The Aspen Institute

Program Overview Food & Society’s Food Leaders Fellowship unites the country’s most promising early-stage food system leaders to ig

The Arts Program supports and invigorates the arts in America, and returns them to the center of the Institute's "Great Conversation."

Ascend catalyzes and convenes systems, policy, and social impact leaders to create a society where every family passes a legacy of prosperity and well-being from one generation to the next.

The Aspen Challenge provides inspiration, tools, and a platform for young people to design solutions to some of the most critical issues humanity faces.

Aspen Community Programs offer a diverse mix of opportunities, taking place in Aspen year-round, and attract locals and visitors alike who share a desire for learning and reflecting on the ideas that shape ourselves, our society and the world in which we live.

We empower policy-makers, civic organizations, companies, and the public to be responsible stewards of technology and digital media.

The Aspen Economic Strategy Group (AESG) promotes evidence-based solutions to significant U.S. economic challenges

Aspen Global Innovators Group promotes breakthrough solutions to global development challenges by strategic convening, working across sectors, amplifying voices on the ground, and storytelling.

A growing, worldwide community of entrepreneurial leaders from business, government and the nonprofit sector -- currently more than 2,000 "Fellows" from 48 countries -- who share a commitment to enlightened leadership and to using their extraordinary creativity, energy and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our times.

The Aspen High Seas Initiative is a dynamic, interdisciplinary program that brings the ocean community and world leaders together to sustainably manage and protect the health of our planet’s ocean, including the High Seas, our greatest and most neglected global commons.

Aspen Ideas Now is a weekly curation of timely conversations, from across Institute programming, that elevate formidable leaders, inspiring thinkers, and remarkable stories.

Our Program aims to create broad awareness of the growth and importance of the Latino community to the future success of the United States.

In 2003, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright founded the AMF to strengthen diplomatic ties between the US and Europe.

The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is a global network of organizations that propel entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

Provides a bipartisan forum to explore the preeminent foreign policy challenges the United States faces.

Aspen Words encourages writers, inspires readers, and connects people through the power of stories.

AYLF is a place-based, multi-site program that nurtures a cadre of diverse youth committed to addressing the most compelling social, political, and scientific issues facing their communities.

The Business and Society Program works to align business decisions and investments with the long-term health of society—and the planet.

BOI works to build understanding and strengthen the role of business ownership as an economic opportunity strategy.

The Center for Native American Youth, established by former US Senator Byron Dorgan, is dedicated to combating the challenges facing Native American youth. Watch Senator Dorgan talks about why he started the Center, and its goals for the first year.

Over the past three decades, China has experienced an economic and social transformation on a scale and at a speed unlike anything witne

Focusing on the challenge of sustaining strong citizenship in America and coherent national identity in an age of demographic flux and severe inequality.

The College Excellence Program aims to advance higher education practices, policies, and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes.

An effort to identify and prioritize the most critical sources and causes of information disorder and deliver a set of short-term actions and longer-term goals to help government, the private sector, and civil society respond to this modern-day crisis of faith in key institutions.

The Community Strategies Group (CSG) connects, motivates, and equips local leaders to build more prosperous regions and advance those living on the economic margins.

The Congressional Program, established in 1983, is a nongovernmental, nonpartisan educational program for members of the United States Congress. The program is funded solely by foundations.

Now is the time to reimagine the criminal justice system. The Criminal Justice Reform Initiative’s mission is to amplify and uplift policy and systems changes aimed at reducing mass incarceration within state and local jurisdictions through addressing the entire criminal justice continuum.

The Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

Improving public education by inspiring, informing, and influencing education leaders across policy and practice, with an emphasis on achieving equity for traditionally underserved students.

The Energy and Environment Program explores significant challenges with diverse thinkers and doers to make a more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable society for all.

Aspen Institute Leadership Seminars challenge individuals to think more deeply, listen more attentively, and refine their ability to lead in an increasingly complex and conflicting world.

The Finance Leaders Fellowship develops a community of enlightened leaders to chart the course of the global finance industry.

The Financial Security Program connects the world’s best minds to find breakthrough solutions for America’s family financial security crisis.

Still have questions about the First Movers Fellowship Program? Check out the FAQs, hopefully they've been answered below. What are the g

Bringing together leaders and decision-makers in the food and beverage industry and the public health community—scientists, nutritionists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and food makers of all kinds—to find solutions to production, health, and communications challenges in the food system.

We envision a future where communities create their own vibrant and lasting solutions to the social and economic problems that they face.

The Forum on Women and Girls lifts up promising ideas and leaders and builds on the strength of families to support women and girls in the U.S. and around the world move toward opportunity and equality.

The Future of Work Initiative is a nonpartisan effort to strengthen the social contract in the midst of sweeping changes in the economy.

  The Health Innovators Fellowship’s mission is to develop a community of energized, values-driven leaders committed to findin

Our Program gathers together academic, government and industry leaders to explore health care and health policy and consider their impact on individuals, families, and communities across the United States.

The Henry Crown Fellowship Program, established in 1997, seeks to develop the next generation of community-spirited leaders, providing them with the tools necessary to meet the challenges of business and civic leadership in the 21st century.

The work of the Institute’s Leadership Division creates a continuum of programs challenging leaders, from ages 14 to 104, to sharpen their values and take action.

Building on the conviction that a sound economic base is one clear path to social and political stability, MEII breaks from traditional aid models and designs innovative development finance initiatives that foster economic opportunities and dignity, not dependency.

The Middle East Leadership Initiative (MELI) – a collaborative venture between the Aspen Institute and a consortium of leading regiona

Includes Conversations with Great Leaders in Memory of Preston Robert Tisch, the New York Book Series, and Aspen at Roosevelt House events.

We bring together young leaders from technology, business, policy, journalism, and civil society to take up questions on the impact of technology around the world.

First Mover Fellows are exceptional corporate social intrapreneurs who are creating new products, services and practices that increase busin

This program seeks to inform and maximize the impact of grantmaking foundations, nonprofit organizations, social enterprises and public-private partnerships through leadership development initiatives, convenings, and communications so that each can contribute to the good society at home and abroad.

The Program on the World Economy has the ongoing goal of promoting sustainable economic growth and financial stability in the world economy.

The Religion & Society Program is a high-level project building and sustaining the field of religious pluralism.

Rework Reentry identifies systemic barriers & connects returning persons with meaningful careers in the tech industry.

To generate greater public appreciation for science as a vital tool to address global challenges and to foster a diverse scientific workforce whose contributions extend beyond the laboratory.

We are thrilled to share with you that the Franklin Project, ServiceNation and the Service Year Exchange (incubated by the National Conference on Citizenship) have merged into a new, single organization. The organization will be a joint venture between Be The Change, Inc. and The Aspen Institute, with Stan McChrystal serving as Chair of the board.

The Society of Fellows is an engaged community of the Institute who both actively participate in our educational and policy studies events and provide important financial support to help sustain our mission to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues.

Our Program provides a forum for emerging leaders from various professions to convene and explore contemporary issues through expert-moderated dialogue.

The Sports & Society program convenes leaders, fosters dialogue, and inspires solutions that help sport serve the public interest.

The Stevens Initiative is a multilateral public-private partnership designed to increase people-to-people exchange between youth in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa as a lasting tribute to the legacy of Ambassador Chris Stevens.

A multi-year project to help Americans and Vietnamese address the continuing health and environmental impact of herbicides sprayed in Vietnam during the war.

Growing economic inequality is one of the defining challenges of our time.

We seek a society where everyone belongs and has equitable opportunities to thrive.

UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive.

Weave aims to build social trust to address the root cultural cause behind many of America’s social problems.

WSI explores strategies that help workers attain stability and mobility, including through training, education, and broader systems change.

An initiative to bring expert, national speakers into the living rooms of youth and families.

The Aspen Institute is dedicated to empowering young people ages 14-24 from diverse backgrounds to tackle the most critical issues of the day.