Marlena Chanel Host
Marlena Chanel Host is a curatorial design professional with over a decade of experience in development across the art, design, and luxury fashion industries. She is currently the Director of Sales at Hexton Gallery, a leading contemporary art gallery in Aspen, where she works closely with collectors, curators, and designers to shape forward-thinking exhibitions and acquisitions.
Chanel spent six years at R & Company in New York, a globally recognized leader in collectible design, where she led the launch of the gallery’s seasonal program in Aspen and helped position both historical and contemporary design within international markets. Her experience also includes a yearlong fellowship at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and VIP relations at Frieze.
Raised in Boulder, Chanel is the third-generation woman in her family to graduate from the University of Colorado, where she earned a B.A. in Art History and Literature. She completed her Master’s in Design History and Curatorial Studies at Parsons, Paris. Her academic and professional work explores the intersections of modern and contemporary design and art.
Having lived and worked in both Paris and New York, Chanel brings a global perspective to her practice while remaining deeply connected to her Colorado roots. Known for her intuitive approach to collaboration and her cross-disciplinary network, she produces thoughtful, community-driven programming that connects people through art, design, and shared experience.
DJ Watkins
Daniel Joseph Watkins is a writer, curator, and director based in Aspen, Colorado. His first book, Thomas W. Benton: Artist/Activist, won the Colorado Book Award and his second book, Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson’s Campaign for Sheriff, served as the inspiration for the documentary film Freak Power. His third book, To Aspen And Back is a republication of Peggy Clifford’s classic novel about Aspen updated with images curated by National Geographic photographer David Hiser. Watkins runs the publishing company Meat Possum Press and serves as director of the Fat City Gallery and Aspen Collective Gallery where he has curated five museum shows and over one hundred exhibitions with more than sixty artists. Watkins created the Aspen Art Walk and is writing a new book titled Dreams & Dilemmas highlighting the artists and intellectuals that make Aspen unique.
Eli Bucksbaum
Eli Bucksbaum is a facilitator, curator, and conceptual artist based in Los Angeles. He is the founder of Studio MAXIMA, where he designs conversations and experiences called Artist Assembly that anchor brands in culture and help artists, designers, and entrepreneurs find unique opportunities for success. He is also the co-founder of AUTOBODY autobody, a gallery in Mid City Los Angeles focused on collaborations in art and design.
Eli has led over 50 conversations between LA and Aspen, including programs at the inaugural 2024 Aspen Art Fair and on Aspen Mountain with Aspen One.
Much of his work is rooted in a lifelong connection to Aspen, where years of adventure, whimsy, and spirit helped shape his creative worldview.
He believes a conversation can take you anywhere and has devoted his career to creating environments that empower emerging creatives.
Ashley Devon
Ashley Devon serves as Head of Operations & Community at the Aspen Design Conference, where she ensures every detail, from logistics to guest experience, supports meaningful connection. With more than 15 years of experience in Aspen's hospitality industry, she has managed operations, events, and luxury guest experiences across hotels, restaurants, and private residences, earning a reputation for calm leadership, thoughtful execution, and an ability to make the complex feel effortless.
Originally from rural Alaska, Ashley brings a deep appreciation for community, generosity, and the outdoors to her work. She believes exceptional hospitality is about more than seamless logistics; it's about creating spaces where people feel welcomed, connected, and inspired. Known for her warmth, humor, and infectious energy, Ashley is passionate about creating experiences that leave a lasting impression long after the event ends.
Christina Roig
Christina Grace Roig is a Puerto Rican curator, art consultant, and ceramicist. She serves as an Art Consultant and works closely with private collectors, artists, and institutions to shape thoughtful, lasting collections. Prior to living in Aspen, she directed an art gallery in Puerto Rico specializing in Latin American and contemporary art, leading curatorial programs and artist representation with a strong emphasis on material exploration and cultural context.
Christina holds a Master’s degree in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London and brings nearly a decade of professional experience across the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. Her background combines curatorial writing, market analysis, and design thinking, with a deep appreciation for the tactile and spatial language of art. She is particularly interested in collections that blend mediums such as painting, sculpture, textiles, and functional design.
In addition to her gallery roles, Christina engages in curatorial writing for international projects, offering text-based support for exhibitions, artist portfolios, and institutional collaborations. She also maintains a ceramic practice informed by balance, material sensitivity, and a quiet fascination with process. Her love for design extends across disciplines, and she approaches each project with a refined eye, a collaborative spirit, and a belief in the emotional and visual power of form.
Andre "Myxz" Nichols
Myxz is a multidisciplinary artist, carpenter, designer, natural builder, and regenerative farmer based in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica and Aspen. As the founder of RAMA (Regenerative Agroecology & Mindful Action), a syntropic agroforestry project and digitally disconnected immersive jungle program, Myxz weaves together ecological stewardship, land-based living, creative expression, plant medicine, and soul evolution. Through RAMA, he facilitates transformative experiences that connect people to nature, art, sustainable food systems, ancestral ways of building and being, but most importantly to the themselves and others vibrating at the same frequency.
With over a decade of experience in sustainable farming practices, natural building design, event production and large-scale art installations, Myxz brings a visionary and hands-on approach to both creative and ecological projects. His work integrates permaculture, syntropic agroforestry, sacred geometry, building with natural materials, and community-based collaboration.
Aside from being the Fun Facilitator for The Aspen Collective and Fat City Gallery, Myxz is also a founding member and the General Manager of AMAR, an artist residency program dedicated to land conservation, cultural preservation, and promotion of emerging local, as well as, international artists. Whether he's planting food forests, leading workshops, creating engaging events, making art, or building with earth and bamboo, Myxz is devoted to cultivating beauty, resilience, and connection at every scale.
His work bridges worlds—urban and rural, ancient and modern, artistic and ecological—always rooted in a deep reverence for the Earth.
Hannah Badwan
Hannah Badwan’s background includes digital design, brand marketing, interior styling, and experience curation. After a decade in New York and Miami, she found herself back her hometown of Colorado teaching in higher education, dreaming up a karaoke bar and working with clients in cultural and hospitality realms. When she’s not looking for hidden meaning, you'll find her walking her dog or collecting chairs, lamps, and small objects for herself and others interested in relics of time.
Jeff McKinnon
Jeff McKinnon is a founder, operator, and investor who works closely with early-stage companies as they grow.
He has experience building and scaling a venture-backed company, and now works with founders and investors on go-to-market strategy and fundraising. He currently works in private equity partnerships at Carta, supporting firms and their portfolio companies. Previously, Jeff co-founded and helped scale a venture-backed company, leading early revenue and growth from the ground up.
Jeff is an active part of the startup ecosystem and supports the Aspen Design Conference through fundraising and ongoing guidance.