Schedule

Across more than 20 hours of instruction, Alan Nelson and Carolynne Thomas, leads of CRA’s Strategic Communication Practice, co-facilitate our Sundance Academy. Together they bring over 30 years of experience advising Fortune 100 leaders and communication professionals in strategic communication.

Classes involve a mix of lecture, discussion, applied work, and readings. We also ask each enrollee to arrive with a current professional challenge or opportunity in mind, which will serve as a working case for discussions and deliberate practice across the week. The entire experience emphasizes review and critique, with the CRA team offering substantial one-on-one coaching and feedback.

This is no junket; the material is challenging and the classroom time intense. But the Academy also offers enrollees a unique opportunity to think, reflect, and get perspective through scheduled and elective experiences with their peers. These include shared meals; an opportunity for pottery or silversmithing classes, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, or horseback riding; and unstructured time.

While the agendas for each session vary, the agenda for our recent Communicator session may serve as an example for the breakdown of class, group, and individual time.

Sunday:

 

5:00 – 6:00: Introductions and short orientation to Sundance

6:00 – 7:00: Cocktails at Owl Bar

7:00 – 9:00: Dinner at Foundry Grill

 

Monday:

 

6:00 – 7:00: Elective sunrise hike

7:30 – 8:00: Breakfast in Wasatch meeting room

8:00 – 9:30: Block 1

9:30 – 9:45: Break

9:45 – 11:15: Block 2

11:15 – 11:30: Break

11:30 – 1:00: Block 3

1:00 – 2:00: Bag lunches on the ski lift

2:00 – 5:00: Time for reflection and application

5:00 – 8:00: Short hike to Elk Meadows for western barbecue

 

Tuesday:

 

6:00 – 7:00: Elective sunrise hike

7:30 – 9:00: Working breakfast, Block 4

9:00 – 1:00: Activities (fly-fishing the Provo river, zip-lining, horseback riding, or open time)

1:00 – 2:30: Block 5

2:30 – 2:45: Break

2:45 – 4:15: Block 6

4:15 – 6:00: Time for reflection and application

6:00 – 8:30: Lift ride to Bearclaw for drinks and dinner at the top of the mountain

 

Wednesday:

 

Prior to 8:00: Open time for exercise or breakfast

8:00 – 9:30: Block 7

9:30 – 9:45: Break

9:45 – 11:15: Block 8

11:15 – 11:30: Break

11:30 – 1:00: Block 9

1:00 – 2:00: Lunch

2:00 – 6:00: Time for reflection and application

6:00 – 8:30: Taco truck, margarita bar, and activities (pottery, jewelry, notebook making) at Art Shack

 

Thursday:

 

6:00 – 7:00: Elective sunrise hike

8:00 – 9:30: Working breakfast, Block 10

9:30 – 9:45: Break

9:45 – 11:15: Block 11

11:15 – 11:30: Break

11:30 – 1:00: Block 12

1:00: Grab-and-go bag lunches at Wasatch

1:00 – 6:00: Time for self-arranged activities, reflection and application

6:00 – 7:00: Cocktails at Owl Bar

7:00 – 9:00: Dinner at Tree Room

 

Friday:

 

9:00 – 10:00: Light breakfast, academy debrief, and advice on creating personal change

10:00 – 10:45: Open time for checkout

10:45: Shuttle departures for SLC

 

The following week:

 

One-on-one 45-minute coaching conversations with each participant