About the Program

In recognition of ASG Co-Chairman Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft’s continued dedication to the Aspen Strategy Group and his legacy of distinguished public service, the Aspen Strategy Group launched the Brent Scowcroft Award Fellowship program in 2003. The program is designed to prepare a new generation of foreign policy practitioners to take a leading role in our increasingly complex world.  Scowcroft Fellows have the unique opportunity to experience first-hand how today’s preeminent politicians, leaders, and thinkers set aside differences and exchange ideas and insights for open and cooperative dialogue.  Through immersion in the planning and execution of high-level discussions on foreign policy challenges, Scowcroft fellows learn the critical place of track II initiatives in the setting of American foreign policy, as well as the skills required to execute conferences and communicate effectively with national security leaders.  Scowcroft fellows typically join the ASG team for a period of 6 months, during which they are encouraged to develop practical skills and build knowledge in the field of foreign policy and national security while having the opportunity to establish a rapport with members of the Group. Given a great deal of responsibility and an environment in which to thrive, Scowcroft fellows constitute an integral part of the ASG.

Current Fellows

Kimberly Aagaard
Kimberly Aagaard recently graduated from Santa Clara University, where she majored in Political Science and Spanish and minored in Economics and International Studies. She comes to ASG from the Center for American Progress, where she worked on the National Security and International Policy team on issues mostly relating to China and the Middle East. During her undergraduate career, she spent a semester in an intensive Spanish-language program abroad in Salamanca, Spain. Kimberly also participated in the Washington Semester Program at American University, where she studied Peace and Conflict Resolution. As a part of the PCR seminar, she traveled to Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey and completed a research paper on the role of religious leaders and religious rhetoric in the Cyprus conflict. She also interned with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training on the Foreign Service Institute campus in Arlington. A native of Northern California, Kimberly enjoys a wide range of activities including listening to and playing music, skiing, and Ultimate Frisbee.

Former Fellows

Khaled Fayyad
Khaled Fayyad is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in Government Studies and Philosophy. As an undergraduate, Khaled participated in a study abroad program on U.S-China relations and Economic policy. He traveled with Global Youth Connect—an American non-profit—to Rwanda, participated in Human rights workshops and worked with a local NGO on land reform laws. While a fellow in Washington with the University of Texas, he interned at the United Nations Information Center, where he conducted research on a wide variety of international subjects. He later interned in the Foreign Policy Communications Department at the Brookings Institution.

Kevin Jones
Kevin Jones joined the Aspen Strategy Group as a Brent Scowcroft Award Fellow in February, 2012.  Prior to joining ASG, Kevin researched for the policy team of Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.  He recently finished the MPhil in International Relations at St. Antony’s College, Oxford after having studied Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard.  Kevin has spent time studying in Yemen and France, and has traveled widely in the Middle East.  A New England native, he enjoys being in the mountains or on the water.  Kevin hopes to pursue a career in U.S. Middle East policy.