Whenever I curate a conference, I think about how people are feeling when they arrive and how they are feeling when they walk away.
When it came to Responsive Conference 2025, most people – regardless of political ideology – were coming in with some degree of apprehension. Whether anxious about politics, AI, or the accelerating rate of change in the world, most people I talked to throughout 2025 were nervous. The next question was to decide how I wanted them to feel at the end.
My word was “excited.” I wanted them to feel excited for their ability to contribute. Hopeful. Ready to roll up their sleeves. My work was to curate an experience that helped people move from apprehensive to excited through the course of the 2-day conference.
I wrote a few weeks ago about my concerns that people were having too good an experience, and the accompanying need to let go of the outcome. The outcome that I curated – almost without knowing it – revolved around purpose.
Simone Stolzoff debuted a new talk based on his forthcoming book How to Not Know. Many attendees came up to me afterwards and talked about how much his talk on uncertainty shaped their experience of the conference. I loved the stories he told about choreographer Twyla Tharp, whose book The Creative Habit is a must-read.
On Day 1, I facilitated A Funder’s Fishbowl with three venture capitalists about investing in startups amidst uncertainty. Perhaps the highest praise I received about that session was each of the VCs approaching me afterwards to share that they intend to use the fishbowl format in the future.
My former boss Vivienne Ming opened on Day 2 with a talk about How to Robot-Proof Your Kids – about how technology can make us better humans (and not replace us). As always happens, Vivienne’s talk ended with a long line of people who want to ask her questions and share ideas. Vivienne’s got “riz.“
I got on stage alongside Suzy Welch, author of Becoming You, and entrepreneur Shelby Wolpa, for a session on values and purpose in an age of AI. Suzy said that most people don’t even know what their values are. As a professor of management practice at NYU Stern School of Business who has studied values for decades, Suzy pointed out that values determine much of our lives, but aren’t taught, or well understood.
To close the conference, Eldra Jackson III brought the audience to tears with a talk about the importance of maintaining our humanity amidst constant change. Eldra was incarcerated for two decades and has dedicated his life to helping people inside the penitentiary system get and stay out. He brought gravitas and provided a perfect end to the show.
As we’ve collected feedback from attendees over the month since, conducted our internal After-Action Review, and considered what we want to do differently at Responsive Conference 2026, I’ve had no regrets. That was new to me.
Ten years ago, producing Responsive Conference was about logistics, ambition, and survival. This year’s conference was fundamentally different. I was calmer and well-resourced. The shift I experienced mirrors my attendees’ experience: moving from apprehension to excitement.
I wasn’t just running a conference. This year, I knew why it existed. That clarity wasn’t only professional – it came from the alignment in my personal life (I’m newly engaged. I bought a house. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.) And when purpose aligns across personal and professional work, execution is much easier. I’ve gone through the same transformation – from apprehension to clarity of purpose.
Attendees arrived at Responsive Conference anxious about politics, AI, and the pace of change. Through talks, workshops, un-conferences, and plenty of time to reflect (and play with animals), they rediscovered what they care about and what they can control. The conference itself was a live demonstration of moving from uncertainty to purpose.
The experience of Responsive Conference – or any great event – isn’t just about content. It’s about remembering why we do what we do, and how to do it better. Without purpose, everything is difficult. With purpose, everything gets easier. The antidote to chaos is purpose.