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Leading with Purpose

From our beginnings as a place for deep reflection on human values to our
evolution as a global convener of changemakers, the Aspen Institute has
long believed that leadership begins with reflection—and grows through
connection, curiosity, and action. Our legacy is rooted in fostering
dialogue, developing values-driven individuals, and advancing solutions
that strengthen communities and create new possibilities for a better
world.

Our leadership programs cultivate networks of principled leaders who bring
insight and action to their organizations and communities. We convene
experts, students, emerging leaders, and engaged members of the public to
reflect, connect, and exchange ideas that matter. This month, we’re
highlighting several offerings open to the public. If you're looking to
deepen your leadership and make sense of today’s rapidly changing world,
consider joining one of our public seminar programs or events below.

💭 The Socrates Program hosts seminars that provide stimulating dialogue,
values-based introspection, and dynamic debate that serve to enhance
participants’ leadership capabilities. This summer's conversations will
explore questions like: Is punishment a just response to harm? Will
artificial intelligence (AI) bring a new enlightenment or digital
despotism? How does propaganda shape our world? [2]Apply today to
participate in a summer Socrates Seminar.

📚 Aspen Leadership Seminars challenge individuals to think more deeply,
listen more attentively, and refine their ability to lead in an
increasingly complex and conflicting world. Rooted in the Aspen Method of
Leadership Development, the small, intimate cohorts probe into enduring
questions of ethical and effective leadership. They also offer
[3]scholarships designed to provide financial assistance to individuals
whose organizations may face financial constraints. [4]Apply today for the
transformational experience that is the Aspen Executive Seminar on
Leadership, Values, and the Good Society.

📝 Our programs aren't just for leaders in the C-suite. Aspen Community
Programs offers its Teen Socrates Seminar for 15 to 17-year-olds in the
winter, spring, and fall each year, where high school students can enhance
their leadership, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills in a
setting conducive to thought and fellowship. [5]Registration is currently
open for the Virtual Teen Socrates taking place from May 12-15, open to
students from around the country who want to get involved with the Aspen
Institute.

🧠 For students living in the Roaring Fork Valley, Aspen Community Programs
offers two Hurst Student Seminars: High School Great Ideas for 10th-grade
students and Middle School Great Ideas for 8th-grade students. Each
four-day seminar challenges students with text-based dialogue to think more
analytically and deeply about their values, choices, and ideas—and those
that make the good society. [6]Learn more and apply for one of their
programs.

The Aspen Institute was founded on the conviction that a better society
requires better leaders who are more self-aware, more self-correcting, and
more humane. We hope you'll join us in pursuit of a better world.

Upcoming Events

Leadership

Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Ceremony

April 17, 2025

Virtual

Who sets the standard in community colleges? Tune in for the livestreamed
announcement of the $1 million [7]Aspen Prize for Community College
Excellence—awarded by the College Excellence Program every two years to
honor institutions achieving outstanding and improving student outcomes,
and share their strategies across the field.
[8]Learn More & Register

Arts & Culture

2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize Ceremony

April 23, 2025

New York, NY / Virtual

Join us for the Aspen Words Literary Prize Ceremony, moderated by
journalist and critic Bilal Qureshi, as we celebrate fiction that
illuminates vital contemporary issues and showcases the power of literature
to transform culture.
[9]Learn More & Register

Economic Opportunity

Working and Homeless in America: A Book Talk with Brian Gladstone

April 30, 2025

Virtual

If full-time work is no longer enough to keep a roof over one’s head, what
does that say about the promise of economic opportunity in the U.S.? Join
the Economic Opportunities Program’s Maureen Conway and journalist Brian
Goldstone as they discuss his new book, “There Is No Place for Us: Working
and Homeless in America,” illuminating the rise of the “working homeless”
through the stories of five families in Atlanta.
[10]Learn More & Register

Rising Generations

Rising Generations Summit

June 7, 2025

Washington, DC

On June 7, the Aspen Institute’s Center for Rising Generations is bringing
together 100+ young changemakers from across the country for a high-impact,
solutions-driven experience to connect, collaborate, and build the skills
needed to turn their ideas into real change. Young people aged 14 to 18 who
are ready to lead are encouraged to apply by April 18 and join the Rising
Generations movement!
[11]Learn More & Apply

In Focus: Igniting Leadership

[12]

Arica Gonzalez founded [13]The Urban Oasis in West Baltimore, transforming
a once vacant lot in her neighborhood into a social and cultural hub
“forged by the strength of community.” Gonzalez also works with [14]Weave:
The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute, helping inspire others to
weave a new, more inclusive social fabric where they live.

In the latest episode of In Session, Gonzalez shares lessons learned on
what it means to lead in community and learn from the people you are
leading.

Leadership is at the heart of our collective future. We’re exploring the
many dimensions of effective leaders and leadership through our In Focus
Series on “[15]Igniting Leadership."

[16]

Around the Institute

Leadership

Meet the 2025 Healthy Communities Fellows

[17]

The [18]Aspen Global Innovators Group is proud to announce the latest class
of the Healthy Communities Fellowship. In its seventh year, the fellowship
is dedicated to investing in community-based leaders driving solutions for
healthy, thriving communities across the United States. [19]Learn more
about the latest class of Fellows.

Rising Generations

A Strong Vision for Native Youth

[20]

The [21]Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) at the Aspen Institute has
welcomed [22]Tracy L. Canard Goodluck as Executive Director. Tracy (Oneida
Nation of Wisconsin, Mvskoke Creek) comes to the organization with an
extraordinary record of leadership and a strong vision for expansive and
impactful contributions to Native youth.

Leadership

Understanding the Power of System Catalysts

[23]

Lasting change doesn’t come from a single solution—it emerges when system
catalysts connect people, resources, and ideas to reimagine entire systems.
[24]Learn more in this new collaborative essay from the [25]Aspen Global
Leadership Network's Anan Kittana and Systems Catalysts Podcast Host,
English Sall.

Leadership

Tackling the World's Most Intractable Problems

[26]

Meet the [27]2025 Class of Henry Crown Fellows, proven entrepreneurial
leaders, mostly from the private business sector, who have reached a point
in their lives where—having achieved success—they are ready to apply their
creative talents and skill sets to building a better society.

In the News

Economic Opportunity

American Banker covered [28]Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr's remarks
calling for greater disclosure requirements on lending products for small
businesses at a recent event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic
Opportunities Program.

Rising Generations

At the annual Project Play Summit in Berkeley, CA, the Luka Doncic
Foundation and the Aspen Institute [29]announced a partnership to help
drive structural change in youth basketball.

Arts & Culture

[30]People revealed the star-studded lineup for Aspen Words' inaugural
Aspen Literary Festival, taking place in Colorado this fall. The lineup so
far includes Elin Hilderbrand (The Perfect Couple), Leigh Bardugo (Shadow
and Bone), Kevin Kwan (Crazy Rich Asians), and more.

Climate & Energy

This Is Planet Ed, an initiative of the Aspen Institute Energy and
Environment Program, partnered with The Nature Conservancy and youth
leaders to produce a [31]Youth Climate Action Toolkit, providing students
with the strategies and resources to advance local climate action, [32]Big
Deal Media reported.

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