6TH ANNUAL

Common Ground. Common Good. Commonwealth.

Canopy Good Business Summit

Join us on October 29, 2026

Education, connection, and unique participation opportunities — Canopy's marquee event of the year. Members receive discounted tickets and sponsorship pricing.

Get tickets

Become a sponsor

PRESENTED BY

ABOUT THE SUMMIT

The Good Business Summit is Kentucky’s premier gathering of business, nonprofit, education, and civic leaders who believe strong communities build stronger businesses. Hosted by Canopy KY, the Summit brings together approximately 500 leaders from across the Commonwealth for a day of practical learning, meaningful conversation, and inspiring stories that challenge us to think differently about leadership, business, and community.

This year’s theme, Common Ground. Common Good. Commonwealth., explores how Kentucky leaders can work across differences, build trust, and use business as a force for good. At a time when division can feel easier than connection, the Summit will create space for honest conversations, new relationships, and practical ideas that move our workplaces and communities forward.

Get tickets

VENUE

Kentucky International Convention Center

221 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202

Open in Google Maps

Kentucky International Convention Center exterior

Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC)

221 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202

Commonwealth Garage

313 S 4th St — parking

Cowger Garage

329 W Market St — parking

THE SUMMIT

Why attend?

Business leaders connecting at the Canopy Good Business Summit

Community leaders in conversation at the Canopy Good Business Summit

Attendees during a session at the Canopy Good Business Summit

Students and mentors meeting at the Canopy Good Business Summit

ZERO WASTE

We are striving to make the Canopy Good Business Summit a zero-waste event with the goal of 90%+ waste diversion.

Here's how you can help:

Carry-in, carry-out

Bring your own reusable water bottle

Minimize the waste you bring

Single-use plastic water bottles, etc.

Recycle & compost at our zero-waste stations

Cover your waste

Add a $5 donation when you purchase a ticket.

FEATURED SPEAKER · 10:00 – 10:40 AM

Allison Pugh

Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University
2026 Guggenheim Fellow
Author, The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World

Connection is the work.

The skill of truly seeing and being seen drives far more of our economy than we give it credit for.

The value of friction.

AI promises seamless experiences, but human value is often built in the hard, necessary conversations.

The future of work is human.

A short talk, then an open conversation about AI, leadership and what only people can do.

MAIN STAGE STORYTELLING · 9:02 – 9:40 AM

Stories That Move Communities:
A Kentucky Story Showcase

Facts inform people. Stories move them. This main-stage experience gives Kentucky storytellers the stage to share memorable, honest stories about people, place, purpose and the moments that changed how they lead.

Designed in the spirit of a live story showcase, the session features distinct voices rather than a traditional panel. At least one story comes directly through the lens of building or leading a business, keeping the experience tied to the Summit's good-business audience.

Meaning, Momentum, Margin featured panel

Storytellers:

Ben Sollee

Musician & Storyteller (Host)

Damaris Phillips

Chef, TV Host & Co-Owner, Bluegrass Supper Club & Pixilation Productions

LaNia Roberts

Fine Artist & Author

Brandon Pennington

Executive Director, City of Harlan Tourism & Convention

FEATURED PANEL · 12:30 – 1:10 PM

Commonwealth: Built Here, Building Kentucky Panel

What does it mean for a business to be truly rooted in Kentucky? This conversation brings together leaders from three distinctly Kentucky enterprises to explore how their organizations' growth, operating decisions and long-term ambitions are shaped by a commitment to the Commonwealth.

The discussion will move beyond broad statements about corporate responsibility and focus on the choices that affect the quality of life and the physical, economic and social landscapes of Kentucky. Panelists will consider workforce opportunity, community investment, infrastructure, responsible growth, environmental stewardship, regional identity and the role large employers can play in helping Kentucky become a place where more people can build meaningful lives.

Panelists:

Ashli Watts

President & CEO, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Ellen McGeeney

CEO, Ale-8-One

Chris Ratterman

CEO & Founder, Shady Rays

FEATURED PANEL · 3:00 – 3:55 PM

Common Ground:
One Kentucky,
Shared Future

Kentucky is often described through divides: urban and rural, east and west, Louisville and Appalachia. Those labels can obscure how deeply the Commonwealth's communities depend on one another for talent, markets, infrastructure, tourism, culture and economic opportunity.

This business-centered conversation will examine the real and perceived barriers between Kentucky's urban, rural and Appalachian communities and the practical role employers can play in breaking them down. Panelists will share examples of reciprocal partnership, regional investment and relationship-building that move resources and opportunity in both directions.

The goal is not to erase regional differences, but to show how businesses can help Kentucky communities understand one another, solve shared problems and succeed together.

Panelists:

Savannah Barrett

Exchange Director, Art of the Rural

Stacy Edds-Ellis, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Greater Owensboro Leadership Institute

Carly Muetterties, Ph.D.

Chief Program Officer & Co-Founder, CommonGood Ed

Dr. Amon Couch

Partners for Rural Impact

Richard Young

Founder & Executive Director, CivicLex

AGENDA

October 29, 2026

Time

Session

All Day

Mission Marketplace

8:15 – 9:00 AM

Doors Open, Registration, Coffee & Networking

9:00 AM

Opening Welcome

9:02 AM

Main Stage: Stories That Move Communities

9:40 AM

Welcome & Event Kickoff

9:55 AM

Canopy Impact Award presented by JPMorganChase

10:00 AM

Featured Speaker: Allison Pugh

10:40 AM

Break & Mission Marketplace

11:00 AM

Breakout Sessions #1

11:45 AM

Break & Lunch

12:00 PM

Mission Marketplace Announcement & Student Awards

12:30 PM

Main Stage Panel: Built Here, Building Kentucky

1:10 PM

Canopy Impact Award presented by JPMorganChase

1:15 PM

Break & Mission Marketplace

2:00 PM

Breakout Sessions #2

2:45 PM

Canopy Impact Award presented by JPMorganChase & Member VIP Awards

3:00 PM

Main Stage Panel: One Kentucky, Shared Future

3:55 PM

Closing Remarks

4:00 – 5:00 PM

Happy Hour & Networking

‍

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Choose your room.

Conflict Resolution

Healthy Disagreement at Work: Conflict as a Leadership Skill

Tom Williams, Stoll Keenon Ogden
Don Woolridge, Leadership Louisville Institute
Cory Lockhart, Hart Communications, Inc.
Vivian Blade, C-Suite Advisor

Conflict is inevitable. Dysfunction is optional. The strongest leaders address disagreement before tension becomes damage.

This practical session explores how leaders can navigate disagreement early, give difficult feedback, de-escalate conflict and repair trust so that hard conversations strengthen relationships rather than weaken them.

Environment

The Land We Share: Finding Common Ground in KY's Landscapes

Ian Teal, Red River Gorge

This conversation examines the role of Kentucky’s shared natural assets in economic strategy and asks a practical business question: how does caring for the landscape create stronger companies and healthier communities?

LEADERSHIP

Trust is Good Business

Vitale Buford Hardin, Vitale & Company
Cynthia Knapek, Leadership Louisville Institute
Rocki Rockingham, GE Appliances

Trust is one of the most valuable assets an organization can build and one of the easiest to lose. Inside a workplace, it affects whether people share information, raise problems early, collaborate across departments and follow through on commitments.

This practical leadership-development session focuses on the everyday behaviors that build credibility within teams and across an organization, as well as what leaders can do when trust has been strained or broken.

NONPROFIT PARTNERSHIPS

Mission Marketplace

Josh Williams, Metro United Way
Scott Koloms, Canopy KY & FMS, pbc
Rhona Kamar, Feed Louisville
Kevin Smith, Community Ventures
Greg Baker, AffirmedRx

What if everyday business purchasing could become a tool for community impact?

Building from the work being developed by Canopy and Metro United Way, the session brings together the initiative’s system perspective, a nonprofit operator, an experienced social-enterprise and community-development leader, and a business buyer to pressure-test what would make the model useful, reliable and scalable across Kentucky.

Students

Business Beyond Profit Student Showcase: The NextGen Defines Good Business

Adam Watson, Canopy KY
Students from Eastern High School, Southern High School and Shawnee Academy

Kentucky's future workforce is already developing ideas about leadership, purpose and the role business should play in strengthening communities.

Canopy will open with a concise introduction to the Business Beyond Profit Unit and what the program is designed to achieve. Students will then share their experience with the curriculum, the kinds of workplaces they hope to join, and what they believe good business should look like in practice.

Internships

What Interns Want: Creating Value for Kentucky's Workforce Pipeline

Stephanie Geddes, University of Louisville College of Business

This candid conversation brings both sides together. Current or recent interns and the people who design internship programs will compare what they need, where expectations break down and how a well-designed experience can help emerging talent see a future in Kentucky.

Tech

KY by Choice: Tech Beyond the Usual Hubs

Jeremy Jacobs, UnDesked

This session will feature technology leaders based outside Louisville and Lexington. Panelists will discuss what building from Kentucky makes possible, which barriers it creates and how regional identity can become an advantage rather than a limitation.

The AI Decision Room

Allison Pugh, Johns Hopkins University
Sarah Bhatia, Slingshot
Pamela McKnight, Louisville Metro Government
Holly Hartman, Future Workforce Systems

This session is the practical counterpart to Allison Pugh's main-stage conversation about human connection. Pugh asks what organizations must protect as work changes.

The AI Decision Room asks the follow-up: when leaders face an actual AI decision, what should they automate, what should they augment and what should remain meaningfully human?

ALL DAY

Mission Marketplace

The Mission Marketplace is a gathering of businesses and organizations committed to making community impact through their efforts.

Attendees will find businesses that they can feel good about supporting and/or working with and community organizations that are able to help them make a difference.

Tables are available to reserve and are first come, first serve.

Reserve a Table

IMPACT AWARDS

Impact Awards

Canopy will honor four recipients for their commitment to positively impacting Kentucky's communities and landscapes. Want to nominate a Kentucky leader or company to be considered for this year's Awards? Complete the appropriate nomination form by October 10, 2026.

The Bluegrass Steward Award

This honor recognizes a Kentucky-based company whose work extends beyond the balance sheet to the heartbeat of its home. Recipients demonstrate a deep commitment to the vitality and resilience of Kentucky's neighborhoods, communities, and cities — nurturing not only people, but also the places they call home.

Special consideration is given to organizations that show foresight in preserving the health of Kentucky's shared resources — its air, land, and water — through thoughtful, sustainable practices that strengthen community well-being.

Submit your nominations

The Bluegrass Caretaker Award

Awarded to an established individual leader working within or along-side businesses who embodies care in action—tending to economic prosperity, people, culture, and community with intention and integrity. This leader understands that the true measure of success is the health of the ecosystem around them: businesses that thrive, employees who flourish, neighborhoods that grow stronger, and progress that leaves no one behind.

The recipient’s leadership protects what’s lasting—ensuring that prosperity uplifts rather than exhausts the Commonwealth’s shared foundation. Eligible leaders include executives of for-profit enterprises and civic or nonprofit partners who measurably advance Kentucky’s business vitality.

Submit your nominations

The Canopy Rising Award

Celebrating Kentucky’s next generation of changemakers—businesses or leaders just beginning to cast long shadows. These recipients embody the promise of a new business ethos: one rooted in opportunity, empathy, and renewal. Their work already shows the quiet beginnings of something transformative—growth that gives back.

Submit your nominations

Previous Award Recipients

Logan Aluminum

Top Impact Company

Condrad Daniels

Top Impact Leader

NASCEND, PBC

Social Impact

Black Soil KY

Social Impact

Maker’s Mark

Environmental Impact

KFI Studios

Environmental Impact

JK McKnight

Canopy Rising

Jennifer Hancock

Bluegrass Caretaker

Chris Ratterman

Bluegrass Caretaker

Ale-8-One

Bluegrass Steward

Revelry Gallery

Social Impact

MiddleGround Capital

Top Impact Company

Greg Baker

Top Impact Leader

Edelen Renewables

Environmental Impact

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

Presenting

Canopy Impact Awards

Featured Speaker

Breakout Session

Table

Happy Hour

Zero Waste

Mission Marketplace

Media

High School Student

Contributing

Entertainment

SPONSORSHIP LEVELS

Interested in promoting your business at CGBS?

Your support helps us bring our events to life and expand our impact in the community. We offer sponsorship opportunities with recognition benefits for partners at every level. Interested? We'd love to talk.

events@canopyky.org

Level

What's included

Presenting

$30,000

1 AVAILABLE

• Topline recognition as “Canopy's 6th Annual Good Business Summit” presented by…
• Participation in event press conference and other media
• Company logo on event website and signage
• Event welcoming speaking moment
• Company logo display on invitation, signage, and A/V
• Company logo on website and online promotions
• Exhibitor table at Good Business Marketplace
• 2 primary placement guest table (16 complimentary tickets)

NextGen Good Biz Student Superstar

$17,500

1 AVAILABLE

• Participation in event press conference and other media
• Exclusive participation in the event press conference and all official media opportunities.
• Event speaking opportunity (3-5min) to introduce our selected “Student Superstar”. Company representative(s) will present the award to the student and, alongsideCanopy representatives, a monetary award for the student’s educational pursuits.
• $2,500 of the company sponsorship funds will contribute to the award.
• Company logo display on invitation, signage, and A/V
• Company logo on website and online promotions
• Exhibitor table at Good Business Marketplace
• 1 primary placement guest table (8 complimentary tickets)

Featured Speaker

$15,000

• Recognition as “Featured Speaker Sponsor”
• Company name and sponsorship level included in event press release and all media
• Event speaking opportunity
• Company logo on website and online promotions
• Company logo display on invitation, signage, and A/V
• Exhibitor table at Mission Marketplace
• 4 complimentary tickets

Breakout Session

$3,000

• Recognition as “Breakout Session Sponsor”
• Company logo on website and online promotions
• Company logo display on invitation, signage, and A/V
• Breakout session event speaking opportunity
• 2 complimentary tickets

Business Beyond Profit Break-Out Session

$3,000

• Each year, 3 outstanding students are selected to share their experiences with the Canopy Business Beyond Profit Curriculum in a breakout session during the event. Students will share their views on what they will look for in an employer and/or the type of business they would like to create.
• Recognition as “Breakout Session Sponsor”
• Serve as moderator for the panel
• Company logo on website and online promotions
• Company logo display on invitation, signage, and A/V
• 2 complimentary tickets

Table

$2,000

• Recognition as “Table Sponsor”
• Company logo on website and online promotions
• Company logo featured on table display
• 1 guest table (8 complimentary tickets)
• Preferred table placement

Community

$500 – $2,500

• Happy Hour Networking Sponsor
• Zero Waste Sponsor
• Mission Marketplace Sponsor
• High School Student Sponsor
• Contributing Sponsor

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST YEAR