2015 OVERVIEW | 2014 ANNUAL REPORT THE ASPEN INSTITUTE 2015 OVERVIEW | 2014 ANNUAL REPORT www.aspeninstitute.org and problem-solving on a wide variety ofand problem-solving issues. Public conferences and events, which provide a commons for people to share ideas. a commons for people to share which provide and events, conferences Public discussing and acting on critical issues. The Institute does this primarily in four ways: The discussing and acting on critical issues. Policy programs, which serve as nonpartisan forums for analysis, consensus-building, consensus-building, forums for analysis, which serve as nonpartisan programs, Policy The Institute also has offices in New York City and an international network ofYork City and an international partners. in New Institute also has offices The broadening perspectives, and enhancing their capacity to solve the problems leaders face. leaders and enhancing their capacity to solve the problems perspectives, broadening The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. DC. Washington, based in and policy studies organization Aspen Institute is an educational The Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for a nonpartisan based on enduring values and to provide Its mission is to foster leadership The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Eastern Shore. River on Maryland’s Wye and on the Colorado; Aspen, DC; Washington, Institute is based in The Young-leader fellowships around the globe, which bring a selected class of proven leaders together for an intense which bring a selected class of leaders proven the globe, fellowships around Young-leader Seminars, which help participants reflect on what they think makes a good society, thereby deepening knowledge, deepening knowledge, thereby a good society, they think makes on what reflect which help participants Seminars, multiyear program and commitment. The Fellows become better leaders and apply their skills to significant challenges. leaders become better Fellows The and commitment. program multiyear Instrumentalist, educator, and bandleader Jon Batiste performs at the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival. (photo by Dan Bayer) ASPEN IMPACT: WHAT IT MEANS 2 POLICY PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS 5 PUBLIC PROGRAMS 15 SEMINARS 21 LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS 25 SOCIETY OF FELLOWS 29 2014–2015 SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR WORK 30 HEADLINERS ON THE ASPEN STAGE 32 OUR LOCATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS 34 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 40 ASPEN INSTITUTE LEADERSHIP 42 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 46 DONORS 50 ASPEN IMPACT: WHAT IT MEANS n the more than six decades since its founding, the Aspen wake of the violent conflicts in the nearby city of Ferguson, the Institute has grown and evolved in many directions — but Institute invited community activists, law enforcement leaders, I it has always held fast to its reputation as the place where educators, and journalists to sit down together for an open, policymakers, writers, artists, executives, and members of the collaborative, and productive dialogue on the sensitive issue of public can come together to explore the values underpinning race. The ideas that came to the surface were soon transformed society. That reputation, though, is incomplete. From the into actions. Participants discussed creating young leadership beginning, the Institute has been driven by a desire to both and mentoring programs, providing community-relations convene and have real -world impact. training for law enforcement officers, and establishing youth This desire stems from founder Walter Paepcke’s focus on the boards to increase dialogue between police and local youth. “good society” — a concept that still lies at the heart of the Institute. Institute fellows often marvel over how ideas so commonly The “good society” is not some final destination. Instead, it is pollinate even within small groups. Two New Voices Fellows found an ideal, an aspiration — a continual striving for improvement, that “one of the most important audiences for our messages individually and collectively, driven by both the ideas we explore was within the Fellowship itself,” where a group of development and the actions we take. experts from Africa and other parts of the developing world could Impact begins with convenings that seed ideas in the minds of “compare notes and come up with new solutions” — solutions participants. The back and forth of critical thought, reasoned they put to practical use, to help reduce childhood malnutrition. response, and careful listening amid diverse, nonpartisan Joaquin Gallegos, a 24-year-old member of the Jicarilla Apache gatherings makes ideas resonate and reverberate, echo Nation who was selected by the Institute’s Center for Native and grow, until they germinate beyond the confines of the American Youth as one of five Champions for Change, says that conference room. his advocacy for health care access and environmental issues has been “enriched and enhanced” through his relationships with They may take the form of motivations, inspirations, aspirations, other youth he met in the program, “even though we might not or innovations; but what begins with a roomful of people focus on all of the same issues.” exchanging insights and experiences soon touches many, directly and indirectly. Aspen fellows and grassroots leaders take The contrasting opinions Gallegos now prizes are no coincidence. on daunting challenges that affect their communities. Reports A critical element of this cycle is that our gatherings include guide local and national policymakers, who adopt and adapt people of differing backgrounds, ideologies, cultures, and areas best practices. These specific, measurable effects spread the of expertise. This variety of approaches and views ensures that reach of the Institute — and its idea of “the good society" — and we are not creating yet another echo chamber but are instead lead the way to another season of new gatherings and new ideas challenging our participants to open their minds and listen as among the Institute’s programs. much as they speak. In a time of heightened polarization, the Institute is an island of stubborn civility — a place where people The Institute has repeatedly witnessed the power of this cycle. of many political stripes and convictions can come together to Perhaps the best recent example was the Communications and listen to each other as they can nowhere else. Society program’s Community Dialogue on Healing the Racial Divide, held in St. Louis, Missouri. Prompted by tensions in the 2 The Aspen-Blackstone Middle East & North Africa Entrepreneurship Program in Silicon Valley. (photo courtesy of Facebook) ASPEN IMPACT: IN ACTION • The Aspen-Blackstone Middle East & North Africa Entrepreneurship Program brought small business owners from the Middle East and North Africa to Silicon Valley for a week of mentorship that has since led to dramatic growth, new financing, and expansion into new countries. • A 2014 report by the Education and Society program, “Leading From the Front of the Classroom: A Roadmap for Teacher Leadership that Works,” has been used in a series of US Department of Education programs and distributed to every teacher within the Kentucky Department of Education system. • Two Aspen Global Health and Development New Voices Fellows — one a doctor, the other an agricultural policy researcher — created two comprehensive initiatives to combat childhood malnutrition in Africa. • Several municipalities used the Communications and Society Program’s report, “The Dialogue on Public Libraries,” to acquire new funding for the design, building, and expansion of public libraries; libraries and library trustees have also used it as an engagement and teaching tool. Alexandra Oliva • GHD’s Alliance for Artisan Enterprise partnered with the Clinton Global Initiative, Kiva, and the US Department of State to help mostly female artisans create jobs, improve their families' economic status, and foster development around the world. African small-holder farmers who stand to benefit from Fellows’ efforts to bring childhood malnutrition • Through Aspen Summer Words, author Alexandra Oliva considerations into national agriculture plans. cemented her commitment to writing, found an agent, and (photo courtesy of FANRPAN) sold her debut novel, The Last One. • Inspired by his participation in a Socrates seminar on the global middle class, Tanzanian Member of Parliament Zitto Kabwe established a palm oil company that he expects will help elevate tens of thousands of Tanzanians from poverty to the middle class. 3 4 POLICY PROGRAMS & PARTNERSHIPS Advancing Public Policy Through Dialogue and Action www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work The Aspen Institute policy programs provide nonpartisan forums for analysis, consensus building, and problem solving on pressing contemporary public policy issues. They frame critical topics, bring new evidence to bear on a wide range of issues, propose innovative ideas, and gather sector leaders and experts to reach constructive solutions. Each program serves as an impartial forum, and each is unique in its substance and approach. Together they share a common mission and methodology: convening diverse perspectives for informed dialogue and action. Members of the Ascend Network attend the 2014 ThinkXChange: The National Forum on Two-Generation Solutions in Aspen, Colorado. (photo by Dan Bayer) 5 ASCEND AT THE ASPEN INSTITUTE ASPEN GLOBAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT