Three Days That Changed the Size of My World
Reflection from the 2026 NEXUS Global Summit in NYC by NEXUS member Aaron McNeilly.
Some weeks change the size of your world. For me, this year’s NEXUS Global Summit was one of them.
In the opening plenary, Laura François set the tone with "awe-based changemaking", a capacity we often overlook when navigating the polycrisis. It's a magic I've been exploring through The Alchemists: that instinctive sense that there’s something here worth leaning into, that curiosity can open impact beyond what you first imagined. Over the three days at the Summit, that feeling only deepened..
Take Yusra Mardini. She swam three hours through the Aegean Sea, helping push a sinking boat of refugees to safety, and then later competed at the Olympics under the Refugee Flag. Her story expands what feels possible - in yourself, in your work, and in the people around you.
We were welcomed by Owl Ramapo on behalf of the Ramapough Mountain Indians, a reminder of how much we have to learn from First Nations cultures across the world.
Returning to NEXUS eleven years felt overdue. Reconnecting with friends working at the global edge of impact was awe-inspiring. Time spent alongside Abigail Disney, Edgar Villanueva and Mungi Ngomane kept bringing me back to a simple but powerful question: what's your passion, and how can I help?
One standout moment was the "Accelerating Your Passions" roundtable. Each of us took the mic to share what we're working on, and the generous NEXUS spirit took over. Names, connections, ideas, all offered to help move things forward.
If we're serious about tackling our most entrenched issues, we need spaces like NEXUS. Spaces for brave voices and bold ideas, for honest conversations about power, capital and impact, paired with real commitments to act.
Alex Honnold shared his approach to philanthropy through the Honnold Foundation, which has deployed close to US$15 million for solar energy access across thirty countries. When asked about the risks of trust-based philanthropy, the man who free-soloed El Capitan shrugged: “It doesn’t seem that risky to send somebody a check.” A simple but powerful reminder of what it means to shift from power over to power with.
The broader delegation added to the depth of the week. A behind-the-scenes UN visit included conversations on partnerships at the Goals Lounge. Others joined a braintrust on youth mental health or roundtables with the Clinton Global Initiative and Iconiq Impact. Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani, spoke about the transformative potential of refugee employment - something Australia could embrace far more boldly.
We closed with an interfaith Shabbat overlooking the Statue of Liberty. A quiet, powerful moment where empathy gave way to shared understanding. A particular highlight.
Tristan Harris framed AI as a defining rite of passage for humanity, reinforcing for me the urgency of multilateral approaches to safety. AI companies are running flat out, where being first outweighs being safe, and we cannot leave the guardrails to them. The global drift toward nationalism only makes this work harder, and more necessary.
Travelling home via Singapore, I caught up with Abbie Jung and a gathering of NEXUS Asia members, where we worked through both the inner and outer work it takes to lead change. It was a reminder that this is truly a global community, one that’s open to anyone willing to step in and contribute.
What I'm carrying home is a renewed conviction that the way we connect is the work, not the warm-up to it. Awe doesn't ask us to have the answers. It invites us to stay curious, stay generous, and lean into the spark of what feels impossible - alongside others who are willing to make it possible.
If any of this resonates please do reach out. I'm keen to know what you're passionate about, and how I can help.