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

In The Arena

An AGLN Leadership Initiative for Civic & Social Change Leaders

Hosted in Partnership with the McNulty Foundation

The moment we’re in demands something different.

Across the country, leaders on the frontlines of civic and social change are navigating a period with no clear precedent: funding disappearing, democratic values under pressure, and little space to pause, reflect, or find solid ground.

In the Arena is for those who are still showing up, still fighting for what matters, and who know that sustaining that fight requires more than willpower alone.

The Aspen Global Leadership Network, in partnership with the McNulty Foundation, is bringing together two cohorts of 16-18 Aspen Fellows for a seminar built to restore resilience, strengthen courage, and build lasting community around an irresistible vision for the future.

The cohorts will consist of leaders navigating a shared civic and political context – those working on the ground in the United States or whose work is closely connected to it, confronting pressures that are interconnected in their cause and consequence. With this in mind, the program is open to Aspen Fellows currently based in or leading work within the United States. This can include leaders who straddle multiple geographies while maintaining a meaningful presence in the United States.

Note: Both cohorts have reached capacity.

The program is built around four commitments:

Restore resilience

Creating space for rest, reflection
and renewal away from the relentless pace of crisis

Connect a sustaining community

A trusted network of peers who will be with you across time, not just for a weekend 

Strengthen courage to act

Equipping participants to act on their deepest held values in the face of backlash, uncertainty, and volatility

Chart a path forward together

Time to collectively reimagine what’s possible and to identify the individual and shared roles Fellows may play in building it

Who Should Join

This experience is for you if:

• You are an Aspen Institute Fellow currently
leading civic or social change work based in the
United States – or straddling multiple geographies
while maintaining a meaningful US presence

• You are navigating the tension between urgency and
sustainability in your leadership

• You are looking for trusted peers who understand what
it means to lead in this moment

• You are ready to take time for your own renewal, not just the work

• You are looking for time to think beyond the urgent and to imagine, with peers, what it’s possible to build

The Experience

Each cohort will gather for a long weekend seminar, Thursday through Sunday, at a restorative location in the United States. The experience is intentionally kind on the nervous system: expect Aspen seminar dialogues, immersive time in nature, and somatic experiences designed for renewal all within a purposefully protected space for genuine human connection. 

Beyond restoration, this is a space for reimagination and collective thinking about what this moment demands, and what might be possible on the other side of it.

Timing

Cohort 1

August 27-30 2026

Santa Monica, California 

Cohort 2

November 17-20 2026

The Fetzer Institute campus in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Note: Both cohorts have reached capacity.

As funders, supporters, and incubators of authentic and courageous leadership, the McNulty Foundation recognizes the long and sometimes isolating journey of social change leaders. The Foundation is committed to supporting leaders and their organizations not only in moments of success, but also through inevitable challenges, and in deep partnership with the Aspen Institute, aims to sustain the systems of trust and nourishment high-impact leaders need to keep going

Thanks to the generous support of the McNulty Foundation, there is no cost to participate in this program. Participants are responsible for covering their own travel to and from the seminar location. Limited financial assistance is available on a case-by-case basis. Please indicate in your application if you would like to be considered.

Program Curators

Dar Vanderbeck

Dar Vanderbeck,
VP, Aspen Global Leadership Network

John Simpkins,
President & CEO, MDC, Liberty Fellow

How to Apply

This experience is waitlisted. If you’re interested in being added to the waitlist, email Shevika Mishra at [email protected].