Thinker Thursday
Creative Rounds

Sep 11, 2025 5PM-6PM

Schermer Meeting Hall

Join us for dinner at the Anderson Ranch Café following this event for $25 per person. View the menu here.

Thinker Thursday Speakers

Amanda Boxtel endured a freak skiing accident on February 27th, 1992, rendering her a paraplegic. She has since been involved in community and outreach projects that aim to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities in the United States. Amanda has been featured as a speaker at numerous conferences and venues around the world including TED and Singularity University’s European Summit where she presented the first hybrid 3D printed exoskeleton in the world. Amanda currently serves as the founding Executive Director for Bridging Bionics Foundation, which aims to bridge mobility with advanced bionic technology by giving the gift of mobility to individuals with neurological conditions. Amanda was honored as one of CNN Heroes Top 10 finalists for 2018. CNN Heroes honors everyday people changing the world.

Ryan Honey is a nonprofit arts leader, consultant, performer, and producer who brings his core values of play, creativity, and collaboration into all that he does. He is the Executive Director of TACAW, a net-zero performing arts center in Basalt, CO, where he blends world-class programming, community experiences, and a commitment to sustainability. Before building TACAW from the ground up, Ryan served as Director of Special Initiatives at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles—the largest nonprofit theater in the nation. Ryan began his career as an actor and producer for film, theater, and television, a creative foundation that continues to inform his work today. He’s a recent graduate of the Stanford Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders and the Hurst
Leaders Forum at the Aspen Institute. You can catch him on stage performing with Consensual Improv and doing standup comedy around the Roaring Fork Valley.

Alex McQuillan is an educator, author, and illustrator who uses art as a tool for connection and understanding. He fosters curiosity and engagement in his classrooms while pursuing creative work that bridges education and storytelling. His debut graphic novel, The Karakol Diaries, is inspired by his years living and teaching in Kyrgyzstan, capturing the beauty and challenges of human experience through travel. Called from the Northwoods of Wisconsin, guided by the mountains and the wisdom of his grandmothers, Alex’s mission, both in art and education, is to spark curiosity, empower others, and create meaningful moments of exploration.

Luke Morris is an employee and guide for Frying Pan Anglers in Basalt, CO. Before moving to the valley two years ago, he lived in his home state of Pennsylvania, where he learned to fly fish and tie flies at the age of 12. After attending Penn State University and working a corporate job, he decided to take a chance and pursue his childhood dream of being a fly fishing guide out west.

Brad Reed Nelson is an artist and inventor who has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for over 20 years. He runs a furniture company called Board By Design. Brad’s pieces are exhibited nationally and internationally. He is in the collection of the Sam Maloof Museum in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Seth Sachson grew up in the Dallas, Texas suburbs and every breath he took revolved around dogs. He walked dogs, bathed dogs, searched for lost dogs and dreamed about dogs. Eventually, in the spring of 1992, he found himself with a degree in psychology with an emphasis in animal behavior and a big decision: what was he really going to do with his life? His loving, supportive parents suggested that he follow his dreams, taking him to the dog-friendly town of Aspen as a musher at Krabloonik. Not so young any longer, but still pursuing his dreams, Seth has served as the executive director of the Aspen Animal Shelter for over three decades, and lives in Old Snowmass with his wife, Bryna, their two children, Henri and Jules, as well as a menagerie of animals, including goats, horses, chickens and, of course, dogs.

Panel

Amanda Boxtel

Amanda Boxtel endured a freak skiing accident on February 27th, 1992, rendering her a paraplegic. She has since been involved in community and outreach projects that aim to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities in the United States. Amanda has been featured as a speaker at numerous conferences and venues around the world including TED and Singularity University’s European Summit where she presented the first hybrid 3D printed exoskeleton in the world. Amanda currently serves as the founding Executive Director for Bridging Bionics Foundation, which aims to bridge mobility with advanced bionic technology by giving the gift of mobility to individuals with neurological conditions. Amanda was honored as one of CNN Heroes Top 10 finalists for 2018. CNN Heroes honors everyday people changing the world.

Learn More

Ryan Honey

Ryan Honey is a nonprofit arts leader, consultant, performer, and producer who brings his core values of play, creativity, and collaboration into all that he does. He is the Executive Director of TACAW, a net-zero performing arts center in Basalt, CO, where he blends world-class programming, community experiences, and a commitment to sustainability. Before building TACAW from the ground up, Ryan served as Director of Special Initiatives at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles—the largest nonprofit theater in the nation. Ryan began his career as an actor and producer for film, theater, and television, a creative foundation that continues to inform his work today. He’s a recent graduate of the Stanford Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders and the Hurst Leaders Forum at the Aspen Institute. You can catch him on stage performing with Consensual Improv and doing standup comedy around the Roaring Fork Valley.

Learn More

Alex McQuillan

Alex McQuillan is an educator with over 11 years of experience, including four at Aspen Middle School, where he fosters curiosity and engagement in his classrooms, believing in art as a tool for connection and understanding. He is also the author and illustrator of “The Karakol Diaries,” a graphic novel inspired by his years teaching and exploring in Kyrgyzstan. His work captures the beauty and depth of human experience through travel and its tribulations. Alex’s educational and artistic mission centers on creating moments of curiosity, empowerment, and engagement through adventure and exploration, fueled by inspiration from mountains and the wisdom of his grandmothers.

Learn More

Luke Morris

Luke is an employee and guide for Frying Pan Anglers in Basalt, CO. Before moving to the valley two years ago, he lived in his home state of Pennsylvania, where he learned to fly fish and tie flies at the age of 12. After attending Penn State University and working a corporate job, he decided to take a chance and pursue his childhood dream of being a fly fishing guide out west.

Learn More

Brad Reed Nelson

Brad Reed Nelson is an artist and inventor who has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for over 20 years. He runs a furniture company called Board By Design. Brad’s pieces are exhibited nationally and internationally. He is in the collection of the Sam Maloof Museum in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Learn More

Seth Sachson

Seth Sachson grew up in the Dallas, Texas suburbs and every breath he took revolved around dogs. He walked dogs, bathed dogs, searched for lost dogs and dreamed about dogs. Eventually, in the spring of 1992, he found himself with a degree in psychology with an emphasis in animal behavior and a big decision: what was he really going to do with his life? His loving, supportive parents suggested that he follow his dreams, taking him to the dog-friendly town of Aspen as a musher at Krabloonik. Not so young any longer, but still pursuing his dreams, Seth has served as the executive director of the Aspen Animal Shelter for over three decades, and lives in Old Snowmass with his wife, Bryna, their two children, Henri and Jules, as well as a menagerie of animals, including goats, horses, chickens and, of course, dogs.

Learn More