CoBuild Summit

Three days where organizations, businesses, institutions, community leaders, cooperative leaders, students, investors, founders, and entrepreneurs advance ventures rooted in Montana values.

October 20-22, 2026

UC Center, University of Montana, Missoula

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A Founding Moment.

The CoBuild Summit brings together the people, organizations, and institutions building community-rooted enterprise across Montana — and turns ideas into action.

It also marks the ceremonial launch of CoBuild Montana, a new initiative for a more resilient, self-reliant economy created by and for Montanans.

Building Value for Montana: Past, Present, and Future

Montana has a long tradition of building what it needs — businesses, partnerships, and institutions shaped by the people they serve.

That legacy still lives here. The question driving these three days is: how do we build the next chapter of Montana’s economy and what does it look like?

Montana faces real pressure: housing shortages, strained rural health systems, soil stress and drought, fire risk, and workforce instability. At the same time, momentum is building among organizations, businesses, institutions, and community leaders around local ownership, place-rooted investment, entrepreneurship, and new models for building lasting value. The Summit connects those dots — bringing the right people into one room, grounding them in models that work, and moving the conversation from talk to commitment.

Why Now

This Summit is for those shaping the next chapter of Montana’s economy:

  • Organizations and businesses ready to grow, partner, and share capacity

  • Institutions and civic and economic development leaders building stronger Montana communities

  • Community leaders advancing place-rooted, values-aligned solutions

  • Cooperative leaders and members ready to connect and grow

  • Impact investors and philanthropists backing regional resilience

  • Rural health leaders exploring member-owned care models

  • Tribal and Indigenous leaders advancing sovereign cooperative development

  • Students and emerging leaders stepping into Montana's future

  • Founders and entrepreneurs seeking partners, mentors, and growth pathways

  • Sponsors and institutional partners

Who Should Attend

Journalist and co-author of Capital Evolution: The New American Economy, Elizabeth MacBride explores how capital, entrepreneurship, and community can build a more inclusive economy.

In her public evening keynote — open to the broader community — she'll share what a people-first economy looks like in practice, and why this moment matters for places like ours.

Featured Keynote: Elizabeth MacBride

Signature Themes and Topics

Values-Based Economy — how employee-owned businesses, nonprofits, co-ops, and other models can support long-term community value.

Community Ventures & Partnerships — sessions connecting ventures to capital and partners, anchored by the Startup World Cup USA Regional.

Venture Themes — deep-dive working sessions on housing, Montana-grown food, rural health, and biocarbon for soil and land resilience.

Indigenous Economy — Indigenous-led development grounded in sovereignty and community ownership.

Conversations Shaping Montana's Future

Healthcare & Rural Care — locally rooted clinics, shared-service models, and creative partnerships that bring reliable care closer to home.

Student-Led Session (Day 3) — organized by Montana high school students.

Creative Problem-Solving Workshop — hands-on, inventive ways to tackle real challenges.

AI & Education — why ethical reasoning, interdisciplinary thinking, and human judgment may become the most valuable skills in the next economy.

Program and Presenters

Across three days, you’ll learn from founders, cooperative leaders, investors, educators, and community builders — people doing the work of building a stronger, more self-reliant Montana.

Program / Presenters

When you Reach the Summit

Every participant walks away with more than a conference badge:

  • New partnerships across sectors and communities

  • Practical tools and values-led models ready to apply

  • Named next steps for ventures, partnerships and funding conversations

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CoBuild Summit is Brought To You By

CoBuild Summit Hotel Partners
Hotel Info & Special Rates

Proudly Sponsored and Supported By
Sponsorship Information 
About CoBuild Montana

CoBuild Montana is building a new era of values-based businesses, community-driven ventures, and collaborative initiatives, while creating real-world learning experiences for our state’s next generation of leaders.

We’re back by partners at Ecocity Builders, VBX, and the University of Montana College of Business, and we’re forming throughout 2026 and 2027. Together, we’re keeping wealth, jobs, and decision-making rooted right here in our communities

Connect With Us

Ready to learn more, partner with us, or request a sponsor or investor briefing? We’d love to hear from you.

Kirstin Miller, AICP: kirstin@cobuildmontana.com Erik Guzik, PhD: erik@cobuildmontana.com Jackson Crawford: jackson@cobuildmontana.com