The 10th Sun Valley Forum: A Convergence of Courage, Community, and Planetary Stewardship

Overview

Phocus Creative Group partnered with Sun Valley Forum for its 10th anniversary gathering—an event rooted in transformation, driven by love for the planet, and empowered by the joy of community. As the Forum's creative and communications partner, we were entrusted with evolving the brand and bringing the event to life through thoughtful production, immersive storytelling, and bold digital presence.

Our Approach

Sun Valley Forum 2025 was more than a summit—it was a convergence of action and imagination, where visionaries from climate, finance, food, culture, and Indigenous communities came together to shape regenerative futures.

Phocus Creative Group was engaged to reinvigorate the Forum’s identity and elevate its presence across every touchpoint, ensuring it reflected the urgency of our times while appealing to a broader, more intergenerational, and multicultural audience.

Our objectives included:

  • Refreshing the brand to feel bold yet grounded, contemporary yet timeless—honoring the Forum’s roots while evolving it for a future-facing, values-aligned generation

  • Expanding the audience by resonating with younger leaders, BIPOC changemakers, and emerging innovators across sectors

  • Enhancing digital storytelling through a revitalized content strategy that was immersive, inspiring, and accessible

  • Optimizing the website and paid media efforts to attract new community members and drive meaningful engagement year-round

  • Designing a cohesive, narrative-driven experience across all physical and digital channels—ensuring every visual, message, and moment reinforced the Forum’s mission of courageous, collective action

By applying these objectives across the brand identity, social media, paid media, and event production, we helped position Sun Valley Forum not just as a destination, but as a beacon for what’s next in systems transformation.

From Creation to Execution

Phocus Creative was responsible for:

Brand Identity Refresh

We reimagined the Sun Valley Forum’s visual identity to celebrate its 10-year milestone with a renewed focus on resilience, restoration, and reverence for nature. Inspired by the mountainous Idaho landscape and Indigenous teachings, the design incorporated earth tones, circular motion, and a sense of grounded optimism.

Social Media & Digital Storytelling

To amplify Sun Valley Forum’s reach before, during, and after the event, we led an agile, heart-forward content campaign:

  • Created a visual language and editorial voice that reflected hope, truth, and movement-building

  • Real-time storytelling across Instagram and LinkediN

  • Branded content including speaker spotlights, Reels, daily recaps, and partnered collaborative posts.

  • Partnerships with mission-aligned creators and speakers to extend the Forum’s impact beyond Idaho

Full-Scale Event Production

From concept to execution, our team handled end-to-end production:

  • Program design and speaker experience

  • Venue staging and branded installations and elements within the venue

  • Community dinners and activation moments

  • Partnerships with local and regenerative vendors

The result was an intimate yet high-impact gathering, where world-changing ideas could flow in rhythm with the natural surroundings.

Impact

  • Doubling of social media engagement from 2024 to 2025

  • Coverage in regional and national media for key speakers and initiatives

  • Strengthened partnerships between partners, investors, Indigenous leaders, and innovators

  • International press mentions in ESG Drive, Bloomberg, The Cool Down and NBC News as well as local coverage in Sun Valley Property News and Eye on Sun Valley.

Event Highlights

The 10th Sun Valley Forum opened with nature-based immersion—participants choosing between a regenerative farm tour and a mountain hike to reconnect with the land and each other. This set the tone for four days of visionary dialogue rooted in reverence, resilience, and regenerative action. From the very first session, voices like filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg, Earthfire Institute’s Susan Eirich, and Nez Perce Tribe Chairman Shannon Wheeler reminded us that beauty, story, and ancestral knowledge are foundational tools for system change. This year’s themes—Valuing Nature, Catalytic Capital, Shifting Culture, and Systems Change—wove throughout every panel, performance, and shared meal, reaffirming our collective commitment to steward a just and thriving planet.

Wade Crowfoot of the California Natural Resources Agency, Tori Linder, managing director of the film Path of the Panther, and Meg Haywood Sullivan of Nature is Nonpartisan came together for Nature Doesn’t Take Sides, a call for bipartisan action on conservation and energy.

Dynamic Programming & Speaker Excellence

The Forum convened a powerful spectrum of leaders across Indigenous governance, climate science, finance, youth activism, and creative industries. From Dr. Renée Lertzman’s insights on emotional intelligence and systems change, to Max Holmes’ inspiring keynote on climate optimism, and Kristy Drutman’s call to redefine resilience through culture and care, the sessions offered a multi-dimensional view of what’s possible.

Highlights included “Nature Doesn’t Take Sides,” a bipartisan conversation featuring Wade Crowfoot, Tori Linder, and Meg Haywood Sullivan, which challenged political divisions and elevated nature as common ground. “The Heat in the Kitchen” with Dr. Anne McBride of the James Beard Foundation explored how climate is reshaping culinary traditions and food security—reminding us that climate solutions must be as much about culture and joy as they are about systems and policy.

Other featured speakers included Jean Oelwang (Planetary Guardians), Vien Truong (Eco Equity), and Tracy McMillan (author and screenwriter), among many others. Every voice added dimension to the Forum’s ecosystem—where science, art, capital, and grassroots wisdom intersect to create lasting impact.

Rooted in Culture: Reclaiming Our Connection to Our Planet Through People - Kristy Drutman, Founder & CEO, Green Jobs Board interviewed by Chase Cain, NBC Universal

Breakout Sessions & Collaboration

Interactive “Multiplier Effect” workshops and catalytic capital sessions were designed to forge collaboration and advance field-building. Partners including Open Future Coalition, Virgin Unite, Earthsense Foundation, and Forest Trends hosted deep dives into public engagement, Indigenous leadership, and regenerative food system financing. Breakouts weren’t sidebars—they were engines of real-time co-creation, designed to seed new partnerships and unlock untapped value. From tackling climate misinformation in media to transforming insurance and investing structures, each session expanded the Forum’s influence beyond the stage into future-forward strategy and implementation.

Evening Programming & Networking

Evenings offered grounding, joy, and deeper connection. At Trail Creek Cabin, attendees gathered for a plant-rich dinner under the pines and celebrated the first-ever Sun Valley Forum Resilient Leadership Awards, honoring legendary artist and advocate Carole King and 17-year-old changemaker Sophia Long. The night’s keynote by Max Holmes of Woodwell Climate Research Center, in conversation with NBC's Chase Cain, painted a bold, science-backed vision of a regenerative future rooted in hope and action. Dinners on Bald Mountain and curated adventure days—including rafting, forest immersion, and community hikes—offered attendees moments to reconnect with nature and one another, closing the Forum not just as an event, but as a transformative rite of renewal.

Execution & Impact


From concept through curation, Phocus Creative Group helped shape and amplify the 10th Sun Valley Forum, hosted by Christensen Global. With stunning natural backdrops and a powerful sense of community, the event brought together 400+ cross-sector leaders committed to accelerating transformative solutions for nature. Through intentional storytelling, elevated brand strategy, and high-level programming support, Phocus ensured the Forum not only ran seamlessly, but resonated deeply—with every conversation, collaboration, and connection moving the needle on climate action.

The Forum’s themes—Valuing Nature, Catalytic Capital, Shifting Culture, and Systems Change—were brought to life through immersive experiences, compelling content, and thought-provoking conversations curated in collaboration with Indigenous leaders, policymakers, impact investors, scientists, and creatives.

Results

At Sun Valley Forum, Phocus helped shape more than an event—we helped steward a movement rooted in story, strategy, and the sacred urgency of protecting our planet. You can read more in their official recap here.

Brittany DeGirolamo