Prepare to partner in Denver.

The 2025 Collaborative Journalism Summit will be hosted in person in Denver on May 15-16, 2025! The Summit will feature two days of lightning talks, workshops, and participatory discussions about a wide array of #collaborativej topics and projects.

The Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University is hosting the 2025 Summit at Delta Hotels Denver Thornton. This year’s presenting sponsor is the Gates Family Foundation.

The Summit is designed to be a fast-paced event full of sharing and learning. Both days are typically packed with sessions, so prepare accordingly.

As usual, the Summit has a Code of Conduct and Care policies and our Commitments pledge. Our commitments are driven by our focus on improving the inclusivity of the Summit and the diversity of its speakers and participants.

⭐ We require all Summit attendees to review our commitments and policies before you register.

Interested in sponsoring the Summit? Email Stefanie Murray at murrayst@montclair.edu

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OUR THEME: PARTNERSHIPS WITH A PURPOSE

We’re thrilled to announce two powerful keynote sessions for the 2025 Collaborative Journalism Summit that embody our theme for 2025: Partnerships with a purpose: Collaborations that produce positive community impact.

First, we’re happy to welcome Ayanna Watkins and Wendi Thomas from MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, one of the country’s leading nonprofit news organizations that reports at the intersection of poverty, power, and policy in Memphis. MLK50’s courageous reporting has erased nearly $12 million in medical debt for impoverished patients, increased wages for the lowest-paid minimum wage hospital workers, and stopped a private-equity-owned doctor’s group from unscrupulous medical collections lawsuits.

If that isn’t an example of direct, positive community impact, we don’t know what is!

Wendi and Ayanna will share how they think about serving the people of Memphis, community impact, and collaboration.

Our second keynote will focus on mutual aid (not journalism!) as we welcome the folks behind Appalachia Relief, which originally launched as Asheville Relief following Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on Western North Carolina.

Appalachia Relief empowers “ordinary people with open-source tech for crowdsourced mutual aid and disaster relief.” After Hurricane Helene hit, people in the area couldn’t access basic resources, and information flow ground to a halt. A small group of volunteers got together to figure out this question: What needed to be done to get critical information by and for impacted communities out there?

Appalachia Relief Executive Director Micah Spain and a co-presenter will share more about how the organization has evolved and how journalists and storytellers can be integral parts of such mutual aid efforts.

These two keynotes perfectly highlight what we mean by partnerships with purpose — journalism collaborations that create tangible, positive outcomes in their communities.

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🏨 Conference venue and hotel information

The 2025 Collaborative Journalism Summit will be hosted at Delta Hotels Denver Thorton located at 10 East 120th Avenue, Northglenn, CO 80233. Conference hotel rooms are available for $139 per night + taxes and fees. Rooms must be reserved by May 5, 2025. Rooms may be booked via direct link: Book your group rate for 2025 Collaborative Journalism Summit

✈️ Travel recommendations

The hotel is located 29 miles from Denver International Airport. If you are driving, take N Gun Club Rd and E 78th Ave connector to Peña Blvd. Proceed to E-470 N and I-25 S to W 120th Ave in Westminster. Take exit 223 from I-25 S. Continue on W 120th Ave to the destination in Northglenn.

Taxi service is available on demand from Denver International Airport. The one-way rate is estimated at $90.

🚄 Train/bus travel

Daily Amtrak and RTD bus service is offered from Denver Union Station located at 1701 Wynkoop in downtown Denver.

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🦠 Important COVID-19 information:

We ask all individuals to follow current CDC guidance and adhere to the following policy:

1. You must have not have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have been reported as being symptomatic of COVID-19 to attend events in conference spaces.
2. If you do not abide by federal, state, and local health regulations, the Center for Cooperative Media reserves the right to cancel your tickets to the event at any time.
3. If you’re sick, don’t come to the Summit and get the rest of us sick.

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Accessibility accommodations:

During the registration process, you will have the opportunity to let us know if you have any accessibility needs or would like to request any additional accommodations and we will provide what you need.

The 2025 Collaborative Journalism Summit is brought to you by: