Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

Ruth J. Katz

Executive Director, Health, Medicine & Society

Ruth Katz is director of Aspen Ideas Health, a vice president of the Aspen Institute, and executive director of its Health, Medicine & Society Program, which brings together groups of thought leaders, decision-makers, and the informed public to consider US health challenges and identify solutions. Previously, she was the Walter G. Ross Professor of Health Policy at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, where she served as dean from 2003 to 2009. From 1997 to 2003, Katz was associate dean for administration at Yale University School of Medicine. She also served as chief public health counsel to the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee on the Affordable Care Act. 

Authored by Ruth:

NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative logo

Announcing 10 Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards

Renée Fleming Foundation and NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative announce awardees for research collaborations exploring impact of arts on health.

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Aspen Health Strategy Group Identifies Opportunities to Address Health Disparities in Rural America

The Aspen Health Strategy Group’s new report examines the health gap between rural and urban areas and calls on health sector leaders, working with state and federal governments, to embrace big ideas to improve rural health.

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Academic Institutions Launch Bold Initiative to Integrate Arts into Medicine, Public Health, and Society

The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative announced the Neuroarts Academic Network to expand the transformative power of the arts on mind and body.

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Aspen Ideas: Health 2025 Launches Agenda Spotlighting Bold Innovations and Urgent Challenges in Health

Misunderstood: How Public Health’s Inability To Communicate Keeps Communities Unhealthy
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Misunderstood: How Public Health’s Inability To Communicate Keeps Communities Unhealthy

Designated as one of Health Affairs Top 5 most-read GrantWatch blog posts for 2020, this piece examines how public health’s inability to communicate keeps communities unhealthy.