Aims Community College will host an inspiring lineup of thought leaders for its Spotlight Speaker Series in late 2025 and early 2026.
Aims Community College Announces Inaugural Spotlight Speaker Series
December 11, 2024
The series is the first of what the College intends to make an annual tradition, bringing a variety of well-known speakers to share compelling stories and ideas with the broader Northern Colorado community. The initial series will focus on the theme of Exploring Leadership and feature talks by Dr. Amy Cuddy, Leif Babin, Dr. Myron Rolle and Ambassador “Sully” Sullenberger.
“Aims is committed to community collaboration,” said Dr. Leah L. Bornstein, Aims Community College CEO and president. “We want to host events like the Spotlight Speaker Series to facilitate dialogue, build connections, foster engagement and get the community on campus.”
All talks will take place at Aims Community College’s Welcome Center at 4901 20th Street on the Greeley Campus. Season passes go on sale in Spring 2025.
A Broad Variety of Viewpoints, All Focused on Exploring Leadership
The main objective of the Spotlight Speaker Series is to bring to the community thoughts and perspectives from people with various life experiences and areas of expertise. The lineup for the first series includes speakers with expertise ranging from psychology to neuromedicine and military leadership to aviation.
The following includes details on each speaker:
Dr. Amy Cuddy | September 24, 2025
Personal Power and Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Challenges
Dr. Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist, bestselling author, and keynote speaker, focuses on presence, performance under stress, power dynamics, and social bravery. She earned her Ph.D. at Princeton University and taught at Harvard Business School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Honored with Harvard’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology’s Scientific Impact Award, she continues to guest lecture at Harvard and UCLA.
Her TED Talk, “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are,” is the second-most-viewed ever, with over 70 million views. Her book “Presence” has sold over 500,000 copies in 35 languages. Her upcoming book, “Bullies, Bystanders, & Bravehearts,” explores adult bullying and social courage.
Leif Babin | October 30, 2025
Extreme Ownership: Foundational Principles and Mindsets for Victory
Leif Babin, a former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, is the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win” and co-founder of Echelon Front, where he serves as president, leadership instructor, and strategic advisor.
A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Babin served 13 years in the Navy, including as a SEAL platoon commander in Task Unit Bruiser during the Battle of Ramadi. His leadership contributed to Task Unit Bruiser becoming the Iraq War’s most decorated special operations unit. He later revamped SEAL officer leadership training and deployed again as a Special Operations Task Force leader. Babin, a recipient of the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and a Purple Heart, now helps organizations build high-performance teams through Echelon Front, leveraging lessons from his distinguished military career.
Dr. Myron Rolle | February 4, 2026
Inspired Leadership: Learning from the Giants
Dr. Myron Rolle is a Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital-trained neurosurgeon serving as the current Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellow at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. He is a Rhodes Scholar, best-selling author, former All-American Florida State University football player, and former National Football League player for the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers. He published the Rolle Scoring System — a public health rating scale used to determine a developing country’s governance around helmet safety to prevent traumatic brain injury. He has been recognized by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons for demonstrating the best operative technique in the reconstruction of upper extremity motor function using intercostal nerve transfers after a traumatic brachial plexus injury.
He is the best-selling author of The 2% Way - How a philosophy of small improvements took me to Oxford, the NFL, and Neurosurgery.
Ambassador “Sully” Sullenberger | March 25, 2026
Leading Your Team to Success
Ambassador “Sully” Sullenberger is a world-renowned safety expert, speaker, author, and pilot best known for safely landing US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009, saving all 155 aboard in the “Miracle on the Hudson.” As a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot, he was a flight leader and training officer with the rank of captain. Sullenberger is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters” and wrote “Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders.” The film “SULLY,” directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on Sullenberger’s book and starred Tom Hanks as Sullenberger.
In 2021, President Biden appointed Sullenberger U.S. Ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, where he reestablished U.S. leadership and tackled aviation crises involving Belarus, Russia, and climate change during his tenure.
Get More Information
Learn more about the series and the speakers at aims.co/spotlight-speaker-series or fill out the form below to be notified when tickets go on sale.
