At the 2009 Aspen Awards Dinner, the Institute honored Jeffrey P. Bezos, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of Amazon.com, who received the Henry Crown Leadership Award, and Judith Rodin, President of Rockefeller Foundation, who received the Aspen Institute Public Service Award. Charlie Rose, Anchor and Executive Editor of Charlie Rose, lead a discussion with the two honorees.

Additionally, Anne Welsh McNulty awarded the second annual John P. McNulty Prize to Patrick Awuah, for his project Ashesi University. The award is given each year to an extraordinary young leader from the Aspen Global Leadership Network.