Aspen Snowmass’ Aspen U Speaker Series Returns, Beginning Wednesday Feb. 9 

The three-speaker series will be hosted on Feb. 9, Feb. 23 and Mar. 10 at the Limelight Aspen and Paepcke Auditorium 

ASPEN SNOWMASS, Colo. – Feb. 8, 2021 – This February and March, Aspen Snowmass will proudly welcome Clay Fong, Heather Hansman and Wayne Hare for the return of the Aspen U Speaker Series. The first of the series kicks off tomorrow evening at the Limelight Aspen. 

With topics ranging from race and class inequality to the housing and climate change crises, the series will explore issues that simultaneously impact the Aspen community, the ski industry and the broader American experience. The Aspen U Speaker Series aims to spark conversation surrounding complex issues in an open community setting. 

The three Aspen U speakers are currently scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 9 at Limelight Aspen, Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Paepcke Auditorium, and Thursday, Mar. 10 at Limelight Aspen. All three events begin at 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. The events at the Limelight are free to attend. The event on Feb. 23 at Paepcke Auditorium requires tickets, and online purchase information can be found here.  

Wednesday, February 9: A Short History of Race, Class and Housing in Boulder with Clay Fong 

Clay Fong is the Manager of the Office of Human Rights and Community Relations for the City of Boulder’s Department of Housing and Human Services. Clay has served as chair of Boulder’s Human Relations Commission as well as the city’s Environmental Advisory Board. He is also the dining critic for the Boulder Daily Camera.  

Clay critically examines the threads that have led to Boulder’s lack of affordability and diversity, from the displacement of indigenous peoples to modern environmental regulations hindering inclusivity. These qualities are not unique to Boulder, and many other towns in the American West—Aspen included—share a similar story.  

Wednesday, February 23: Ski Bums, Ski Towns and the Future of Chasing Snow with Heather Hansman 

Heather Hansman is an award-winning ski journalist and the author of “Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow,” and “Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West.” She is the environmental columnist at Outside magazine, the former editor at both Skiing and Powder magazines and a contributing editor at Backcountry magazine. In Heather’s latest book, she delves into the underexplored subculture of the American “ski bum” with her own insider’s perspective and the stories of others across the country who have built their lives around the obsession. Simultaneously, she confronts the ski industry’s more problematic elements and investigates how the sport is evolving in the face of the existential threat of climate change. 

This event will take place in partnership with Aspen Words, a program of the Aspen Institute, and will be held at the Paepcke Auditorium. Information on tickets can be found here. 

Thursday, March 10: Race and the American Experience with Wayne Hare 

A career backcountry ranger for the National Park Service, Wayne spent many years patrolling the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park and Canyonlands National Park, and later the Colorado River for the Bureau of Land Management where he patrolled in western Colorado. He spent several years as assistant director of Outdoor Programs at Dartmouth College and was an instructor for Outward Bound Boston Harbor. A combat veteran, Wayne served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam in 1968. In 2020, Wayne co-founded the Civil Conversations Project, where he and others work to shift the false narrative that America tells itself about race, through writing, film, podcasting and guided discussions.