Frequently Asked Questions
Fellowship Experience and Commitment
The program requires each Fellow to commit to attending four seminars of five to seven days each over two years; Fellows must attend all seminars from start to finish. Each Fellow must also design and launch a leadership venture of their own choosing—a significant initiative designed to live on past the completion of the four seminars.
No. All of our Fellows are busy, but we expect each of them to attend each and every seminar from start to finish. No late arrivals or early departures. No ducking out for calls or meetings. We know this sounds difficult, but we now have thousands of AGLN Fellows who have been able to respect this requirement.
Participation is without cost to Fellows or their organizations, except for travel costs to and from seminar sites and incidental expenses. For those who cannot cover transportation, there are limited need-based travel subsidies available.
Nominations & Selections Process
To be most effective, a nominator must convince us, with concrete examples, that the candidate is a successful, influential health care leader; an innovator/entrepreneur; at the right point in their life and career to be able to step back and reflect on how to strengthen their leadership and have greater impact; not daunted by the sorts of challenges that may scare away others; and understands and can commit to the requirements of the Fellowship.
Yes. Before nominating a candidate, please ensure that they are interested in and can commit to full participation in the program if selected. Potential candidates should review our website and ideally reach out to Health Innovators Fellows or other members of the Aspen Global Leadership Network to fully grasp the Fellowship experience and required commitment.
Very well. We look to nominators to provide an in-depth look into a candidate’s background, values, and readiness to take full advantage of this opportunity. We don’t want nominations for someone a nominator has merely met at a conference or read about in an article who impresses them and appears to fit our criteria.
When we interview candidates, we aim to get to know them as individuals and see how they might fit into our class mosaic. Everything said at the interview is confidential, so candidates should feel comfortable sharing anything they feel is important about who they are as a person, a leader, and a potential member of the Health Innovators Fellowship community.
In addition, we strongly encourage candidates to reach out to a few Fellows to get a feel for the Fellowship; our team can help make these introductions if candidates don’t already know someone in the program.
We expect candidates to research the Aspen Institute and what the Health Innovators Fellowship experience entails before they are nominated. We also ask them to make a couple of non-negotiable commitments: to attend the seminars in their entirety and to complete a meaningful venture. We will not consider any candidate who cannot fully commit to both requirements. We ask nominators to stress to candidates the importance of examining the published seminar dates, venture-related criteria, and FAQs.
We have had candidates who have accepted interviews knowing that they cannot make all seminar dates. Some believe we will grant them an exception, which is not the case, as the seminars are an essential component of the Fellowship, and missing any part is unfair to the Fellow and their class. Any candidate who accepts an interview slot expecting that they may get an exception prevents another candidate from being evaluated.
Still Have Questions?
Reach out to us.
