Kentucky Wellbeing Challenge

Since its inception in 2013, the Aspen Challenge has expanded to include partnerships with school districts in Denver, Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Louisville, and most recently, Miami.

The Kentucky Wellbeing Challenge (KWC) builds on 2 years of work by the Aspen Challenge in Kentucky and joins together the UofL Center for Creative Placehealing in partnership with innovative educators, artists, entrepreneurs and health professionals. KWC will expand opportunities for young Kentucky leaders to collaboratively design innovative S.T.E.A.M.* solutions that improve wellbeing in their communities and support young leaders in successfully navigating the transition between high school and college. The inaugural KWC cohort (2021-2022) will include Jefferson County and Breathitt County Public Schools.

The Kentucky Wellbeing Challenge brings together the best practices from the Aspen Challenge model with the intellectual capital and expertise of the university scholars, business leaders and other development partners. KWC is supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the CE&S Foundation.

*S.T.E.A.M. (Science. Technology. Engineering. Arts/Humanities. Math.)

Kentucky’s young people are moments away from being tomorrow’s decision-makers and this program offers them a chance to practice their critical thinking, tap into their creativity, and offer their fresh perspective on issues within Kentucky and society.  — Katie Fitzgerald, National Director for the Aspen Challenge

  • Expands opportunities for urban-rural collaboration, especially among participating young people and organizations.

  • Provides hands-on learning and leadership opportunities for solving critical issues.

  • Strengthens school-to-college pipeline for ST.E.A.M.-based growth in public schools. Serves as a convener for cross-sector collaboration and thought leadership for Kentucky’s young leaders.

  • Fosters a statewide understanding on the science of hope, trust, and belonging, with potential to positively impact the health and wellbeing of participants.

  • Creates a network of teachers across Kentucky who are utilizing new methods for engaging the potential of students.

  • Provides a pulse-check each year on what Kentucky's young people are prioritizing.

  • Builds a new generation of innovative and inclusive leaders, effective storytellers, and creative problem solvers who have the tools (science, data, social/economic/cultural capital) and know-how (creativity, curiosity, inclusion, citizenship, commerce) to build the best Kentucky possible!

>>> For more information, contact Theo Edmonds, JD, MHA, MF at  or visit the Center for Creative Placehealing website. 

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