2026 Awards

Nick Kislinger

Founders · Philanthropists · Talent

Executive Director, Flourish Trust

As Executive Director of Flourish Trust, Nick Kislinger brings deep expertise in coalition-building and community organizing to advance accessible, effective approaches to healing people and planet. From 2009-2011 he served as Chief of Staff to California’s Secretary of Education under Governor Schwarzenegger, overseeing California’s first Guidelines for Digital Education and managing the state’s Race to the Top strategy. Leaving Sacramento, he spent nearly a decade in social impact, starting by co-founding Impact Hub Los Angeles, where he raised $500,000 and built a community of 1,000 social impact entrepreneurs. At the Entertainment Industry Foundation, he distributed $5 million in grants and raised $34 million for the University of California’s Promise Campaign. Nick’s mental health advocacy emerged from personal experience—diagnosed with ADHD as a young adult, he discovered breathwork as an alternative to medication. In 2019, he launched Breathwrk (later acquired by Peloton), driving over 100 million downloads, which motivated him to pursue a Master’s in Clinical Psychology. At Flourish Trust, Nick advances new approaches to mental health care—including psychedelic-assisted therapy—guided by his belief that when you bring the right people together around shared purpose, remarkable things become possible.

Confirmed Summit attendance does not confirm an Awards appearance, performance, or honor.