A Conversation with José Andrés | Tuesday, October 20 | Warden Arena |  Get Tickets

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Where the curious come for new perspectives

The Winter Park Institute showcases the world’s most compelling voices to spark intellectual curiosity and strengthen the quality of our community life.

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Who we are

More than a

speaker series 

The Winter Park Institute engages global thought leaders in meaningful conversation, presenting public programs with leading voices in policy, science, literature, business, and the arts to Central Florida audiences since 2007.

Founded at Rollins College and now an independent 501(c)(3), the Institute has welcomed Maya Angelou, Jane Goodall, Paul McCartney, Ken Burns, Condoleezza Rice, and many more thought leaders to Winter Park. Many experiences begin on stage and continue through Pages for the Ages, community reads, forums, classrooms, and partnerships across the region.

About the Institute

Condoleezza Rice in conversation with an interviewer onstage at a Winter Park Institute event.

Featured event

A Conversation with José Andrés, Presented by Orlando Health

Chef, humanitarian, and founder of World Central Kitchen, José Andrés has fed millions in the wake of disaster and changed how the world thinks about a plate of food. During a powerful and deeply personal conversation, Andrés will share the experiences and ideas that have shaped his remarkable life and his belief…
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Portrait of José Andrés against a warm brown background.

Photo Credit: José Andrés Group and THINKFOODGROUP, LLC

Featured impact

Impact that outlasts the evening

Every Human Flourishing Experience is designed to leave something behind. Before the evening, Pages for the Ages students and senior citizens read We Fed an Island together, so the conversation begins before José Andrés takes the stage. Inspired by José Andrés’s philanthropy and humanitarian leadership, the Winter Park Institute and Orlando Health will make a philanthropic investment in Special Hearts Farm, turning the ideas explored throughout the Experience into meaningful action in our community.

Learn more about Special Hearts Farm
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Photo Credit: Special Hearts Farm

Inspire

See the world through a new lens.

Meet the thinkers, creators, and changemakers shaping our world. Our keynote Experiences bring their stories and perspectives to Central Florida, inviting us to challenge assumptions, discover possibilities, and consider the role each of us can play.

About the Institute 

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Reflect

Bring the conversation home.

What do these ideas mean for our lives and our community? Through Reflect Forums, shared reading, and facilitated dialogue, we bring people together to explore that question. These gatherings create room to listen, exchange perspectives, and build connections across generations, backgrounds, and experiences.

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Impact

Put inspiration into action.

Ideas gain meaning through what we do with them. In collaboration with our partners, WPI supports nonprofit organizations whose missions connect with the themes of our Experiences. Through giving, visibility and community connection, we help advance their work and invite our audiences to discover ways to contribute.

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Inspire

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Reflect

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Impact

Themes that shape us

Explore Our Programs Open to the Public
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Human
Flourishing

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Condoleezza Rice smiling outdoors in a white jacket.

Community
& Civic Life

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Innovation
& the Future

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Arts, Culture,
& Story

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Great ideas across generations, endless conversation

Pages for
the Ages

Great conversations shouldn’t end when the lecture does. Pages for the Ages brings college students and senior citizens together in student-led intergenerational book clubs, where every voice is heard and every generation has something to teach and something to learn. Born at Rollins College in partnership with Westminster Winter Park and Westminster Baldwin Park, it’s now an official program of the Winter Park Institute.

 

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Partners in Impact

Featured Partner

Orlando Health has cared for Central Florida since 1918. This not-for-profit healthcare network includes Level 1 trauma centers, specialty institutes, and Arnold Palmer and Winnie Palmer hospitals. We’re proud to partner with an organization that invests so deeply in the health and strength of our community.

Upcoming events

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The Institute, by the numbers

2007

Founded at Rollins College

88

Florida cities represented at 
one Experience

Nearly two decades of bringing the world’s ideas home.

50,000+

Attendees since the 
first season

28

States and territories reached

Testimonials

I love how conversations flow naturally, and everyone’s perspectives are genuinely valued … That’s what keeps it interesting and worth coming back to.

Reilly M.

Rollins Student

… an approach that connects a powerful public experience with people and organizations working in Central Florida every day. Making that connection part of every [Winter Park Institute] Experience gives the ideas shared onstage a life beyond the event.

Ginny Botts

Executive Director, Support Our Scholars

The Winter Park Institute is built on the concept that people learning ideas together builds community … a seed planted and nurtured at Rollins has taken root and is growing in the larger community.

Jeffrey Blydenburgh

Community Advocate

Spending an evening with Secretary Condoleezza Rice through the Winter Park Institute only deepened my respect and admiration for her … for the thoughtfulness, humility, and humanity she brings to leadership.

Chevalier Lovett

WPI Event Attendee

As presenting sponsor of the Winter Park Institute, we’re proud to invest in experiences that bring people together around ideas that matter, then carry those conversations into classrooms, neighborhoods, and community partnerships.

Lainie Fox-Ackerman

Vice President, Orlando Health