Why the Aspen Institute?

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world.The Executive Leadership Department realizes this mission by offering specially-tailored programs for business, non-profit, government, and other organizations, those who have the power and drive to build, influence, create, and act. We stimulate leaders to think about how commerce and culture can work together for individuals, organizations, communities and a globalizing world. The longevity of the Aspen Executive Seminar, along with our long list of accomplished alumni, serve as testaments to the enduring value of our program.

About the Aspen Institute

The Aspen Idea

The Aspen Idea aims at fostering better leadership and a better society by helping people integrate mind, body, and spirit through readings and seminar discussions, beautiful locations which refresh the body, and time for reflection to let the spirit soar. At our seminars, the Aspen Method of moderated, text-based dialogue allows participants to achieve meaningful professional growth. All our seminars feature a unique, humanities-based approach to leadership development, using a curated mix of classic and contemporary readings as a starting point to launch intensive, interactive round-table discussions. Seminar consists of 18-23 participants led in an investigation of pressing leadership questions by a team of accomplished moderators. Through this highly interactive and time-tested process, we meet participants where they are in their personal and professional journey. Moving beyond lectures and case studies, our seminars open minds, challenge assumptions, and broaden perspectives, equipping participants with the intellectual and moral resources necessary for leading with conviction amidst complex circumstances. The Aspen method creates a dynamic, challenging environment for seasoned leaders to become, in the words of our founder, “more self-aware, and so more self-correcting.”