Past Events

After six fun and successful years of Sharing Shakespeare, we are taking a respite from Shakespeare to offer a new program focusing on Greek Epics and Tragedies. We will resume as "Sharing Shakespeare 3.0" in the fall of 2012.

Registration for this nine month series is $195, which includes readings and refreshments at monthly meetings.

The New War and Peace
Innovation, Security, and American Leadership

Through a groundbreaking partnership with Spirit of America, the US military has pioneered a new "soft power" approach to help the US prevent conflict, counter extremism and improve America’s position in the world.

Report launch and panel discussion: "Impact at Scale: Policy Innovation for Institutional Investment with Social and Environmental Benefit."

• Download Executive Summary
• Download Report

Ben Thornley, Director at InSight at Pacific Community Ventures, and David Wood, Director of the Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard University, presented highlights from their new research report, Impact at Scale: Policy Innovation for Institutional Investment with Social and Environmental Benefit, which explores the importance of institutional asset owners in the United States - including pension funds, endowments, and insurers - as an especially important category of current and prospective impact investors. With total assets of over $20 trillion, they play a fundamental role in domestic and world capital markets.

The public policy lens in the report provides an especially useful tool for examining the impact investing activity of these institutions; the availability of capital from asset owners is closely tied to the actions of government, and, while fiduciary duty can constrain investment for social or environmental impact, tax credits and other subsidies can support the activity. Institutional asset owners have shared characteristics and a surprisingly diverse track record of impact investing on which to build widespread support for policy innovation in the best interests of fund beneficiaries. The moderated discussion included remarks by Jonathan Greenblatt, Director, White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation; Joncarlo Mark, Founder, Upwelling Capital Group; Jeff Clarke, Interim President and CEO, Council on Foundations; and Valerie Piper, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, HUD.

Society of Fellows symposium, opening reception followed by three half-day sessions. Moderated by Amy Sullivan, editor, Time Magazine and Alan Wolfe, Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.

Why is Bhutan called the last Shangri-la?  Are the people who reside in the last Buddhist Kingdom, nestled between the two most populous countries in the world, really happier?

Does their happiness have anything to do with being secluded from the rest of the world for so long, or being unplugged from modern technology? Does it have to do with their commitment to "Gross National Happiness" over GDP?

Join us for this year’s exploration of the Great Books. Each year community members come together to engage in lively and rigorous dialogue using excerpts from the Great Books.  Aspen Institute senior moderator Pete Thigpen will moderate this year’s series. Pete has been a Senior Fellow and Moderator for the Aspen Institute since 1989 as well as a lecturer at the Haas School of Business, and is on the board of a number of business and nonprofit organizations. 
Fee (includes readings): $150 ($130 for Institute Donors).