Aspen Ideas brings big questions about growth, money and work to Tulsa

Tulsa is having an interesting economic moment: It’s on track to become the “drone capital of the world” while local businesses and residents face rising costs. That tension is what made it the destination for a three-day conversation about how money’s movement in the world affects our daily lives.

Aspen Ideas: Economy is bringing together leaders and innovators in Tulsa’s Arts District Oct. 13-15 for a series of sessions about the local and global economy. Organizers were drawn to the city’s effort to drive competitive markets and not push residents out in the process.

“If we do this right, we want Aspen’s stages to be relevant and valuable to Tulsa and Oklahoma’s leaders who are really trying to make an economy work for everyone,” said Ida Rademacher, executive producer of Aspen Ideas: Economy.

It costs around $800 to attend, but there will be free art to view and a concert to attend without a conference ticket. The Flyer is a local media partner of the event and will share key takeaways from the conversations on our website and social media platforms. 

What’s on deck for discussion?

There are six main program themes, which will each have three to four conversations. There will also be excursions to Mother Road Market, Black Wall Street, Bob Dylan Center and more. 

The full schedule can be found here. A full description of each session can be found here.

• Builders & Believers focuses on enterprise, entrepreneurship and opportunity. These sessions dive into access to entrepreneurship, economic mobility in corporate America, local economic structures, and drones and other airspace technologies.
• Making Place focuses on geography, growth and local prosperity. These sessions dive into housing stability, investments in health, place-based models in Indigenous spaces — featuring Tulsa Flyer and Oklahoma Eagle Executive Editor Gary Lee — and opportunities for entrepreneurship in small towns.
• Money & Meaning focuses on capital, ownership and participation. These sessions dive into political policies shaping wealth, young people’s financial future and the economic expectations among Gen Z. 
• Powering the Future focuses on energy, infrastructure and security. These sessions dive into energy sector cross-collaborations, advancing technology on home soil in times of global instability and artificial intelligence’s impact on electricity prices.
• Work & Dignity focuses on work, learning and opportunity in an age of artificial intelligence. These sessions dive into employee vs. employer contracts, access to skills in today’s AI-driven economy, a multigenerational workforce and middle-class life today.
• The Founding Bargain focuses on markets, democracy and prosperity. These sessions dive into pitching policy to decisionmakers, populist ideas reshaping us, access to the benefits of an AI boom and concentrated wealth in a capitalist economy.

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Who are the speakers?

From CEOs and professors to mayors, there will be a variety of perspectives present at each panel. Several familiar faces are speaking as well, including Mayor Monroe Nichols and some of the Oklahomans below. Find a full list of speakers here.

• Elizabeth Ellison, founder of Mother Road Market and Kitchen 66
• Leigh Goodson, president and CEO of Tulsa Community College
• Justin Harlan, managing director of Tulsa Remote
• Chuck Hoskin, Principal Chief of Cherokee Nation
• Jeff Hall, senior program officer of housing and capital development at the Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation

Why Tulsa?

Rademacher calls Tulsa the original land of opportunity in the story of American mobility. It’s also one of the first places where those promises were broken. With tribal nations and Black Wall Street, she says there’s an incredible story about the infrastructure of commerce.

She’s excited to put a spotlight on the work happening in Tulsa and hopes people visiting from around the country bookmark it as a place to return to down the road.

“Tulsa isn’t just a backdrop,” Rademacher said. “Its citizens and the issues that keep people up at night in Tulsa are seen and animating the ways that we’re having these conversations.” 

Where can I register?

Register for a pass for Aspen Ideas: Economy here. It costs $799, and includes access to all discussions, excursions and other evening programming.

Most conversations will also be uploaded to the Aspen Institute YouTube channel and other social media channels. 

Tulsans can also enjoy a free concert featuring Seattle-based band True Loves with opener Branjae at Guthrie Green at 6 p.m. Oct. 14, which is co-hosted by Aspen.

Disclosure: The Tulsa Flyer is a local media partner for Aspen Ideas: Economy. Our staff is engaged in several conference sessions, including a roundtable discussion and a panel hosted by CEO Ziva Branstetter.

News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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