Pack Your Bags

Scholarship resources make it possible for people from many backgrounds and experiences to connect with the Institute community and each other. Every year, approximately 1,000 scholars attend Institute seminars, roundtables, and events across the United States­—there were 345 at this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival alone. Whether a scholar needs financial assistance or simply offers a unique perspective not represented around the table, all scholarship recipients deeply enrich the conversations in which they participate. To learn how you can support scholars please contact Katherine Eklund, the Institute’s senior associate for philanthropic partnerships and campaigns, at Katherine.Eklund@aspeninst.org or call 202.736.3511.

“It is hard to think of another occasion when I’ve had the opportunity to be surrounded by luminaries in almost every field imaginable. I watched an amazing movement-art performance, listened to the top minds in the tech industry and tech policy, and met the nation’s leading immigrant-rights activists. The collection of people and experiences is just unparalleled. I’m particularly grateful to the Aspen Ideas Festival scholars and events teams, who made my visit seamless.”

– Alvaro Bedoya, 2017 Aspen Ideas Festival scholar; executive director, Center on Privacy & Technology, Georgetown University Law Center

“As someone deeply involved in political and policy debates in our country, having the opportunity to read some of the nation’s important, fundamental documents—such as the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the Seneca Falls Declaration, and Martin Luther King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail—was an intellectual treat. The Socrates seminar provided a much-needed opportunity to wrestle with hard questions of American identity and democracy—and to do so with such thoughtful and different colleagues.”

Maria Echaveste, 2017 Socrates Program scholar; policy and program development director, Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, Berkeley School of Law

Writing a Public Comment

Learn a framework for writing effective public comments in this 1-hour webinar.
Blog Posts

Leadership for Large-Scale Change

On May 1–2, 2025, the Aspen Institute and the Higher Ambition Leadership Alliance convened 100 experienced practitioners — nonprofit and foundation leaders, former government administrators, CEOs, and scholars — to discuss “Leadership for Large-Scale Change.”

AI x Power Action Roundtable at the 2024 Action Forum
Blog Posts

AI governance requires trustworthy, values-driven leadership

What does values-driven leadership look like in the world of artificial intelligence (AI)? And what responsibilities do AI consumers have?

Joe Waring and Justin Habash
Blog Posts

Values in Action: How the Medal of Honor Center is Redefining Leadership Development

The National Medal of Honor Center for Leadership is transforming how we understand and teach values-based leadership. In this Behind the Impact interview, we speak with Joe Waring (Liberty Fellow) who serves on the Center’s board, and Dr. Justin Habash, the Center’s Senior Vice President of Leadership Programs and Chief Learning Officer. Together, they share insights on how Medal of Honor values translate to everyday leadership decisions, the power of moral courage, and why this approach to leadership development is especially relevant in today’s rapidly changing world.

Conflict and Civil Discourse Action Roundtable
Blog Posts

If factions are a feature — not a bug — of a society, creative conflict helps us design new ways forward.

How do we listen even when we are the most hurt? How do we disagree without disappearing? At the Resnick Aspen Action Forum, changemakers explored what it means — and what it takes — to stay at the table during the most difficult moments. This conversation turns toward clues in history, reminding us that the institutions of today were once the result of creative innovation. Taking inspiration from youth and the artistic community as sources of “research and development,” this conversation invites us to wrestle with tension rather than treating conflict as failure, allowing us to remain in relationship through our differences. Whether operating in small towns in a single U.S. state like South Carolina, or across multiple nations in the Middle East, panelists discussed the conditions that we can create in ourselves and in our communities to design new ways forward.

Blog Posts Videos

In Session: Andy Cunningham

Blog Posts

Joseph S. Nye, Jr, 1937-2025

Writing an Op-Ed

Learn how to draft an op-ed to advance a broader goal of policy change in this 1-hour webinar.

Communicating for Policy

Learn the basics of communicating your ideas for policy impact to stakeholders both in and outside of government in this 1-hour webinar.