Wasatch Back Economic Summit Registration Opens for May 11 Event

Registration is open for the fifth annual Zions Bank Wasatch Back Economic Summit, a full-day forum that sold out in 2024 and returns May 11 at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley with an agenda built around workforce shortages, economic vitality, and the sustainability pressures reshaping the Wasatch Back.

The gathering runs 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is co-hosted by the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau and the Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce, with government partners including Summit County, Wasatch County, Park City Municipal Corporation, and Heber City. Jennifer Wesselhoff, President and CEO of the Park City Chamber, and Dallin Koecher, Executive Director of the Heber Valley Chamber, lead the organizing effort.

The 2026 agenda targets four challenge areas: economic vitality, workforce development, arts and culture, and year-round economic stability for the region. Those priorities reflect the same tensions that have animated past editions: seasonal employment cycles, housing costs that squeeze the local labor pool, and development constraints that drive up costs for employers who depend on a resident workforce.

"The Wasatch Back Economic Summit is really about bringing local business and community leaders together to talk about where our region is headed and how we move forward together," Wesselhoff said. "By exploring topics such as economic vitality, workforce development, arts and culture and long-term, year-round stability, we hope to spark meaningful conversations, build stronger regional connections and help shape a vibrant future for the region."

The format features keynote presentations, breakout sessions, an elected officials panel drawing mayors and county council members from across Summit and Wasatch counties, and a regional networking mixer. Past keynotes have included Fraser Bullock, co-chair of the Olympic Exploratory Committee, in 2023, and Robert Spendlove, Zions Bank's VP of Economic and Public Policy, who tackled tariffs and federal spending shifts at the 2025 edition.

The summit launched in May 2022 at Zermatt Resort in Midway as a deliberate effort to bridge a structural gap: county lines dividing Summit and Wasatch had long fragmented conversations that needed to happen at a regional scale. In the four years since, it has become one of the few forums where Park City's business establishment and Heber Valley's growth-pressured economy meet at the same table.

Tickets are available through the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau and the Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce websites.