Wes Carter, President of Atlantic Packaging and Founder of A New Earth Project sets the tone for the day by introducing a transformative vision: shifting from a paradigm of human comfort to one of life-centered value. Emphasizing community over individual enlightenment, Carter invoked the idea of an “enlightened we,” inspired by Buddha’s teaching that the next awakening will be the Sangha—a collective consciousness.

Author, philosopher, and thought leader Charles Eisenstein explores the intimate connection between human well-being and planetary health, and the shift in consciousness required to heal both. With clarity, compassion, and poetic insight, he invites us to reimagine not just our policies and practices, but our sense of self, our relationships, and our collective purpose.

The Laguna Beach High School Student Support Collective (SSC) is a student-led group focused on mental health, well-being, and community connection, aiming to create a campus where students feel supported and less alone.

Last year’s Modern Alchemy panel introduced four visionary entrepreneurs who are transforming waste into resources and reimagining the material world in response to the global plastic pollution crisis. This year, they returned to the Coast Summit stage to share what’s happened since.

Food is a powerful connector—between land and people, tradition and innovation, local and global. This session explores how regenerative food systems can nourish both body and spirit, while honoring the sovereignty of the communities who grow our food.

This session begins with the film “Built to Vanish” — a collaboration between Cruz Foam, Imagine5, and A New Earth Project — that tells the story of a breakthrough material made from upcycled food waste. Featuring New Earth Advocate Cody Townsend, the film invites audiences to see packaging differently: not as something disposable, but as something regenerative, even beautiful.

What does it really mean to be financially fit? It’s not about being rich — it’s about being resourced: emotionally, relationally, mentally, and yes, materially. This session explores the deep connection between our financial lives and our overall well-being. Because the truth is, money isn’t just math. It’s energy, story, emotion, and often… baggage.

Across cultures and generations, people have turned to a wide range of healing methods to process life’s most powerful experiences—grief and loss, trauma and transformation, awakening and rebirth. Whether through ritual, movement, ceremony, plant medicine, talk therapy, or meditation, we all seek meaning. We all seek steady ground.

For over 15 years, Laguna Beach native Jon Rose has provided clean water to disaster zones and war-torn communities through his organization Waves For Water. From Haiti to Afghanistan, to the frontlines of countless climate disasters, he has been exposed to profound levels of suffering—and carried the invisible weight of it all, until that weight became too much to bear. Through his brokenness, a new trajectory emerged—one of radical inquisition and exploration into the depths of trauma and the psyche. In this closing keynote, Jon reflects on what he’s learned about trauma, resilience, and reverence, and invite us to consider a new kind of wellness—one rooted not in self-optimization, but in deep listening, ancestral knowledge, and the courage to heal.

We joined together on November 6th, 2025, for the third annual Coast Summit, to celebrate the visionary leaders who are pioneering solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time. This year’s theme, "Healthy People, Healthy Planet," highlights the vital link between personal well-being and environmental regeneration. The Coast Summit brings together leaders from the worlds of sustainability, adventure, business, wellness, and storytelling in a format that blends the energy of a trade show with the insight of a summit.