The world is changing quickly. What happens thousands of miles away can influence the price of energy, the strength of supply chains, where companies invest, what they manufacture, and where the jobs of tomorrow are created.
What does all of that mean for Eastern Kentucky?
That conversation is coming to Corbin.
John Sitilides, a nationally recognized expert in geopolitical risk, international security, and the business impacts of national security policy, will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 SOAR Summit, presented by Appalachian Wireless and the Appalachian Regional Commission, October 7–9 in Corbin, Kentucky.
Sitilides will speak on Friday, October 9, during the Principal Officer Plenary, presented by the University of the Cumberlands, on the KCTCS Stage at the Corbin Arena.
The Keynote Address is presented by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and its six colleges serving the SOAR region: Ashland Community and Technical College, Big Sandy Community and Technical College, Hazard Community and Technical College, Maysville Community and Technical College, Somerset Community College, and Southeast Kentucky.
It will be a fitting conclusion to three days built around one idea: Building Eastern Kentucky. Together.
Bringing a Global Conversation to Eastern Kentucky
Sitilides brings a perspective shaped by decades at the intersection of government, national security, international affairs, and business.
He is Principal at Trilogy Advisors LLC in Washington, D.C., specializing in geopolitical risk, international security, and federal government affairs, and serves as Senior Fellow for Global Risks at the Center for the National Interest.
From 2006 to 2023, Sitilides served as a U.S. Department of State Diplomacy Consultant under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. He managed professional development at the Foreign Service Institute, the diplomacy academy for American foreign policy professionals.
His career also includes work in the U.S. Senate, testimony before Congress, and extensive experience speaking to corporate executives, investors, government leaders, military officials, and intelligence community audiences. His commentary has appeared across national and international media, including Bloomberg News, CNN, FOX News, NewsNation, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and NPR.
At the Summit, that experience will bring a global perspective to a regional audience at a moment when the connections between geopolitics and local economies are increasingly difficult to separate.
For Eastern Kentucky’s businesses, communities, institutions, and leaders, understanding those forces isn’t simply about knowing what’s happening around the world. It’s about understanding what those changes could mean for the opportunities we pursue here at home.
A Keynote Is Only Part of the Experience
The keynote may bring a global perspective to Corbin, but the heart of this year’s Summit remains firmly rooted in Eastern Kentucky.
The 2026 Summit represents a more focused, participatory experience designed to put the region’s people, ideas, and solutions at the center of Appalachia’s Premier Event.
Throughout the Summit, attendees will hear from people doing the work across Eastern Kentucky and beyond, connect with organizations tackling some of our region’s biggest opportunities, and explore ideas they can take back to their businesses, organizations, and communities.
That is especially true on Thursday, October 8, the Summit’s primary programming day.
FOCUS Breakout Sessions
Thursday morning will feature two blocks of FOCUS Breakout Sessions, creating opportunities to dig deeper into the issues shaping Eastern Kentucky.
Rather than packing the schedule with more choices, the 2026 Summit is focused on fewer, stronger sessions designed around relevance, engagement, and practical value.
These sessions will showcase leaders and organizations with something meaningful to share: what’s working, what they’ve learned, and what others across the region can take from their experience.
Topics will span the opportunities and challenges influencing Eastern Kentucky’s future, including workforce, economic development, entrepreneurship, education, technology, industry, community development, and more.
The goal isn’t simply to talk about the issues.
It’s to learn from the people doing something about them.
From Ideas to Application
Thursday afternoon shifts the emphasis even further toward participation through dedicated FOCUS Workshops.
These longer sessions are designed to move beyond traditional presentations and give attendees more opportunities for hands-on learning, discussion, and practical application.
Come with questions. Leave with ideas you can use.
That distinction is important because the Summit isn’t intended to be a conference where attendees spend three days sitting in chairs listening to people talk.
It’s a place to connect, learn, participate, and build.
Experience Eastern Kentucky
Those connections extend beyond the programming rooms.
The EKY Experience, presented by Appalachian Regional Healthcare, will be open throughout Thursday, creating an immersive Expo Hall experience showcasing the businesses, organizations, industries, innovations, communities, and people shaping Eastern Kentucky.
It is designed to be explored.
Attendees can discover new organizations, experience demonstrations, make business connections, meet potential partners, and see firsthand some of the work happening throughout the region.
Dedicated time for networking and the EKY Experience is intentionally built into this year’s Summit because some of the most valuable conversations at an event don’t happen from a stage.
They happen when two people meet and realize they should be working together.
Three Days. One Region. Countless Connections.
The 2026 SOAR Summit runs October 7–9, but only Thursday is a full programming day, creating a more focused experience from beginning to end.
Across those three days, attendees can experience:
- The Summit’s kickoff activities on Wednesday, October 7
- The SOAR Summit Kickoff Reception, presented by Trace Creek Construction
- The SOAR Inspires Awards, presented by KCTCS
- Plenary programming on the KCTCS Stage at the Corbin Arena
- FOCUS Breakout Sessions
- Hands-on FOCUS Workshops
- The EKY Experience, presented by Appalachian Regional Healthcare
- Dedicated networking opportunities
- The Summit Reception
- The Principal Officer Plenary, presented by the University of the Cumberlands, on the KCTCS Stage at the Corbin Arena
- The keynote address from John Sitilides, presented by KCTCS and its six colleges serving the SOAR region
It all comes back to the purpose of the Summit: creating the space for people to meet, learn from one another, share what’s working, and build relationships that can move Eastern Kentucky forward.
Who Should Be in the Room?
If you’re building something in Eastern Kentucky, this Summit is for you.
If you’re looking for talent, partnerships, customers, resources, ideas, or a better understanding of where the region is headed, this Summit is for you.
If your organization wants to do business in Eastern Kentucky, invest here, recruit here, or build relationships with the people shaping the region’s future, this Summit is for you.
And if you simply believe in what’s possible for Eastern Kentucky, there is a place for you here, too.
For more than a decade, the SOAR Summit has brought together people who might not otherwise find themselves in the same room.
Employers meet educators. Entrepreneurs meet investors. Community leaders meet state and federal partners. Students meet future employers. Organizations discover collaborators. Ideas become relationships, and relationships can become action.
That’s the power of convening.
And that’s what we’re building again in Corbin. October 7–9, 2026. Corbin, Kentucky. Building Eastern Kentucky. Together.
Register Today for Appalachia’s Premier Event.