Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

Aspen Ideas: Health Unveils 2026 Speakers — Bold Voices in Medicine, BioTech, Policy, and Beyond

Hosted June 22-25 on the Aspen Institute’s Colorado Campus, hear from leaders in health policy, medical and biotechnology, health business and more. Media invited to apply for free credentials.

Aspen, CO, March 12, 2026 — Aspen Ideas: Health, the Aspen Institute’s premier health convening hosted annually on the Aspen Meadow campus in Aspen, Colorado, is excited to share the beginning of an incredible lineup of speakers who will take the stage to share their bold and innovative ideas. Now in the festival’s 13th year, attendees will hear cutting-edge conversations on longevity, biomedical breakthroughs, patient-centered design, the AI revolution, the business of healthcare, health policy, the healing power of the arts, and more.

Click here to read more about Aspen Ideas: Health, announced speakers, topics of conversation, and program tracks.

Aspen Ideas: Health 2026 speakers include:

  • Alicia Jackson, Director, ARPA-H
  • Francis Collins, Former Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Elias Zerhouni, Former Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH); Author, “Disease Knows No Politics”
  • Judy Faulkner, Founder and CEO, Epic
  • Ami Bhatt, Chief Innovation Officer, American College of Cardiology; Chair, Digital Health Advisory Committee, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Daphne Koller, Founder and CEO of insitro
  • Sharmila Makhija, Founding Dean and CEO, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
  • Uché Blackstock, Founder and CEO, Advancing Health Equity
  • Zeke Emanuel, Author, “Eat Your Ice Cream”; Vice Provost of Global Initiatives and Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, University of Pennsylvania
  • Joe Allen, Professor and Director, Healthy Buildings Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Kris Alexander, “The Professor of Video Games”; Associate Professor of Educational Technology, Toronto Metropolitan University
  • Cas Holman, Founder and Chief Designer, Heroes Will Rise, Inc.; Author, “Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity”
  • Jamie Justice, Executive Vice President of Health, XPrize
  • Zayna Khayat, Health Futurist; Executive in Residence, University of Toronto; Chief Program Officer, AMS Healthcare
  • Kate Bowler, Podcast Host, “Everything Happens”; Associate Professor of American Religious History, Duke University; Author, “Joyful, Anyway”

See the growing list of 2026 speakers here.

Additional speakers and agenda information will be released in the coming weeks and months.

Aspen Ideas: Health is the opening segment of the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Aspen Institute’s annual nonpartisan flagship event which gathers leaders and thinkers from around the globe to discuss the ideas that will shape tomorrow and help us understand today.

MEDIA: Journalists interested in attending Aspen Ideas: Health are invited to apply for press credentials here. A lodging block with preferred rates is available on a limited, first-come first-serve basis. Contact Eric Baker for more information.

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The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.