For our tenth annual policy summit, the CEI team traveled to Asheville, North Carolina — “The Land of the Sky”. Our home for the week was the iconic Biltmore Estate, an American treasure known as the “cradle of forestry” for being the birthplace of the first scientifically managed forest in the United States. During the summit, guests engaged with CEI’s policy priorities while experiencing the beauty, history, and grandeur of the Biltmore Estate and celebrating the local entrepreneurs who embody Asheville’s spirit as a city of creatives and creators.
Throughout the week, CEI experts Soriya Chhe, Kent Lassman, Jessica Melugin, Marin Murdock, Iain Murray, Jeremy Nighohossian, Jacob Tomasulo, and Ryan Young explored the Biltmore legacy of free-market environmentalism, public policy limits on access to credit, the future of AI, the morality of free trade, challenges to agency overreach, and innovations in healthcare.
Beyond the estate gates, we immersed ourselves in the local culture of “Beer City, USA” with a visit to Asheville’s first craft brewery, Highland Brewing Company. Highland Brewing CEO Leah Wong Ashburn and her husband, Brock, joined us in Highland’s Barrel Room to share the trials of being the first brewery in the state post-Prohibition, launching the craft movement, and modernizing the business.
While staying at America’s Castle, Sourhouse CEO Erik Fabian joined us to discuss how tariffs are affecting his business today. Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council, Dr. Joel Zinberg, offered a candid look at the friction between political realities and our policy aspirations. Reason Editor Stephanie Slade previewed her book, Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the New Right. Marian Tupy of the Cato Institute and HumanProgress.org discussed the enduring legacy of Julian Simon as a powerful counter-narrative to modern eco-doomsayers.
Guests also had the opportunity to explore the estate’s 8,000 acres, including through activities like sporting clays, guided bike rides, and falconry. On Tuesday evening, attendees stepped back into the elegance of the Gilded Age with a private tour of the 250-room estate and a sunset reception on the Biltmore Loggia overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. At our closing dinner, held in Deerpark, a converted calving barn on the property, Biltmore Director of Agriculture Kyle Mayberry and Director of Horticulture Bill Quaid shared insights into the estate’s legacy of environmental stewardship and successful, ongoing conservation practices.
Speakers:
Leah & Brock Ashburn, Highland Brewing Company
Soriya Chhe, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Erik Fabian, Sourhouse
Kent Lassman, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Kyle Mayberry, Biltmore
Jessica Melugin, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Iain Murray, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Marin Murdock, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Jeremy Nighohossian, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Bill Quaid, Biltmore
Stephanie Slade, Reason Magazine
Jacob Tomasulo, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Marian Tupy, Cato Institute & HumanProgress.org
Kevin D. Williamson, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Ryan Young, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Joel Zinberg, National Economic Council