Business drives human flourishing like nothing else can–unless it forgets what flourishing is.
In an age obsessed with speed and scale, even faithful business leaders and companies can lose God’s vision for business. This year, we’ll consider what kind of economy and what kind of businesses we’re really building—and what kind of people it’s making us. How can a vision for the common good bring renewal at every level: leader, company, and city.
We’re convinced renewal happens more often and more deeply when Christians in business, through their daily work, see the needs around them and out of their capacity take sacrificial action to extend God’s mercy, love, and justice. That’s why the 10th annual Business for the Common Good will center around Jesus’ most famous parable.
That doesn’t have to mean sacrificing the company. What if commerce actually meant what it sounds like, “common-mercy”? What if we considered commerce to mean a redemptive exchange that prioritizes gift over gain, that dignifies others, restores justice, and echoes the gospel itself.
This is a business event unlike others because Christians should be in business unlike others. We want to cast a vision for business beyond society’s, and we want to see business as one of the most compelling arenas for God’s work in the world.
“Go and do likewise,” Jesus says as he ends the story of the Good Samaritan. Business is a pivotal place Christians must follow this command.
Go and do likewise.
max anderson
Max Anderson is the co-founder and CEO of Saturn Five, a long-term-hold investment firm focused on buying and operating some of the best small businesses in America. Saturn Five owns more than two dozen companies (including 16 in Colorado), spanning construction, business services, home services, retail, distribution, and hospitality. Collectively Saturn Five’s companies employ more than 1,500 people and generate nearly $400 million in annual sales.
A graduate of Princeton University, Max began his career at McKinsey. After two years he left to work at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He explored becoming a pastor but ultimately felt called to business and opted for graduate school. Max became a George Fellow and a Reynolds Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and earned an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School. After graduation, Max joined Bridgewater Associates and served in multiple leadership roles there before launching Saturn Five. Max is the author of a book on business ethics and leadership - The MBA Oath (Penguin Portfolio 2010). He is the editor of The Weekend Reader, a newsletter on technology, culture, and current events encouraging subscribers to "Read widely. Read wisely." He lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and four children.
dr. kenneth barnes, frsa
Kenneth J. Barnes is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; the Mockler-Phillips Professor of Workplace Theology and Business Ethics; and the director of the Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Public Square at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Prior to his academic career, Dr. Barnes spent many years as a senior international executive doing business on six continents. His main areas of research and teaching are the intersections of faith, work, and economics. Widely published, he has taught at prestigious institutions all over the world, including Oxford University (UK), Harvard Law School (US), and Ridley College Melbourne (AU). He is also a regular speaker at both academic and business conferences, on radio and television, and on popular podcasts.
His recent book projects include Redeeming Capitalism (Eerdmans, 2018), “Religion and Business Ethics: Religious Perspectives on Business” in Routledge Companion to Business Ethics (Routeldge, 2018), “Faith, Work and Economics: A Mission of the Church, a Mission to the Church” in Transforming Work (Brill, 2024), and Sabbath as Resilience (eds.) (Wipf & Stock, 2025). He is married to singer-songwriter Debby Barnes, is a father of three, and a grandfather of four.
utibe bassey
Utibe Bassey serves as Vice President, Customer Experience at Dominion Energy and she is also the Creator of ‘Love as a KPI’ - a teaching platform based on the premise that when organizations are driven by LOVE for people (customers, employees, community members etc), they are better outcomes financially, strategically and operationally.
Utibe’s passion lies in bridging business and humanity. Her functional experience spans strategy, planning, operations, experience design, leadership development and innovation, and she has led Global teams and businesses in 2-person and 50,000-person organizations alike – each role as a conduit to improving the experience for employees and customers in tandem with business results.
ross chapman
Ross Chapman is CEO of Denver Institute for Faith & Work. Before working at Denver Institute he served as the President and Executive Director at For Evansville, a movement of people who are actively working toward the good of the Greater Evansville region. Ross has earned his doctorate of ministry in faith, work, economics and vocation at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the co-author of Faithful Work: In the Daily Grind with God and for Others (IVP, Winter, 2024).
Leisle Chung
Since 2009, Leisle Chung and her husband, Dr. Vinh Chung, have opened nine dermatology clinics throughout Colorado. As CEO of the practice, Leisle provides leadership to its expansive mission to positively impact patients, the community, and the world. Before Vanguard, Leisle graduated magna cum laude from Yale College, studied theology at the University of Edinburgh, earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, and spent almost a decade at Bain & Company, a leading global consulting firm. The film Minari, about a Korean family who moved to rural Arkansas in the 1980s, is based on Leisle’s family’s life experience. Leisle lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and four children.
Dr. Vinh Chung
Dr. Vinh Chung is a skin cancer surgeon. He left Vietnam as a refugee when he was three years old and grew up in Arkansas as one of eleven children.
He earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at Harvard. Dr. Chung also studied at the University of Sydney as a Fulbright Scholar and earned a Master of Theology from the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Chung has been named a “Top Doc” every year by Colorado Springs magazine.
Dr. Chung has served on the board of World Vision U.S. and The Gathering. He and his wife, Leisle, have four children and run a successful private medical practice in Colorado. Dr. Chung’s memoir, Where the Wind Leads, is available on Amazon.
kate gardner
Kate Gardner a next-generation investor and philanthropist with a passion for holistic stewardship and community-building. After an inheritance event, she stewards her capital through the name Kinveris, with a particular focus on impact investing. A resident of Nashville for 5 years, she also spends her time on localized relationships, prayer, and helping other Next-Gens through a faith-based community called Magnify and media around legacy called Ascendants. She seeks to encourage other inheritors and business families to seek relational health, creativity, and purpose in the way they both wrestle with and embrace stewarding resources and living a legacy.
jeff haanen
Jeff Haanen is the co-founder of YOKE, an executive recruiting company that connects businesses at inflection points with experienced, high-character fractional leaders. He’s also the founder of Better Exit, an advisory firm focused on transforming the process of selling a business to prioritize the long-term flourishing of owners, their businesses, and their community. Previously, Jeff was the founder and CEO of Denver Institute for Faith and Work. He’s the author of two books and many publications on the topics of faith, business, work, and society. He lives in Littleton, Colorado with his wife and four daughters.
hadley heath manning
Hadley Heath Manning is a nationally recognized policy commentator and speaker. She is a senior fellow at Independent Women (IW), where she focuses on family and culture. She previously spent more than a decade on the IW staff, rising to Vice President for Policy, where she led the organization’s policy department and became a frequent voice in national media. Hadley is also a senior fellow and fellowship director for the Steamboat Institute, advancing its mission of promoting America’s first principles through critical thinking and constructive debate. Her commentary has appeared in major newspapers and on broadcast outlets nationwide, and she is especially passionate about making the case for conservative ideas to broad audiences. Originally from North Carolina, Hadley is a Morehead-Cain Scholar and graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill. She now lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, Dr. Aaron Manning, and their children.
jason janz
Jason co-founded CrossPurpose in 2008, influenced greatly by spending his childhood and adolescence in poverty. Jason’s passion for social entrepreneurship and serving the poor is satisfied through his role as CEO where he builds the staff team, sets the organizational culture, and raises funds. When he is not working, Jason enjoys bike riding and hanging out with his wife and four boys.
karla nugent
As a founding partner of Weifield Group, now a Loenbro company, Karla Nugent is responsible for the company’s sales, marketing and preconstruction in 19 states, 21 offices. Weifield Group has grown to over 1000+ employees in the Rocky Mountain region, receiving the Denver Post Top Workplace award for twelve years running, the USA Top Workplace award annually since 2020 and is the first electrical contractor in the region to complete Net-Zero energy projects.
She is proficient at building relationships and alliances and is highly regarded by her peers, design community, developers, general contractors, and vendors as a leader in the industry. Karla promotes Weifield Group while passionately advocating for a better construction workforce and industry, as well as the needs of the less fortunate. She has been an innovator in workforce development and improving training for the next generation of construction workers. Her deep commitment to philanthropy and her professional achievements led her to be recognized with many awards.
Ben nussbaum
Ben thought he wanted to be a pastor but ended up in business, and now works to bring the two vocations together. He serves on the investor relations team for the Impact Foundation, where he advises investors as they deploy capital into businesses around the world, while also leading Faith & Work Chicago, where his goal is to equip the scattered church to live out the story of the gospel in their everyday work. He brings a theological vision alongside over a decade of business development experience, with a passion for helping people "think theologically" about whatever it is that they do.
A graduate of Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts in Theological Studies, Ben is also currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Over the past decade, he has worked in business development across both startups and large tech enterprises while also training, leading, and preaching at his local church.
A proud Chicagoan, Ben lives on the West Side with his wife Emma and their young daughter. In his free time, you'll likely find him playing or thinking about basketball, enjoying time at the family cabin, finding new things to grill, or simply being present with those he loves.
christy sauer
Christy got a B.S. in Physics from the University of Oklahoma and M.A. in Biblical Studies from Dallas Seminary. She worked overseas with Cru for 10 years spending the last four years in Tunisia where she met Greg.
They got married in Boulder Canyon and have spent the past 15 years starting a janitorial company from scratch that has grown to 40 employees and 2 managers. They are raising three kids in Denver and can walk to school, church and their office and love to enjoy all the outdoor activities the Rocky Mountains provide.
greg sauer
Greg grew up in Houston, Texas and got a B.A. in Bible from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He was a youth pastor for several years before going overseas with Christy in Tunisia.
They got married in Boulder Canyon and have spent the past 15 years starting a janitorial company from scratch that has grown to 40 employees and 2 managers. They are raising three kids in Denver and can walk to school, church and their office and love to enjoy all the outdoor activities the Rocky Mountains provide.
david snyder
Dave Snyder is President and Chairman of the Board of Continental Realty Group, Ltd., a national institutional investment sponsor specializing in multi-family assets. His expertise comes from more than forty-five years of commercial real estate investment experience with Continental Realty Group, Ltd. Mr. Snyder's activities have governed all phases of real estate investment for pension funds, insurance, family office partners, private equity partners and CRG sponsored funds. Mr. Snyder has conducted more than $5B in multi-family real estate investments for CRG and CRG investors along with CRG sponsored investment funds.
Mr. Snyder attended Colorado State University, concentrating on various degree work in the areas of Construction Management, Solar/Chemical Engineering, and Business Administration. Mr. Snyder resides with his wife in the Metro Denver area and has two adult children.
CRG’s economics research system is known as one of the more comprehensive predictive analytical processes in the multi-family industry. The company's operations are headquartered in Littleton, Colorado, where a highly-experienced team oversees all major areas of responsibility. CRG is founded and operated on biblical principles that involve an active participation in the social and spiritual development of our fund investors, partners, residential clients, and our corporate staff.
Dave is also President of the Community Growth Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The purpose of the foundation is to cultivate and nurture a Faith-based Ecosystem in the US multi-housing industry, to a higher standard of excellence in Real Estate ownership, management, service, and ministry to achieve communities’ and personal WHOLENESS.
adrienne tafilowski
Adrienne Tafilowski is the Executive Director of Mile High Workshop, a second-chance work program in Denver, Colorado. Her approach at the Workshop is enriched by the experiences she’s had in social work, community navigating, and adolescent mental health support roles over the past decade, both locally and abroad. In addition to deep nonprofit and ministry experience, Adrienne worked in a manufacturing facility as a senior leader at L&R Pallet, focused on developing a robust culture of employee care among those facing barriers to employment.
Nicole Riehl
Nicole Riehl is the President and CEO of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), where she works with employers and business executives to advocate for early childhood investments, policies, and workforce solutions. Her experience spans across the private and non-profit sectors, including serving as Chief Operating Officer at Denver’s Early Childhood Council, working for a national home builder and beginning her career as an early childhood teacher at the employer-based child care program for StorageTek. She also supported the launch and onboarding of over 200 child care programs participating in the Denver Preschool Program when it was authorized by Denver voters in 2006 and has extensive public policy experience.
Coming soon!
More Speakers Coming Soon!
Coming soon!
More Speakers Coming Soon!
Coming soon!
More Speakers Coming Soon!
See below for a high-level overview of the day and descriptions of each session.
main session 1
main session 2
main session 3
Guests will have the opportunity to attend one of five breakout sessions before lunch. Explore the topics below!
Hiring is one of the most consequential decisions any employer makes for productivity, profitability, and organizational health. And employees want a job where they are valued. This session examines how forward-thinking leaders are embedding love into their workforce strategies through employee retention, nontraditional hiring, compensation, and other pathways to flourishing. Companies can design jobs that restore people and create value that expands the bottomline beyond their profit—renewing lives, strengthening communities, and reshaping workplace culture. Discover how business leaders and workforce partners are redefining success for the good of their own success and their employees flourishing.
This isn’t another conversation about values-aligned investing or philanthropy. It’s a deeper reckoning with how mercy can shape what we do with capital itself. This session examines how wealth holders can reframe capital from merely a possession to grow as a good steward to a means of participation in God’s redemptive work as a good steward. In financial terms, that may mean taking risks others won’t, accepting lower returns, or deploying wealth where restoration, not reward, is the goal. It’s about doing good even when it costs you doing as well as you could by embracing loss as faithfulness and risk as love. Participants will leave with a renewed imagination for capital as capacity for mercy—the kind that reshapes both investment portfolios and strategies.
Workers in today’s labor market often and regularly maintain care responsibilities for children, parents, or loved ones, and the emotional and logistical load can be immense. Yet caregiving, at its core, reflects the very character of God, who tends to and sustains his people and all of creation. This session explores how leaders and organizations can create cultures and strategies that respect and make room for employees with these responsibilities, workplaces that do not force their workers to choose between faithfulness at home and fruitfulness at work. Learn from practitioners, advocates, and executives reimagining schedules, benefits, and cultures that dignify caregiving as essential, not peripheral, to a flourishing workforce.
Explore the biblical and theological foundations that undergird love and mercy in economic life. Rather than reducing Jesus’ insistence on love to a societal definition of charity, this session explores how rightly ordered love transforms systems of exchange, commerce, into instruments of restoration and human flourishing. Participants will examine mercy as the organizing principle of God’s economy—one that redefines value, exchange, and purpose itself. Drawing from Scriptural emphases like Jubilee, gleaning, and the Good Samaritan, this conversation offers a foundation for leaders seeking a more faithful economic imagination for their work and enterprises. It’s an imagination that can animate their everyday work, no matter how their work contributes to today’s economy.
Frontline employees are the face of an organization. Their words and presence shape customer experience more than any policy, brand statement, or leader’s name. This session highlights the unique opportunity these roles have for relational connection, showing how everyday interactions can foster dignity, resolve conflict, and build a culture of care. Learn from leaders experienced in managing frontline teams as they share how to equip employees with practices of hospitality and grace—while also extending compassion to the frontline workers themselves, who often bear the greatest weight of customer expectations.
Yes! Email events@denverinstitute.org for more information on scholarships, discount codes for nonprofit employees, full-time students, young professionals & our Monthly Partners. Discount codes only apply to individual ticket purchases.
No. Business for the Common Good is an in-person event in Denver, CO.
Check out our sponsorship page for more details or email Jeff Hoffmeyer, VP of Advancement, directly at jeff.hoffmeyer@denverinstitute.org. Thanks!
Please email events@denverinstitute.org if you have additional questions. Thanks!
