWA board. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board members for all the work and support they have provided during the past three years to keep CWA going and true to its mission.
Lastly, I would like to thank Community Program Chair Yvette Lowney and Student Program Chair Vara Reom for their tremendous leadership during the last two years. The success of this year’s conference is a testament to their hard work and commitment to CWA.
In the coming weeks we will announce an open call for nominations for community steering committee members, program chairs and student leader roles. If you would like to be considered or would like to nominate someone else, we encourage you to complete the submission when it goes live on the CWA website.
Thank you all for your continued engagement, and please stay tuned for more updates this summer!
Warm regards,
Jon Leslie
Interim Director, CWA
Stay Tuned for CWA 2026
Thank you again for helping to make CWA 2025 a success. Please stay tuned for the announcement of the CWA April 2026 dates.