SUMMER 2015

THE ART
OF WAR
WHY DO
VETERANS 
MAKE GREAT
ARTISTS?

THE
MIDDLE
EAST
IS OPEN FOR
BUSINESS

AFTER
FERGUSON
ASPEN STARTS
THE DIALOGUE

GIRLS

ASPEN FELLOWS
LEAD IN CENTRAL
AMERICA

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Artist Yoni Alter

An increasingly global real estate market demands a brokerage that reaches

beyond borders. Thats why Aspens own Joshua & Co. has joined the powerful
Douglas Elliman real estate network. Douglas Ellimans leadership and brand
alliance with Knight Frank Residential gives you access and exposure to all
of the major luxury real estate markets around the world.

2015. DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE.

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

CONTENTS

F E AT U R E S
54 | SEIZING HOPE
Most people see the Middle East as hopelessly insecure. But
most people havent met the Middle Eastern entrepreneurs
on the vanguard of high-impact tech. Middle East Programs
Toni Verstandig and Peter Walker Kaplan describe what
happens when ten of the Middle Easts most exciting business
leaders go to Silicon Valleyand what it means for the region.
60 | ART IN THE TIME OF WAR
Its easy to think of military veterans as rigorously trained,
hardworking, and disciplined. And its easy to see art as a
lawless, free-wheeling process. But when veterans combine their
serious sense of purpose with the fine arts, what they produce
is extraordinary. Sacha Zimmerman looks at how some
Institute friends and veterans have used art to heal, to go to
extremes, and to make some sense of the meaning of war.

54

66 | GETTING RadiCALI
Central American girls often have few opportunities in life
and fewer role models. Thats why the women of the Central
America Leadership Initiative stepped up and built a regional
mentoring program from scratch. The Aspen Global Leadership
Networks Caitlin Colegrove shows why the next generation
of Central American leaders are young women.

THE JOURNAL OF IDEAS

72 | THE MORAL IMPERATIVES TO FOOD SECURITY
The scale of global food insecurity is unprecedented. So is the
number of hungry peopleand population growth is exploding.
How do we feed the world? Madeleine Albright, Tom
Daschle, and Dan Glickman explain what needs to
happen now.

60

78 | BRINGING HEALTH CARE

TO TRIBES THAT NEED IT
After years of poor dental care, if any, Native youth took matters
into their own handsonly to find unexpected resistance. The
Center for Native American Youths Erin Bailey explains why
an innovative new program to provide oral health to remote
areas, pioneered by Alaska Tribal Nation leaders, is so opposed by
dental trade associations.
84 | REBUILDING LIVES, REDUCING COSTS
A new financial model for employment versus incarceration
has investors betting that prison reform will work. ImpactAlphas
David Bank and Jessica Pothering demonstrate how
investing in social services can be good
for convicts, good for society, and good
for taxpayers.

66

SUMMER 2015

THE ART
OF WAR

ON THE COVER

WHY DO
VETERANS
MAKE GREAT
ARTISTS?

THE
MIDDLE
EAST
IS OPEN FOR
BUSINESS

Yassine El Mansouri photographed Timothy

Donley, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan,
as he performed for the Institutes Arts
Summit in May.

AFTER
FERGUSON
ASPEN STARTS
THE DIALOGUE

GIRLS

ASPEN FELLOWS
LEAD IN CENTRAL
AMERICA

Summer2015 Cover-final.indd 1

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

72
5/26/15 10:28 AM

84

Steps away from the

Aspen Institutecall
for a private showing

Jim & Anita Bineau

Broker Associates

The Sanctuary at Hallam Lake

830 Roaring Fork Road, Aspen

Privacy and convenience define this tastefully refined home overlooking the Hallam Lake Nature Preserve. Located on Roaring Fork Road, in Aspens
exclusive West End neighborhood, this six-bedroom home is just steps from the Music Tent and Aspen Institute, and minutes from the gondola and
downtown Aspen. Outside, cascading manicured gardens and decks, a glass and stone belvedere, and meandering pathways provide for a private and
relaxing outdoor living environment with unencumbered views of Hallam Lake, Smuggler Mountain, Independence Pass and Aspen Mountain. Inside,
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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

CONTENTS
10

14

38

30

104

98

DEPARTMENTS
10 | W H AT I S T H E I N ST I T U T E ?
14 | A R O U N D T H E I N ST I T U T E

The Institute heads to San Francisco; the surgeon

general hails Project Play; the Congressional Program
visits the Panama Canal; the Justice and Society Program
talks art crime; Alfre Woodard teaches kids to emote;
and much more.
30 | L E A D I N G VO I C E S

NPRs Michel Martin discusses law enforcement,

Ferguson, and race with police officers and a youth
activist in St. Louis; LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner talks
economic opportunity for the whole world; and
Harvards Robert Putnam makes the case for investing in
other peoples children.

New Voices Fellows take on child malnourishment in

Africa; writer Alexandra Oliva explains how Aspen
Words made her first novel possible; the Global Health
and Development program partners with artisan women
in Kandahar; and the Education and Society Program
empowers teachers across America.

THE ASPEN IDEA

Bill Clinton visits Aspen Institute Mxico; the Ananta

Aspen Centre reviews President Obamas recent visit to
India; the Aspen Romania Leadership Awards and Gala
Dinner celebrates young leaders; and much more.
122 | O U R S U P P O R T E R S

Jim and Mary Anne Rogers launch a new fellowship; Laurie

M. Tisch and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund create
Institute scholarships; Merilee and Roy Bostock and Ilona
Nemeth and Alan Quasha bring the Society of Fellows to
New York; the Ricardo Salinas Foundation and Woody
Hunt and the Hunt Family Foundation make Latino voices
an Institute priority; and more.
10 4 | FAC TS

Get to know the Institutes programs.

38 | I M PAC T

98 | I N T E R N AT I O N A L PA R T N E R S

SUMMER 2015

127 | CO N N E C T W I T H U S

Contact our program directors; get in touch

on social media.
128 | T H E L A ST WO R D

For Aspen Global Leadership Fellow Christopher Michel,

art and adventure are all in a days work.

 John Dolan

How Will You

Shape the
Future?

M A J A D U B R U L
JEWELRY
THE ASPEN IDEA

325 East Hopkins, Aspen | www.majadubrul.com

SUMMER 2015

CONTENTS

THE INSTITUTES DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS

Beyond the pages of The Aspen Idea magazine, the Institute features news, blogs, video,
audio, and social-media content every day. Here is a sample of what you can find online.
PINTEREST

THE ASPEN

Check out our photos and pin

favorites to your board! Moments
captured include onstage
conversations with noteworthy
speakers, backstage moments at
the Aspen Ideas Festival, and
shots from the Institute archives.

IDEABLOG

3 Significant Results From

Obamas Visit to India Obamas

INSTAGRAM
A look behind the curtainfrom
office happenings to prepping
the stage for a big eventon our
Instagram account.

FACEBOOK
As a nation, there is so much that we
could be doing to improve the eating
habits of America, especially with how
we are feeding our youth. chef and
restauranteur Jos Andrs on why
healthy food is so important, at the
Aspen Challenge in Washington, DC.

WHAT'S ON
TWITTER?
@ASPENINSTITUTE
All the barriers that used to keep
us apart now look a lot more like
nets than walls.
@billclinton at @AspenMexico
@ASPENINSTITUTE
The cost of food waste?
About $1 trillion.

recent visit to India highlighted

three opportunities for the two
nations: combating climate change,
implementing a nuclear agreement,
and strengthening trade.
aspeninstitute.org/obamainindia

Why Make Room in Sports

for Kids with Developmental
Disabilities Every kid deserves to
feel like they belong somewhere. Sports
are uniquely capable of providing that
feeling for kids regardless of their
challenges. aspeninstitute.org/blog/
sports-inclusion

THE ASPEN JOURNAL OF IDEAS

America, Torture, and our Foreign Policy
In the aftermath of the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee
torture report, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius and New York Times
Washington correspondent David Sangerdiscuss its shortcomings and how it
will affect US foreign policy. aspen.us/journal/tortureandmerica

Neuroscience and Mindfulness with Goldie Hawn

At a Murdock Mind, Body, Spirit Series event, Goldie Hawn speaks about her
groundbreaking MindUP program, the result of ten years of collaboration with
neuroscientists, educators, psychologists, and experts in the field of mindfulawareness training. youtube.com/mindfulgoldie

The Future of the World Bank with Jim Yong Kim

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on the The Banks Agenda:
Transforming Development. youtube.com/jimyongkim

Public-Health Grand Rounds with Tom Frieden

Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lectures
on Ebola and Beyond: Protecting Americans and the World from Disease Threats.
youtube.com/roundswithfrieden

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Integrity, Commitment, Success.

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Walter Isaacson
President and Chief Executive Officer

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Corby Kummer

MANAGING EDITOR Eric Christensen

Elliot F. Gerson
Executive Vice President,
Policy and Public Programs; International Partners
Amy Margerum Berg
Executive Vice President,
Development and Operations; Corporate Secretary
Peter Reiling
Executive Vice President,
Leadership and Seminar Programs;
Executive Director, Henry Crown Fellowship Program

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Sacha Zimmerman

EDITOR EMERITUS Jamie Miller
PUBLISHER Jennifer Myers
SENIOR EDITORS Jean Morra, Tarek Rizk
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Caitlin Colegrove
ASSISTANT EDITORS Mary Cappabianca, Keosha Varela
DESIGN DIRECTOR Katie Kissane

Cindy Buniski
Vice President,
Administration; Executive Director, Aspen Wye Campus

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Paul Viola

ART DIRECTOR Lorie D'Alessio

Dolores Gorgone
Vice President,
Finance and Information Technology; Chief Financial Officer
James M. Spiegelman
Vice President,
Chief External Affairs Officer; Deputy to the President

CONTACT EDITORIAL aspen.idea@aspeninstitute.org

ADVERTISING Cynthia Cameron, 970.544.3453,
adsales@aspeninstitute.org
GENERAL The Aspen Institute,
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036
202.736.5800, www.aspeninstitute.org

BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIRMAN: Robert K. Steel

BOARD OF TRUSTEES VICE CHAIRMAN: James S. Crown
BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Madeleine K. Albright, Paul F. Anderson, Mercedes T. Bass, Miguel Bezos, Richard S. Braddock, Beth A. Brooke-Marciniak,
William D. Budinger, Stephen L. Carter, Cesar Conde, Katie Couric, Andrea Cunningham, Kenneth L. Davis, John Doerr, Thelma Duggin, Michael D.
Eisner, L. Brooks Entwistle, Alan Fletcher, Corinne Flick, Henrietta Holsman Fore, Ann B. Friedman, Juan Ramn de la Fuente, Henry Louis Gates Jr.,
Mircea Geoana, David Gergen, Gerald Greenwald, Patrick W. Gross, Arjun Gupta, Jane Harman, Hayne Hipp, Mark Hoplamazian, Gerald D. Hosier,
Ann Frasher Hudson, Robert J. Hurst, Salman Khan, Teisuke Kitayama, Michael Klein, David H. Koch, Laura Lauder, Yo-Yo Ma, Frederic V. Malek,
James M. Manyika, William E. Mayer*, Bonnie Palmer McCloskey, David McCormick, Anne Welsh McNulty, Diane Morris, Karlheinz Muhr, Clare Muana,
Jerry Murdock, Marc Nathanson, William A. Nitze, Her Majesty Queen Noor, Jacqueline Novogratz, Olara A. Otunnu, Elaine Pagels, Margot L. Pritzker,
Peter A. Reiling, Lynda Resnick, Condoleezza Rice, James Rogers, Ricardo Salinas, Isaac O. Shongwe, Anna Deavere Smith, Michelle Smith,
Javier Solana, Shashi Tharoor**, Laurie Tisch, Giulio Tremonti, Roderick K. von Lipsey, Vin Weber, Michael Zantovsky
*Chairman Emeritus **On Leave of Absence

LIFETIME TRUSTEES CO-CHAIRMEN: Berl Bernhard*, James C. Calaway

LIFETIME TRUSTEES: Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Keith Berwick, John Brademas, Melva Bucksbaum, William T. Coleman, Jr., Lester Crown,
William H. Donaldson, Sylvia A. Earle, James L. Ferguson, Richard N. Gardner, Alma L. Gildenhorn, Jacqueline Grapin,
Irvine O. Hockaday Jr., Nina Rodale Houghton, Jrme Huret, William N. Joy, Henry A. Kissinger, Yotaro Kobayashi, Ann Korologos*,
Leonard A. Lauder*, Robert H. Malott, Olivier Mellerio, Eleanor Merrill, Elinor Bunin Munroe, Sandra Day OConnor, Hisashi Owada,
Thomas R. Pickering, Charles Powell, Jay Sandrich, Lloyd G. Schermer, Carlo Scognamiglio, Albert H. Small, Andrew L. Stern, Paul A. Volcker,
Leslie H. Wexner, Frederick B. Whittemore, Alice Young
*Chairman Emeritus
The Aspen Idea is published twice a year by the A spen Institute and distributed to Institute constituents, friends, and supporters.
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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Great

leaders strive
to create

better place to live.

A great realtor

does much the same.

Carrie Wells
VISION, INNOVATION, LONGEVITY.
Those are a few of the qualities of a
great resort. Likewise, a great Realtor.
Which probably explains why Carrie
Wells is consistently in the Top 10 in
the world for Coldwell Banker and
has been the leading Coldwell Banker
broker in Colorado for over seventeen
years. She has the dedication needed
to help you find your Aspen dream,
and the tenacity necessary to turn
that dream into a reality. If youre
interested in Aspen, give Carrie a call.
Shes dedicated to creating a space
where your spirit can flourish.

Carrie Wells

970.948.6750

Coldwell Banker Mason Morse Real Estate

514 East Hyman Avenue Aspen
carrie@carriewells.com
www.carriewells.com

Daniel Bayer

WHAT IS THE ASPEN INSTITUTE?

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization

headquartered in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on
enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical
issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River
on Marylands Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has
an international network of partners.
10

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

Missile Defense

Electronic Warfare

Cyber

C4ISR

Precision Weapons

MISSION:
A WORLD OF INNOVATION

FOR OVER 90 YEARS, RAYTHEON HAS ENABLED COUNTLESS

MISSIONS BY REMAINING COMMITTED TO A SINGLE ONE:
CUSTOMER SUCCESS. FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN
TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF SPACE, FROM REMOTE
BATTLEFIELDS TO THE VIRTUAL REALMS OF CYBERSPACE,
RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES ARE DEPLOYED IN MORE THAN
80 COUNTRIES TO DELIVER INNOVATION IN ALL DOMAINS.

Blue Marble image of Earth captured by Raytheons Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite.

Raytheon.com
Connect with us:

2015 Raytheon Company. All rights reserved.

Customer Success Is Our Mission is a registered trademark of Raytheon Company.

Training

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Inviting landscape with lush gardens, water features
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Close to schools, Aspen core, Aspen Institute and Music Festival
Marvelous views of two ski areas Aspen Highlands and Tiehack

Penney Evans Carruth

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970.379.9133 cell
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AROUND THE INSTITUTE

The Latino Edge Latinos are Americas largest minority group at 54

million people, or 17 percent of the population. By 2060, those numbers are expected to
more than double. That means Latinos are intrinsically linked to Americas future. Yet Latino
issues and representation lag in public discourseand in halls of power. This seismic shift is a
net positive: More and more, young people are needed to fill jobs and contribute to an aging
population. Thats why the Institutes Latinos and Society Program is dedicated to improving
Latinos educational and workforce opportunities. After all, by 2044, the United States will be a
majority minority country. aspeninstitute.org/latinos-society

Latino businesses surged to

3.22 million in 2014, a 43% growth 20.2%
since 2007, compared with 20.2% growth

20.4%

in the same period for all US businesses.

43%

All US Businesses
Latino Businesses

Latinos are
20.4% of all new
entrepreneurs.

Latinos are on track to account for

40% of US job growth by 2020.

5 states with the

fastest-growing
Latino populations?
Alabama
Tennessee
South Carolina
Kentucky
South Dakota

SE

IO

AT

NO

TI
A
L

TH

RI

L
PU

PO

64.8%
BORN IN THE US
64.8% of Latinos living in the
United States are native-born.

The $1.2 trillion Latino consumer market

in the United States is larger than the entire
economies of all but 13 countries in the world.
Sources: Geoscape; US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project; US Census;
University of Georgia, Selig Center, Multicultural Economic Study; The Wall Street Journal, February 2015.
THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

13

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

ART WILL CHANGE THE WORLD

Most people dont think of the arts as a solution to the critical
issues of the world. But politics and art are deeply entwined.
Thats something contemporary artist, activist, and onetime
political prisoner Ai Weiwei knows firsthand. Freedom of
speech is essential to creativity, Weiwei told the audience at
the Institutes new Arts Summit via video from Beijing. The first
annual Kennedy Center/Aspen Institute Arts Summit brought
together some of the nations brightest leaders in art, education, law, technology, music, and entertainment for a series of
candid discussions about how the arts can address societal
issues. Afghanistan veteran Timothy Donley, who sang for the
summit audience, found freedom in song after losing his legs
in war. The intimate connection of freedom and creativity is a
concept as old as the United States itself. The Founding Fathers viewed the arts as an essential part of ones DNA, David
Rubenstein, co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, told the crowd.
Directed by Arts Program Director Damian Woetzel and
Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, the summit
embraced that vital, intrinsic, even genetic feeling as well as
the mission of the Kennedy Center itself, which tries to fulfill
John F. Kennedys vision of the arts making a contribution
to the human spirit. To that end, the program examined race,
education, technology, and free speechenvisioning a road
forward for the arts in each discipline. Among other topics,
the two-day event featured a hypothetical debateshould a
city sell its art to pay its pensioners?that started a thoughtful argument among Ford Foundation President Darren
Walker, Bloomberg Associates Principal Kate Levin, House
of Cards show-runner Beau Willimon, and Harvard University Professor Michael Sandel. US Chief Technology Officer
Megan Smith made a case for eradicating silos of informa-

Sotomayor

THE FOUNDING
FATHERS VIEWED
THE ARTS AS AN
ESSENTIAL PART
OF ONES DNA.

Rubenstein

14

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Yassine El Mansouri

David Rubenstein

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
IS ESSENTIAL TO
CREATIVITY.

Ai Weiwei

Weiwei

Institute CEO Walter Isaacson and Smith

tion as well as the arbitrary lines we draw between fields of

study. The more we think of things as divided, the more we
limit whats possible, she said. US Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor agreed: Art is meant to challenge us to
think outside our norms. Sotomayor also noted that the law,
like art, is gray, not black-and-white.
Filmmaker Spike Lee addressed controversy in the arts:
Art is not a popularity contest, he said. In fact, there is great
power in being provocative, the author and art historian Sarah
Lewis agreed, asking, How many movements have begun
with one work of art? Provocation is certainly a topic close to
Ai Weiweis heart, as he tries to create social change through
artexactly what art is meant for, he thinks.
Alan Kay, the personal-computing luminary, perfectly captured the sentiment: The best way to predict the future is to
invent it. aspeninstitute.org/arts-summit

Kay

Lewis

Yassine El Mansouri

Lee

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

15

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

IDEAS
TO GO

COLLEGE WITHOUT WALLS

On April 15, the Institutes Franklin Project, the National Conference on Citizenship, and the
Corporation for National and Community Service hosted the Service Year + Higher Ed
Innovation Challenge. US Colleges and universities competed to create new educationaffiliated service-year positions. Higher education already has a long tradition of great
opportunitiesservice-learning, work-study, summers of service, gap years for service,
and morebut this new challenge, with grant support from the Lumina Foundation, aimed
to spark innovation and explore the best ideas for how a service year can link to learning,
translate into course credit, help students find their callingsand increase their likelihoods of
finishing college. Prizes were awarded in three categories: private university, public university,
and community college, with each winner receiving $30,000. The winners were Drake
University, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and Miami Dade College. Miami Dade
received an additional $10,000 for the audience choice award. sychallenge.org

Climary Sanchez performs her poetry

at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen.

16

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

YOUR VOICE MATTERS

For the third year, Aspen Words brought acclaimed bilingual teaching artistsMyrlin
Hepworth, Logan Phillips, and Mercedez Holtryfrom Arizona and New Mexico to Colorado
to work with Roaring Fork Valley middle and high school students. The trio visited 16 schools,
reaching more than 3,000 young people. Students shared personal stories through spokenword poetry and learned to respect each others voices. Hepworth began one exercise by
declaring: What you have to say is important. He recalled a girl from a previous workshop
who wrote a poem about her fathers death that moved an entire classroom to tearsevery
single ounce of her spirit vibrated through her voice. Hepworth added, What happened in
that moment as that little girl read her poem is she brought us into her world. It humanized
her. And another girl who was there, whose father is absent, needed to hear that she wasnt
alone in that absence. Your voice matters. As Hepworth spoke, a hush fell over the room.
When he finished, 30 students picked up their pencils and went to work on their own poems.
aspenwords.org

Dan Bayer

Want to hear civil-rights

pioneer John Lewis describe
the 1965 march in Selma?
How about astrophysicist
Janna Levin on the Big
Bang? Or maybe youd like
to soul-search with Wilds
Cheryl Strayed on a hike?
Theyre all in one place: Aspen
Ideas To Gothe Institutes
first podcast. Launched in
February with a grant from
the Innovation Fund, Aspen
Ideas To Go airs weekly and
features dynamic experts
sharing their knowledge
on, well, everythingfrom
nanotechnology to the outer
reaches of the universe.
Whether youre into arts,
politics, business, science,
technology, or health, Aspen
Ideas To Go has you covered.
Subscribers can listen to
talks from Institute events
like the Aspen Ideas Festival,
the Alma and Joseph
Gildenhorn Book Series, and
Aspen Wordsanywhere,
anytime. So if you cant
come to Aspen, let Aspen
come to youyoure only
a smartphone, tablet, or
computer away. Find Aspen
Ideas To Go on iTunes.
as.pn/togo

CORE STRENGTH
In November, the Institutes Education and Society Program
launched CoreReadySchools.org, a web-based tool designed to
help schools strengthen implementation of the Common Core
State Standards or the college- and career-ready standards in
their state. Core Ready Schools enables teachers and principals
to assess, plan, and measure improvement efforts over multiple
years. This tool assists schools as they make strategic decisions
about professional learning and instructional improvement
and provides links to curated resources designed to accelerate
implementation efforts. The response from education watchers
has been tremendous. Core Ready Schools is currently being
used across the Hillsborough County Public Schools and Los
Angeles Unified School District (approximately 1,350 schools
combined across both regions). According to Lynn DoughertyUnderwood, Hillsboroughs director of literacy, Core Ready
Schools is providing our teachers and school principals with a
method to identify school-wide gaps [and] make immediate
decisions to address the gaps. Plans are under way to embed
Core Ready Schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Newark
Public Schools, and Long Beach Unified School District.
aspeninstitute.org/education

Core Ready Schools is providing our teachers and school

principals with a method to identify school-wide gaps
[and] make immediate decisions to address the gaps.

Liz Daly

TWO NEW ASPEN SERIES HEAD WEST

Nobody is born smart. We all start at zero. Thats a motto

Khan Academy founder and Institute Trustee Salman Khan
promotes when talking about education and technology.
Khan spoke at the new Morris Series in San Franciscothe
ideal high-tech, innovative city for the Institutes programming
and expanding community. In fact, San Francisco has inspired
two new events series: the Morris Series and the Society
of Fellows Discussion Receptions. The Morris Series hosts
conversations about innovation, technology, and leadership,
and is made possible with the support of Institute Trustee
Diane L. Morris. In addition to Khan, the series has featured
IDEO founder David Kelley on human-centered design,
Stanford University Chief Scientist Andrew Ng on artificial
intelligence, and a panel on Middle Eastern entrepreneurship
with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and
Silicon Badias Emile Cubeisy. The Society of Fellows
Khan with Institute Trustee John Doerr
Discussion Receptions are intimate gatherings held across
the Bay area and featuring prominent experts in private homes. Underwritten by Bonnie and Tom McCloskey and by Devon
and Michael Karpowicz, the receptions have to date hosted filmmaker Ken Burns on the American character and Stanfords
Tom Byers on high-growth innovation. As the Institute continues to expand in the San Francisco Bay Area, join the Society of
Fellows for access to premier leaders, experts, and Institute events, both in San Francisco and across the country.
aspeninstitute.org/society-fellows

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

17

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

For the first time, the Institutes Socrates Program worked

in cooperation with the Aspen Ukraine Initiative to bring
a seminar to Kiev, Ukraine, for 21 emerging leaders from
seven countries. Leigh Hafrey moderated Heroes and
Villains: Leading Business, Politics, and Civil Society in the
21st Century on the topic of leadership across business,
government, and civil society. Meeting in April in the
Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, the group used the backdrop
of Kiev, with its centuries-old history and vibrant culture, as a
launching point for rich discussions of the many challenges
of leadership and the complex governance challenges
faced in Ukraine today. One participant summarized his
experience: Set against the crisis in Ukraine, this was the
perfect setting to debate, explore, and sharpen our values,
and to realize that we ourselves are responsible for a better
future. aspeninstitute.org/socrates

Ukraine Socrates participants

Olena Bozhko

SOCRATES COMES TO KIEV

In partnership with the Georgetown University McDonough

School of Business, the Institutes Ascend program
conducted a survey of active and emerging players in US
impact investing. Ascend works to move children and their
parents to educational success and economic security;
as such, the group focused its survey on investments in
education, economic assets, and healththree of the most
powerful levers for breaking the cycle of poverty. Survey
respondents include foundations, boutique investment funds,
private financial institutions, private wealth managers, and
institutional consultants. See story on page 84.
ascend.aspeninstitute.org

CONGRESS ON THE CANAL

The Institutes Congressional Program hosted its 123rd
conference for members of Congress this year in Panama
City. A bipartisan delegation learned from luminaries such as
former World Bank President Bob Zoellick and Nobel Prize
nominee Claudia Paz y Paz, among others. The delegation
toured the new locks under construction at the Panama
Canal, as well as the century-old operating locks. When the
new locks open next year, the capacity of the canal will more
than doublewith significant implications for US business
and ports. Given the US governments role in dredging
ports to accommodate the larger ships that will start
traversing the canal, the visit demonstrated the importance
of understanding how international and domestic policy
merge. The group also tackled drug policy, immigration, and
democratic governance. aspeninstitute.org/congressional
Above: Republican Representative Gregg Harper of Mississippi,
Democratic Representative John Garamendi of California, and
Republican Representative Andy Harris of Maryland in front of a
container ship passing through the Miraflores lock of the Panama Canal.

18

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

AMONG IMPACT INVESTORS SURVEYED:

they have committed
$2.85 Together
$2.85 billion in impact investment
billion capital in the United States.

80%

have
portfolios
that meet
or exceed
established
financial
metrics.

69%
90%

meet or exceed
social metrics.

invest in areas
that support
low-income
families and
those most
in need.

Doug Farrar

INVEST FOR THE BEST

Christopher Duggan

HISTORY OF A PLAGUE
The first volume of Pulitzer Prizewinner Larry Kramers magnum opus on the US history of
AIDS, The American People, was published in April. Decades in the making, the release was
followed in June by an HBO documentary about Kramers life and work. Kramer joined Arts
Program Director Damian Woetzel at Roosevelt House this spring to discuss his writing
from the novel that made him notorious, Faggots, to his most famous work, The Normal
Heart. A celebrated public-health and gay-rights advocate, Kramer co-founded the Gay Mens
Health Crisis in 1982 and ACT UP in 1987. With public demonstrations and the indelible slogan
Silence=Death, ACT UP protested the FDAs plodding steps in bringing AZT to market and is
credited with motivating the agency to get the drug out faster. Kramers contributions to gay
rights and American letters are matched only by his reputation for irascibility. But as Kramer
said to Woetzel, Dont pay attention to what people say about you, whether its good or bad.
It just gets in the way of the work. aspeninstitute.org/arts

Kramer

SPIRIT OF THE LAW

guided participants through an exploration of the challenges of
religious inclusion in an era of fear. This year, says JSP Executive
Director Meryl Chertoff, Justice Circle members will hear from
judges, prosecutors, and civil rights advocates at the front
lines of legal change. The programming is thought-provoking,
and I feel good that my dollars help bring Aspen scholarship
participants to JSPs summer seminar, Duncan says.
To learn more or join the Justice Circle, contact Kris Robinson
at 202-701-3252 or kristin.robinson@aspeninstitute.org.
aspeninstitute.org/justice

Michael Green

The new Justice Circle, co-chaired by attorneys Steve Susman

and Tristan Duncan, launched last year with events in New
York, Los Angeles, Washington, and Chicago. At the New
York headquarters of Christies, Justice Circle supporters and
friends of the Justice and Society Program listened as New
York Times reporter Patricia Cohen quizzed experts on the
restitution of artworks looted by the Nazis. Illustrating her
presentation: a work by Egon Schiele about to be auctioned
after novel mediation efforts by the gallery. In a Chicago
restaurant, political philosopher and author Martha Nussbaum

International Director of
Restitution at Christies
Monica Dugot with an
original Egon Schiele

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

19

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

Is it better to be feared or loved? This enduring questionfirst posed

by Niccol Machiavelli in the 16th centurylaunched the Henry Crown
Fellowship Programs first worldwide Jeffersonian dinner. Inspired by the
salons held at Thomas Jeffersons Monticello, the dinners bring leaders
together to debate issues of the day in an intimate setting. The February
event united more than 150 program fellows, mentors, and moderators at
18 dinners, across 13 cities, spanning two continents. Starting in London
and concluding in Los Angeles, the dinner used social media to propel the
conversation westward and weave participants together across time zones.
Fellows from across classes collided in new ways, and the question stirred
vigorous debate. Some argued, Fear is the only stimulus that works, while
others maintained, My anchor is being loved. Either way, the evening
connected Henry Crown leaders with the ideas and spirit of the Fellowship
itself. These dinners will become a biannual Fellowship event, with the next
one planned for this fall under the rebranded name the Henry Crown Food
for Thought Dinner Series. aspeninstitute.org/crown

Jeffersonian dinner participants Shane Tedjarati, Tamsin

Smith, Skip Battle, Emily Scott Pottruck, and David Mills
at the home of Anne Devereux-Mills and her husband,
David, in San Francisco

Christopher Michel

DINNER WITH MACHIAVELLI

The Mount Sinai tent at the Aspen

Ideas Festivals Spotlight Health

The Institutes Aspen Global Leadership Network is launching its newest fellowship program,
the Health Innovators Fellowship, focused on leaders in US health care. The programa
partnership with the Greenville Health System, South Carolinas largest not-for-profit health
care system and an advocate for healthy-living initiativeswill be led by Rima Cohen, former
director of health and social services for New York Citys Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former
health-policy counselor to the US Health and Human Services secretary. The fellowships goal
is to strengthen health care innovators leadership and connect, inspire, and challenge them
to develop creative approaches to improve Americans health and well-being. Fellows will
represent a range of professionsincluding health care practitioners, policymakers, device
manufacturers, insurers, tech entrepreneurs, and nonprofits. The Greenville Health System has
pledged an extraordinary $4.3 million to underwrite the first three classes of 20 Fellows each.
The first class starts in November. aspeninstitute.org/hif

Dan Bayer

HEALTH OF A NATION

20

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Rademacher

Courtesy Ida Rademacher

PUT MONEY ON HER

Lower-income households can and will save if given the right
opportunities, consumer-finance expert Ida Rademacher
told American Public Medias Marketplace last September.
Just a few months later, in January, the Institutes Initiative on
Financial Security appointed Rademacher as its new executive
director. Rademacherformerly of the Corporation for
Enterprise Developmentwill lead the initiative as it explores
the most critical financial challenges facing households across
the country as well as the ways that financial insecurity and
wealth inequality can undermine efforts to build a resilient
US economy. In classic Institute tradition, the program will
use high-level dialogue and public events to move beyond
diagnosis and put financial security at the national forefront.
A rapidly evolving financial system requires public policies
that can improve the financial security and well-being of all
Americans. The programs new strategy will be announced at
the fourth annual Financial Security Summit in Aspen this July.
aspeninstitute.org/financial-security

Laurence Genon

Murthy

Indi Cowie kicking it in the capital.

A SPORTING CHANCE
By Tom Farrey

For too long, sport has existed largely as a subset of the

entertainment industry. We all love a good game. We
marvel at moments of brilliance by great athletesthose
vivid, physical, occasionally breathtaking expressions of the
capacity of the human spirit. But the fostering of individual
and public health has not been a chief priority of the sport
system, from the elite to grassroots levels. Huge investments
have been made in community recreation, and every parent
wants sport to promote positive health outcomes in their
child, but the sport system is largely organized around
the principle of identifying the next generation of athleteentertainers. Today, only four out of ten kids ages six to 12
play team sports on a regular basis.
The health sector, meanwhile, has largely stayed on the
sidelines. Many leading nations have a sports ministry or
similar body to encourage sport development for the sake
of public health. Not the United States: the closest thing we
have is the US Olympic Committee, which in 1978 was given
an unfunded mandate to coordinate amateur sports activity.
Researchers will tell you the best way to kill your grant
application with the National Institutes of Health is to include
the word sports in your proposal. Thats starting to change
with the concerns around concussion, but sport activity still
can be seen as frivolous.
At the Project Play Summit in Washington, the
culmination of two years of work by the Institutes Sports and
Society program, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy connected
the dotstying access to sport to the health of the nation.
Sports can be seen as a privilege, or a luxury, Murthy said
in his keynote. But for me and for many children who grow
up in America, sports isnt just that. Its a necessity. It can be

a key to better health. It can [provide] a foundation that can

lead to better scholastic achievement and more success later
in life. No surgeon general has ever spoken so directlyor
personallyabout the role of youth sports in promoting
health.
The 350 leaders who came to the summitone of the
largest one-day events in the Institutes historyexplored
Sports and Societys 48-page report, Sport for All, Play for
Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game, which offers
eight strategies for the eight sectors that touch the lives of
children. Murthy called the report a very powerful roadmap
to get all children in all communities active through sports.
Over the next year, the Sports and Society Program will
present Project Play at national gatherings of key groups
that can catalyze systems change.
But many groups arent waiting for us to show up. In
fact, between the surgeon generals talk and the end of the
Summit, 17 organizations announced new commitments
to action that were specific, meaningful, and coordinated
with the strategies in the report. Those organizations
included Major League Baseball, the NCAA, US Lacrosse,
the US Tennis Association, Nike, the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, Whistle Sports, the Laureus Sport for Good
Foundation, the software firm LeagueApps, and the Joint
Commission on Sports Medicine & Science.
The Project Play Summit was the day that sport and
health leaders found a common sun to orbit.
Tom Farrey is executive director of the Institutes
Sports and Society Program. He can be reached at
tom.farrey@aspeninstitute.org or followed @TomFarrey.

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

21

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

Much of what we know

about the human existence
has really been what artists
have left for us to rummage
through, says Harry
Belafonte. Few artists have
had as significant an impact
on both culture and politics
as the singer, actor, and
activist. The Grammy, Emmy,
and Tony Awardwinner
was the featured guest at
the inaugural public event
for the Arts Programs new
initiative, Race, Arts, and
America. From introducing
America to calypso music to
conceiving of We Are the
World, Belafonte has long
been a force in the music
industry. But he is also known
for his tireless efforts during
the civil rights era and his
close association with Martin
Luther King, Jr. Belafonte
joined the Institutes Arts
Program at Lincoln Center
for a conversation about
the power of the arts to
influence race, human rights,
diplomacy, and politics. I
take advantage of these
forums, he said, just in case
theres something someone
needed to hear and I was
the embodiment of that
information.
aspeninstitute.org/arts

22

THE ASPEN IDEA

Dan Bayer

BEING
BELAFONTE

TAKING YOUTH ISSUES TO THE WHITE HOUSE

The Aspen Forum for
Community Solutions
Monique Miles was invited to
the White House in February
to moderate a panel at
the My Brothers Keeper
Community Challenge
National Convening, an
effort President Obama
launched to ensure that all
youth, including boys and
Miles (far left) with the My Brothers Keeper panel at the White House
young men of color, have
opportunities to improve their life outcomes and overcome barriers to success. Thats also
why the Aspen Forum started the Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund: to improve opportunities
for the millions of young people who are out of school and out of work. Youth voices are vital,
and the fund focuses on creating education and career options with an emphasis on youth
perspectives to disrupt cycles of poverty. The White House discussions featured reflections on
personal development, Native American students cultural identity, and community-organizing
strategies that rebuild relationships between boys and men of color and law enforcement.
aspencommunitysolutions.org

SUMMER 2015

Michael Smith

Belafonte

There are a lot of things I dont comprehend until Ive written something about them, Jess
Walter, best-selling author of Beautiful Ruins, said at the launch of the Aspen Words 2015 Winter
Words series, which brought five acclaimed authors to Colorado to offer unique perspectives
on writing. Former US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prizewinner Natasha Trethewey read from
her latest book, Thrall, and said, [I am] a poet interested not only in the sounds of language and
in its beauty, but in its ability
to help us deal with our
Lewis
most difficult knowledge.
New Yorker staff writer
George Packer discussed
his journalism career and his
book The Unwinding, which
won the 2013 National Book
Award: When I wrote The
Unwinding, it was out of a
sense of anger and a real
sense of affection for my
country. Best-seller Michael
Lewis (Flash Boys, The Blind
Side, Moneyball) described
his all-too-human subjects:
Theyre all disruptive.
Theyre all in some argument
with the world around them.
Finally, in April, Ruth Ozeki
talked about her latest novel,
A Tale for the Time Being.
The book is very much
about the physicality of
books, the enduring nature
of matter. aspenwords.org

Erin Baiano

LANGUAGE ARTS

THE MERIDIAN TRIO AT WYE

The Aspen Wye Fellows hosted a spring concert at
the Institutes Wye River campus in Maryland, bringing
together three elite, talented young musicians from Russia
and South Africa. Margarita Loukachkina on piano, Nikita
Borisevich on violin, and Jacques-Pierre Malan on cello
delighted the audience with performances of Beethovens
Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70 #2 (Ghost) and Brahmss
Piano Trio in C major, Op. 87. Currently studying at
Baltimores Peabody Conservatory of Music, the musicians
were selected to be members of an honors ensemble,
the Meridian Trio. They have received awards around the

Courtesy the Meridian Trio

world and played on renowned stagesWashingtons

Kennedy Center, Johannesburgs Linder Auditorium, and
the Moscow Conservatorys Great Hall. We were delighted
to bring these three outstanding international musicians
to the Wye River campus, Philip J. Webster, Aspen Wye
Fellows founder and chairman, said. Music has been
The Meridian Trio

an important part of Wye Fellows since we began the

program. aspeninstitute.org/aspenwyefellows

ART STRUCK

Dan Bayer

In January, the Institutes Arts Program hosted its latest

ArtStrike in Washington, featuring Lil Buck and Alfre
Woodard, the 2014 Harman-Eisner artists in residence.
Created by Damian Woetzel and Yo-Yo Ma, ArtStrike
lets top artists step off the stages in the communities
they pass through and produce arts-education events. At
this ArtStrike, Lil Buck worked with dancers, melding the
1920s styles the kids were learning in their classes with

his own brand of dance; Woodard visited a poetry class,

teaching students how to perform their work in front
of an audience; and Woetzel directed overall, paying
special attention to involving the schools teachers, in
order to ensure that the days lessons would live on.
Next, the students staged performances at an assembly,
using the material and lessons theyd been shown. The
principal said a week later everyone was so inspired
by the artists that they couldnt stop talking about it.
And thats the point: to create a memorable effect on
students and teachers. The ArtStrike event was part of
the Arts Programs strategy group on arts education, an
idea sparked by Harman Family Foundation Executive
Director Barbara Harman. At the strategy meeting,
leaders from local public schools, charter schools,
the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kennedy
Center, and others gathered to analyze and address the
challenges to high school arts education.
aspeninstitute.org/arts

Woodard

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

23

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

Michael Brands

LATINOS RISING
Why a Latinos program at the
Institute? Latinos are driving
population growth and the
economy in the United States..
The average age of a Latino
living in the United States is
27 compared with 41 for white
Americans, and Latinos will
account for 40 percent of US
job growth over the next five
years (see The Latino Edge on
page 13). Yet an understanding
of this community is lacking
in important decision-making
circles. Thats why the new
Latinos and Society Program
infuses the work of the Institute
with Latino voices and faces,
thanks to a generous gift from
the Ricardo Salinas Scholarship
Fund focusing on education,
economic opportunity, and civic
participation. The program plans
to develop a new generation of
Latino leaders. The programs
inaugural summit, Americas
Future, held in May, featured
a keynote address by US
Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development Julian Castro,
as well as a conversation with
CEO and Chairman of Graham
Holdings Company Donald
Graham and Assistant to the
President and Director of
the Domestic Policy Council
Cecilia Muoz. The summit also
included panels with Latino
business leaders, entrepreneurs,
and Fellows from the Aspen
Global Leadership Network.
aspeninstitute.org/
latinos-society

Jennifer Bradley, founding director of the Center for Urban Innovation, talks with Air BNB CEO Brian Chesky
about how the sharing economy affects city life.

BRIGHT IDEAS, BIG CITY

A shuttle service with the convenience of
Uber and a bus-fare price tag. A program
that turns surplus food into meals for
the homeless and provides work for the
unemployed. A start-up that teaches lowincome youth to create websites for local
businesses. These are urban innovations
tools that improve city life, particularly for
underserved communities. While cities are
wellsprings of innovation, the benefits
more jobs, greater access to education or
transportation, a higher standard of living
dont always reach the entire metropolitan
region. Entrepreneurs may overlook lowincome areas or find it difficult to get needed
technical assistance or financing. After

all, innovation is inseparable from risk, and

institutions that support the underserved
like government and philanthropyhave
a low tolerance for failure. Thats why the
Institutes new Center for Urban Innovation
will focus on urban innovators who are
serving these neighborhoods. The center
will also launch the DC Urban Innovation
Lab, which will support city innovators
working on Washingtons challenges and
team them up with the Institutes wealth of
policy expertseducation, health, economic
development. The lab will also connect
innovation enthusiasts, creating an urbaninnovation ecosystem.
aspeninstitute.org/urban-innovation

Castro

24

THE ASPEN IDEA

America works best when every individual is invested in a positive vision for our collective
future. Those are the opening words to the Institutes Franklin Project pledge, which
encourages young Americans to serve the country for one year. Enlisting America: A Call
to National Service from Those Who Have Served advances the idea that there are many
ways to serve the United Stateswhether through military or civilian national service. Three
hundred retired flag and general officers as well as 60 retired sergeants major have already
signed the pledge. And, in February, Franklin Project Director Jay Mangone published Why
Every American Should Pledge One Year of Public Service in Task & Purpose to outline and
promote the projects vision. Originally unveiled by Lieutenant General (ret.) John D. Gardner
at the projects summit at Gettysburg, the Franklin Project re-released the pledge this winter
and publicized it for signatures from the entire military, veterans, and family community. You
can read the pledge here: franklinproject.org/pledge
SUMMER 2015

Laurence Genon

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE

DISCONNECT

HARVARD HONORS

DAMIAN WOETZEL

The digital revolution has transformed society. Kids can

access tutorials, mentors, and interactive courses online.
And adults depend on the Internet for job boards, financial
services, and health care. But in order to take advantage of
the revolution, Americans must be connected. The Institutes
Communications and Society Program tackles connectivity
in dialogues, task forces, and major reports, because access
to broadband, computers, and digital-literacy skills are 21stcentury requirements. One way to get more of us connected
is to reimagine public libraries, which have the DNA to thrive
in an information-rich world. But first, we have to dust off the
shelves and plug in. aspeninstitute.org/c&s

On April 30, the Institutes Arts Program Director

Damian Woetzel joined the ranks of past winners
Margaret Atwood, Mira Nair, Yo-Yo Ma, Jack Lemmon,
and John Updike as a recipient of the Harvard Arts
Medal. Established in 1995, the award acknowledges
alumnae who have both distinguished themselves in
the arts and contributed to education and the public
good through the arts. The ceremony, hosted by
Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, was followed
by a conversation between Woetzel and fellow
Harvard alumnus John Lithgow. Before the event,
Lithgow praised Woetzel, the first dancer to receive
the medal: Damian is recognized for his leadership
of programs and initiatives serving performing
artists and their audiences and his dedication to the
vitality of our national arts profile. A member of the
Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities,
Woetzel helped pilot its Turnaround Arts initiative,
which uses the arts to improve the countrys worstperforming schools. aspeninstitute.org/arts

80%

INADEQUATE
Nearly 80 percent of schools say
their broadband connections are
inadequate to meet their needs.

Who has broadband access at home?

74%
Black
Households

White
Households

53%

40%

Latino
Households

of US households making
below $30,000 have no
high-speed internet
at home.

Sources: The Communications and Society Programs reports Learner at the Center of
a Networked World and Rising to the Challenge: Re-Envisioning Public Libraries.

Jacob Belcher, copyright President and Fellows, Harvard University

64%

Woetzel accepts the Harvard Arts Medal.

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

25

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

TRAVELOGUE
Two new programs take the Institutes dynamic programming on the road.

The past year saw the launch of the Institutes newest traveling programs:
Aspen Across America, which ventures out into the nation; and Aspen
Around Town, which takes a deeper dive into life in Washington. Aspen
Across America promotes dialogue across the country with thoughtful
conversations on topics such as business, immigration, health reform,
education, the future of cities, and art in America. Public forums and
private gatherings bring together Institute friends, supporters, and
alumni with new groups interested in the Institutes workand bring
Institute content to a diverse audience across the nation. Meanwhile,
Aspen Around Town will feature special public events in and around
Washington, DC, and will be presented jointly with prominent
Washington-based cultural institutions. The events will showcase a
range of topics with nationally recognized leaders and noted experts.
Since November, both projects have hit the ground running. Here are
just a few. aspeninstitute.org/aaa

Ryssdal

Isaacson and Dell

With the opening of the Innovation Institute for Food and

Health, Aspen Across America hosted an event with General
Atlantics Adrianna Ma; Mars Inc.s Ralph Jerome; Military.
coms and Affinity Labs Founder Christopher Michel;
Hampton Creeks Josh Tetrick; and the Co-founder and CEO
of Jetsuite and Founding Executive of JetBlue Alex Wilcox;
moderated by Kai Ryssdal. More than 120 attended at the
University of California, Davis, where the panel discussed
food-industry innovations; a smaller working lunch followed.

26

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Aspen Across America hosted 150 local entrepreneurs,

members of the University of Texas leadership, and students
from the Universitys Business School for a conversation
between Walter Isaacson and Michael Dell about
technology, entrepreneurship, and the art of collaboration.

Crystal Bridges
Museum of
American Art

Society of Fellows members flew to Bentonville, Arkansas, for a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The group
was also welcomed into the home of prolific folk-art collectors to view their collection and discuss collecting. The day ended
with a dinner talk on art and museums with Crystal Bridges Founder Alice Walton.

Rubenstein, Dufresne, and Haney

Aspen Around Town launched the season with 400 guests

at the Kennedy Center in Washington for a conversation on
the creative process. Moderated by the Carlyle Groups David
Rubenstein, the panel included Aspen CEO Walter Isaacson,
artist Leo Villareal, chef Wylie Dufresne, and architect Gary
Haney.

Sant

The Institute featured Roger Sant at a dinner salon with more

than 125 guests. Sant offered a reprise of his well-received
Aspen Ideas Festival presentation on the environmental
concerns of carbon emissions.

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

27

AROUND THE INSTITUTE

TRADER, CHEF, SOLDIER, SPY

Every September through June, the Institutes DC headquarters hosts
the monthly Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book Series with some of
the nations smartest thinkers and writers working today. This year,
the series tackled everything from organic cooking to American
schools; from natural disasters to international spy craft. Below is just
a sample of the conversations from this season. To watch video of
any of the events, go to aspeninstitute.org/booktalks.
The Resilience Dividend:
Being Strong in a World Where Things Go Wrong
This is a key feature for building resilience: not preparing for the last disaster but
preparing for any disaster. Often we do our preparation looking in the rearview
mirror. In New York City, most of the businesses put their generators in the
basementbecause, after 9/11, they expected the next shock was going to come
from the air. And, of course, they all got flooded in Sandy. So if you think about
being prepared for any crisis, you will be better prepared for every crisis.

Rodin

Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation

Moneyball for Government: The Book

We are flying blind in an era when we dont need to be. It is easier to obtain data
and process it than ever before. We live in an era in which Google and others are
constantly running randomized controlled trials.
Peter Orszag, vice chairman at Citigroup and the former director
of the Office of Management and Budget, co-author of the book
with John Bridgeland, co-chair of the Institutes Franklin Project
and former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council

Orszag

The Director
This is a post-Snowden novel. Its the intersection of hacking and espionage. For a
spy novelist, all the themes that you write aboutthe classic themes of penetration,
moles, manipulation, deceptionall those themes [are now] going to go into zeros
and ones. It is going to be about stealing the other sides systemsnot recruiting the
chief of the service but recruiting the systems administrator. That is the frontier of
espionage and the kind of thing that a spy novelist should try to get his mind around.
David Ignatius, columnist and associate editor at The Washington Post

Ignatius

Not everyone should be a teacher. Its too important. The most important thing
I won, no question, was the right to hire. The most important thing I lost was the
right to fire.
Joel Klein, CEO of education-tech company Amplify and former
chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
Klein

28

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

This Page: Steve Johnson

Lessons of Hope: How to Fix Our Schools

Karam Sethi

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Just surviving in the world is not enough for most of us. We want to know that we
have a certain quality of life, and that might mean that we really care about another
priority, like whether our brains are intact, or whether we get to be with family, or
whether we get to hang out with our dog. Its different for each person. The goal is
not a good death. The goal is a good lifeas good of a life as possibleall the way
to the very end.
Atul Gawande, surgeon, public-health expert, and writer

Gawande

Steve Johnson

Fire Shut Up in My Bones: A Memoir

I wanted to scream, but I couldnt. I wanted to cry, but I couldntbecause dead
boys forget how to cry. But why would a child impute he was dead? Why would
the abuse equal death? We as a societyeven among the caring, even [with] the
outreachwe do damage. We victimize the child again. Because all of our caring and
outreach is laced with patriarchy and misogyny and homophobia. We send every
possible message to that child that there has been an irreversible ruining of you.
Charles Blow, columnist for The New York Times

Blow

Patrice Gilbert

Redeployment
Theres a tradition in war literature that the veteran experiences the truth of war
and is coming back and testifying to it. I didnt want to have one veteran coming
back and testifying to the truth of the Iraq War narrative. I wanted twelve, and
twelve that didnt match up with each other.
Phil Klay, National Book Awardwinner
Klay

Courtesy Nora Pouillon

Excerpt from My Organic Life: How a Pioneering

Chef Helped Shape the Way We Eat Today
Over the past thirty years at Restaurant Nora, as Ive made the rounds in the dining
room, countless people have asked me, Why do you care so much about organic
food? The simple answer is health: organic food is better for our bodies and our
environment. The longer answer begins with a side of beef.
Chef Nora Pouillon, owner, Restaurant Nora in Washington, DC
Pouillon

Peter Lindbergh

Excerpt from Red Notice: A True Story of

High Finance, Murder, and One Mans Fight for Justice
I have to assume that there is a very real chance that Putin or members of his regime
will have me killed some day. Like anyone else, I have no death wish and I have no
intention of letting them kill me. I cant mention most of the countermeasures I take,
but I will mention one: this book. If Im killed, you will know who did it.
Bill Browder, Henry Crown Fellow and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management

Browder

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

29

Demonstrators
react to the Michael
Brown shooting in
Ferguson, Missouri,
August 15, 2014.

I HAVE A SOLUTION
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE POLICE AND
YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR IN FERGUSON.

When a white cop in Ferguson, Missouri, killed a black 18-year-old,

Michael Brown, on August 9, 2014, it ignited a wave of protests across
the nation and forced Americans to once again confront the issue
of race. Disenfranchised populations felt abused by the very powers
that were supposed to protect them, unrest led to demonstrations,
and demonstrations led to conversations. In March, the Institutes
Communications and Society Program traveled to St. Louis to convene
activists and officers to tackle the tough issues that arise when
communities across the country feel the need to remind us all that
black lives matter. NPRs Michel Martin spoke with Police Sergeant
Kevin Ahlbrand, president of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police
and a member of the Ferguson Commission; Daniel Isom, former chief
of police at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; and Clifton
Kinnie, a high school senior and Ferguson activist.
30

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

R. Gino Santa Maria / Shutterstock.com

LEADING VOICES

MARTIN: Why were you attracted to the protest movement?

KINNIE: When Michael Brown was killed on August 9, I was
sitting at home and I was scrolling on Instagram and Twitter. Im
seeing this body lying on the street, and I started to get frustrated. It
was just the realization that enough was enough. Theres a culture
disconnectbetween the people who police and the ones they are
trying to police.

AHLBRAND: Yes. I buy that because the cities that we are talking
about are predominantly African-American communities.
MARTIN: Do you think that theres an issue between white cops
and black kidsthat white cops somehow dont see these kids as
they are?
AHLBRAND: I believe it does happen out there. But on the whole,
I would say no.

MARTIN: Because of race? Because the police officers are white?

MARTIN: So its a few-bad-apples problem?

KINNIE: Yeah, to be honest. Its when race and power and ego
collide. I was speaking to middle-schoolers this past week, just
getting to hear about their reactions and their encounters with
police. These are 12-year-old kids Im listening to, speaking about
times they are getting stopped. They walk down the street getting
stopped; they go into a store and get racially profiled.

AHLBRAND: Thats part of the problem, but it goes back to: We

need to rebuild those relationships, which we havent done in the
last ten years.

ISOM: There are a lot of great police officers out there doing very
good work. But no doubt there has been this tension between the
police and young men of color for many years, and it is primarily
MARTIN: On a day-to-day basis these officers feel afraid and may
centered around car stops and pedestrian stops. Often, police
be behaving this way because they feel afraid. Do you believe that?
are called in to try to control behavior in neighborhoods that are
challenged. One of the primary ways in which officers do that is
KINNIE: We all feel unsafe in this world. How can we come together
vehicle stops and pedestrian stops. So, are we overusing that tactic
to make the community safer? How can I make sure that your job
to try to control behavior, and
goes as easy as possible? How
what are those interactions like
can you make sure that I get
when we have them? Thats
to school safely without getting
The youth are ready; they want to
the core issue.
stopped?
ISOM: There is a fear on both

do something. If someone brings

them a solution, you will have youth
in swarms. Clifton Kinnie

sides. There is a fear on the side

of the police officers. There is
a fear on the side of young
people in the community.
Theres this issue of how do you police a community, how do you
control behavior? All of those intersect in a way that sometimes
brings about bad results. One of the things we have to look at
is how we bring officers into the organization. How do we give
them an understanding of the community that they are policing?
How do we give them the skills to police and maintain control in a
respectful way? Those are things we have to start thinking about.
MARTIN: We are not thinking about those things now? Thats not
part of the recruiting and training process now?

ISOM: It is, but the focus is more on the issues of policing,

tactics, laws. There are parts of the police academy that deal with
community policing. But its a much smaller portion of the training
process. A lot of police officers think that you have to really be
authoritarian, very aggressive, to control behavior from the outset.
Their mind-set is: Let me impose my will on this person to make
sure that they respond to what Im telling them to do.
MARTIN: Was there a point in your 31 years of experience where
you feel things got off track?
AHLBRAND: Absolutely. The fiscal crises that cities have faced,
downsizing police departments. Everybody talks about communityoriented policinggetting to know your neighborhood, getting out
to know the people in your neighborhood. But when we downsize,
these departments are so strapped for manpower that they are
going from call to call to call, and they dont have time to spend an
extra ten minutes to find out what the real issue is.
MARTIN: Do you credit the Department of Justice report that
African-Americans were disproportionally targeted?

MARTIN: So you dont think

its race?

ISOM: It is race. It is race

because the neighborhoods
that its occurring in are
predominantly African-American. If you are having problems,
whatever the problem might be, drugs sales or car break-ins, in
a community, what does the community want us to do? What do
they think it looks like for us to solve that problem? Certainly, the
community is saying they dont think it looks like us stopping a lot
of their young people on the street. What are the other ways that
the community and the police could work together to resolve some
of these problems?

AHLBRAND: Its a great point. In the city of St. Louis, one of the
most prevalent calls that an officer would get is suspicious person
selling drugs on the corner. Every day. Kids who are standing on
the corner wont believe that we got a call because the little lady
who lives across the street is tired of the drug-dealing going on.
They think we are just harassing them. Thats the dialogue that we
need to get the community together on.
ISOM: The other thing is that, when you look at the adult-teenager
relationship, theres always this issue of we are not equal. That
might be even worse when you are talking about cops dealing with
young men of color. So thats an issue that we have to deal with as
well. Because if you encounter someone on the street and you dont
see him as equal, you see him as
KINNIE: We have to lay this out on the table that this issue is deeply
rooted in racism.
( applause )
This whole ordeal is classism, is poverty. Its a power structure; its
a power problem. We have to get this idea out of our heads that,
Oh, its just a few bad apples. Well, those few bad apples represent
your whole department. So if those few bad apples are making
THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

31

LEADING VOICES
the fact that there were young people out there getting gassed. We
have to understand that the youth feel that the police are not there
to serve and protect them. Police understand, just by putting on a
badge, automatically their job is going to be dangerous. We have to
understand, as a community, that we have a right to protest. We have
the right to get our voices heard. What we dont have a right to is the
way we are treated by police and how we were treated in Ferguson.

Kinnie

ISOM: No doubt there is a disconnect between the police and

young people. Its rooted in race. Its rooted in class. Its rooted in
the neighborhood that you live in. There are a lot of variables that
go into this disconnect between law enforcement and young men of
color. The question is, really, what we do about it. How do we provide
better understanding? How do we get them to understand their role
in the community?
KINNIE: I have a solution to how we can bridge the gap.
MARTIN: Lets hear it. Lets fix this right now.

your department look bad, its showing that you are using racist
practices. Thats your whole department. We are just not going to
say, a few bad apples, because there is a cultural disconnect. We
have to lay that on the table.
MARTIN: I must say, all of these racist e-mails in the Ferguson

department, racist jokes about the president and the first lady
what is that?
AHLBRAND: Its totally unacceptable behavior. But if you go into
any business, you are going to see the same thing. Cops arent that
much different than everybody else, and you are going to have that.

KINNIE: Working primarily with student organizers around high

schools would be a way we could bridge the gap between the police
departments and the youthspecifically the youth, going straight
toward them and hearing their concerns. Maybe we could set up a
board. So having maybe delegates from each high school representing
their concerns. Overall, just forming that relationship between the
police forces in order to have a conversation.
MARTIN: Do you think you could pull that off, that kids would do it?
KINNIE: A lot of the youth are ready; they want to do something.
The issue is: They dont know how. So if someone brings them a
solution or a program like the one I just suggested, you will have
youth in swarms. Definitely.

For video, go to aspeninstitute.org/racialdivide

AHLBRAND: Well, we went

from being heroes after 9/11
to being vilified today. Some
officers that worked those front
lines in Ferguson for 12-hour
days were spat on, had urine
thrown on them, had rocks
thrown at them, were shot at,
faced protesters within inches
of their faces, saying they were
going to rape their daughters
and kill them. Those officers
some of the restraint shown
was just absolutely incredible.
The officers now feel like they
are all out there by themselves.
KINNIE: Im all for peaceful
protesting. I worked with
my community to ensure
that justice gets done. We
need to pay attention to

32

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Ahlbrand, Kinnie,
Isom, and Martin

Photos: Forte Photography

MARTIN: If we could get a

bunch of officers here, what
would they say?

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

33

LEADING VOICES

THE 3-BILLION-STRONG
WORKFORCE
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner wants to create economic
opportunity for every employable person in the world.

LASHINSKY: LinkedIn helps

people promote their careers, but
it isnt saving lives. Its not curing
cancer; its not serving in the Peace
Corps. If you really want to make
the world a better place, you could
do a long list of things before
joining a very successful company.
WEINER: In our vision at
LinkedIn, our dream is to create
economic opportunity for every
member of the global workforce.
That begins with representing
your professional identity to
the worldyour experiences,
your skills, your ambitions, the
knowledge that you possess. You
listed a few examples of objectives
that some might deem more
worthy and more valuable than
creating economic opportunity for people. I would counter that creating
economic opportunity is at the heart of every single thing you just listed.
There is nothing more profoundly important to the world than creating
economic opportunity. Economic opportunity enables people to feel as if
they have a chance and as if they have a voice. Its having a say. Its being
able to be productive. Its being able to contribute to society. At LinkedIn,
we believe theres nothing more important.
LASHINSKY: The next logical step in the argument becomes that
LinkedIn is critical to that process. If youre successful, LinkedIn is
integral to helping create economic choice.
WEINER: The more economic opportunity there is in the world, the
more the world benefits. So if LinkedIn can be a change engine to that
effect, thats wonderful. We certainly dont need to exclusively own this
notion of creating economic opportunity.

34

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

In terms of the role we play specificallythe notion of a rsum

or your professional identitythats really only the first step to getting
started on LinkedIn. The mission of LinkedIn is to connect the worlds
professionals, to make them more productive and successful. Thats the
overarching objective that we measure ourselves against. With 347 million
members today, there are roughly 780 million knowledge-workers who
are students in the world. Thats the immediate addressable opportunity.
The dream, the vision, is to create economic opportunity for every
member of the global workforce, all three-billion-plus people. And were
in this unique position where we
can operationalize our vision
statement. Its going to lead us to
doing something that has never
been imagined before, let alone
executed: were in a position,
by virtue of todays technology,
where we can digitally map the
global economy. So:
One: a digital profile for every
member of the global workforce,
three-billion-plus people.
Two: a profile for every company
in the world, roughly 60 million to
70 million companies when you
include small- and medium-sized
businesses.
Weiner

Three: a digital representation

of every job made possible by
those companiesfull-time, parttime, for-profit, volunteer.

Four: a digital representation of every skill required to obtain one of those

opportunities.
Five: a digital presence for every higher-education organization that
enables those individuals to acquire the skills they need to realize the
opportunities.
Six: make it easy for every individual, every company, and every university
to share their professions relevant knowledge.
And then: Were going to take a step back and allow all forms of capital
intellectual capital, working capital, and of course human capitalto flow,
to work, and to be leveraged. In doing so, the hope is we can help lift and
transform the global economy.

For video, go to youtube.com/aspenlinkedin

Patricia King

his February, the Institutes Business and Society Program

held an interactive gathering in San FranciscoMaking
Purpose Workdesigned to find out how to generate
innovation and productivity while also creating a higher
purpose in society. The meeting featured dialogues, field
trips to leading companies, and workshops with business scholars and
executives from more than 40 companies. Below, Adam Lashinsky of
Fortune magazine interviews LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on how a forprofit company can be a force for good.

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

35

LEADING VOICES

DREAM
DEFERRED
Why the success of all American kids is vital.
Harvard Professor Robert Putnam spoke with Institute CEO
Walter Isaacson in March at an Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn
Book Series event about his new book, Our Kids: The American
Dream in Crisis, which explores the growing inequality gap.
out there, weve got the best lawyer, and
weve found the right rehab. So it will
probably work out. Airbags. If exactly
the same thing had happened to a black
kid on the south side of Chicagono
airbags. They have no one coaching
them. When you think poor kid, think
isolated kid.

ISAACSON: Whats happening to

American kids today?

ISAACSON: Is the internet closing this divergence or exacerbating it?

PUTNAM: Its making it worse. The access gap has closedjust about all
kids all across America have smartphones. But when you watch how kids
use technology, richer kids use it in ways that are more calculated to help
them make progresslike the Khan Academy. Poor kids, who lack the
surrounding support of adults, tend to use it just for entertainment. Kids
from the lower third of American society are isolated.
A striking consequence is what I call airbags. All kids get into trouble
poor kids, black kids, white kids. But when kids from educated backgrounds
get into trouble, airbags instantly inflate to protect the child. A friend called
up, upset: her grandson had been arrested in Colorado. Allegedly, he was
selling drugs. She was devastated: Whats it going to do to the family? And
she was worried about her grandson. But then she said, My daughter flew

36

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

ISAACSON: Whats this doing to our

economy?
PUTNAM: Not investing in poor kids
costs about 4 percent GDP a year. A
big chunk of that is these kids health
they are much less healthy, much more
Putnam
obese than rich kids, and are getting
more obese faster. They are going to
get diabetes more, they are going to get
sicker longer, and somebody has to pay for that. But the important part is: the
lost opportunity. We are writing off 23 million potential workers every year.
And helping them wont hurt our own kidsrich, educated kids. It will help
everyone be better off. Not just morally. Economically, materially, were better
off if we invest in other peoples kids. Over these kids lifetime, $5 trillion
better off. For example, if Atlanta had the same equality of opportunity that
Salt Lake City has, Atlantas economy would be 11 percent bigger.
ISAACSON: What can be done?
PUTNAM: End this 30-year stagnation of real wages for less educated
men. That would have a powerful effect on family structure. High-quality,
expensive, early childhood education has a very high payback rate. Then
there are smaller things, like mentoring. Next, give kids public, secular
education with soft skillsfootball, art, so on. These kids need airbags. They
need adults who can guide them through the complicated process of figuring
out what school to go to and so on. These kids lack savvy. Cuts to community
colleges, for example, have come disproportionately from advising and
counseling kids. That makes the dropout rates high.
This is not a case where we dont have any good policy ideas. This is a case
where we dont have the political will. We dont think of these as our kids. We
think of them as somebody elses kid.

For video, go to aspeninstitute.org/putnam

Steve Johnson

PUTNAM: Kids from highly educated

homes are getting better and better.
Kids from the lower third of America
are getting worse and worse. That
opportunity gap is a growing gap. You
can see it in the amount of time parents
spend reading to their kids, what we call
Goodnight Moon time. There used to be
no gap in the time parents spent reading
to their kids. Now, theres a 45-minute-aday gap. If you know about modern brain
science, you know that it is unbelievably
important. The infant brain develops
through verbal interaction with adults.
Its similar for the amount of money
we spend on kids. Similar for the amount of social support they get from
their communities. Similar for family stability. There are big gaps in all
these support systemsfrom schools to churches to scouts. Extracurricular
activities give kids a chance to learn soft skills: teamwork, grit, delayed
gratification. Now, if you want to play high school football, youve got to pay
$400 per kid per sport. That means those kids chances in life are influenced
not by their own skills and abilities but by their parents resources. As of now,
high-scoring poor kids are less likely to graduate from college than low-scoring
rich kids. That is exactly the opposite of the American dream. Your chances
at life shouldnt depend upon your parents; they should depend upon you.

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ASPEN IMPACT

IMPACT

The Aspen Institute is famous for gathering

diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders,
writers, artists, scholars, and members of the
public to address many of the worlds most
complex problems. But the goal of these
convenings is to have an impact beyond
the conference room. For over 65 years, the
Institute has held the notion of the good
society close to our hearts. By ensuring that
our words lead to actions, we can keep

MARCHING ONE STEP CLOSER.

For more examples of Aspen Impact, visit aspeninstitute.org/impact.

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THE ASPEN IDEA

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SUMMER 2015

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52

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

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FANRPAN

ASPEN IMPACT

JOINING FORCES TO FIGHT

CHILD MALNUTRITION

o walk through the childrens ward at Muhimbili National

Hospital in Tanzania is to tour Africas food paradox. The
tiny patients, many of them under five, are often being treated
for and surviving diseases that would have killed them just 20
years ago, including malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and HIV.
But far too many continue to suffer from the effects of malnutrition, ranging
from anemia and vitamin deficiencies to wasting and physical stunting.
Beyond treatment with antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, and iron supple-

40

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

ments, these children need nutritious foods. And they arent getting them.
Across Africa, agricultural investments and food production are rising,
which is good news. But the increased availability of food on the continent
has not translated into improved nutrition and health. Indeed, the number of African children who suffer from physical and mental stunting, an
end-stage irreversible effect of chronic malnutrition, has increased to 58.6
million in 2012 from 50.8 million in 2000. And the regions spearheading
the jump in agricultural production often see the highest rates of stunting.

FANRPAN

Two New Voices Fellows found that the greatest benefit of their
fellowship wasnt just media training to increase visibility for their
programs in Africait was finding each other and working to
end malnutrition. BY RAMADHANI ABDALLAH NOOR, M.D.
Many of the undernourished young patients at Muhimbili, like their
brethren across Africa, will suffer physical and mental limitations for the
rest of their lives, robbing the continent of its most precious resource, human capital, for decades to come.
When I joined the Institutes New Voices Fellowship, the disconnect between the medical advances in child care and continued poor nutrition
weighed on me. As a medical doctor, I helped research new malaria vaccines, which hold the promise of finally beating back this major childhood

killer. I advocated for low-cost innovations and expanded immunization

programs, which have already saved the lives of many children. But if children were increasingly surviving diarrhea, malaria, and pneumonia only to
suffer from malnutrition, we were not achieving our goals.
As part of New Voices, I had the good luck to connect with another
Fellow, Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, who approached this issue from the
other direction. As CEO of the Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resources
Policy Analysis Network, based in South Africa, Sibanda is at the forefront

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

41

FANRPAN

ASPEN IMPACT

Together, we decided, we could help develop a new strategy for

combating child malnutrition by bringing together agricultural
scientists, nutrition experts, and medical doctors.
of helping African governments set their agricultural policies. Together, we
decided, we could help develop a new strategy for combating child malnutrition by bringing together agricultural scientists, nutrition experts, and
medical doctors.
As members of the New Voices Fellowship program, Sibanda and I were
embarking on a journey to find a broader international audience for our
views on key development challenges through an intensive and strategic
yearlong program of media training. But during that process, we found
that one of the most important audiences for our messages was within the
fellowship itself, where a diverse collection of development experts from
Africa and other parts of the developing world could compare notes and
come up with new solutions.

42

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

To really turn the situation around, it is critical for countries to move

toward large-scale food fortification and promotion of nutrition-sensitive
agriculture by encouraging farmers to produce a healthy and affordable
mix of foodstuffs that emphasize nutrition. That agriculture means that
small-scale African farmers need to be encouraged to produce diverse food
products beyond staples such as maize. This requires improved soils, seeds,
fertilizers, irrigation systems, safe processing of harvests, and market access.
But in most countries, agriculture, nutrition, and health initiatives are
often planned and implemented by different ministries that have minimal
to no interaction. In Tanzania, for example, the Ministry of Agriculture is
implementing a support system using agriculture-extension officers, while
its Ministry of Health is rolling out community-health workers. These two

PHOTO BY DAVID O. MARLOW

INGRID ANTONI

6 0 2 E A S T C O O P E R AV E S T E 1 0 4 . A S P E N C O L O R A D O 8 1 6 1 1
970 925 2660 . 800 994 6531

THE ASPEN IDEA

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FANRPAN

ASPEN IMPACT

programs are complementary and should work together. But they dont.
To address this problem, Sibanda and I have teamed up on two new
initiatives. The first is the Agriculture Nutrition Health joint forum, coordinated and led by the Africa Academy of Public Health in collaboration with Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania and the Harvard
T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the United States. Through this
forum, we have convened two meetings attended by representatives from
the Tanzanian ministries of health and agriculture as well as the prime
ministers office, delegates from various NGOs and development partners,
and academic and research institutions working in agriculture, nutrition,
and health. These meetings marked the first time in Tanzania that such a
diverse group met to discuss integrating the official response to malnutrition through agricultural development.
In our latest meeting, in January in Dar Es Salaam, we linked up with
ATONU, a regional initiative led by Sibandas organization that aims
to foster national and regional capacities to evaluate nutrition-sensitive
agriculture programs and advise governments on how to use agricultural-

44

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

development programs to meet nutrition and health needs. Importantly,

we had an opportunity to learn from a successful program from the region, the Mama SASHA (Sweet Potato Action for Security and Health
in Africa) project, which aims to harness the lowly but nutritious sweet
potato to improve health in a number of Kenyan communities. Through
the African Academy of Public Health and Sibandas group, we will continue to coordinate with agriculture programs to better integrate nutrition and health goals.
To see further gains in child health, we need not only different approaches but also more people. Agricultural-development programs can
and should encompass nutrition and health objectives on a larger scale.
These new approaches to child health can ensure that children like the
small patients at Muhimbili Hospital thriveand can eventually play their
own part in lifting Africa.
Ramadhani Abdallah Noor, M.D., is the co-founder of the Malaria Control Forum and
a New Voices Fellow at the Institute.

TODAY THERES NOTHING MORE VALUABLE THAN INFORMATION.

AND THE ABILITY TO SECURE IT.

AT LOCKHEED MARTIN,
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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

45

Courtesy Alexandra Oliva

ASPEN IMPACT

DEAR ASPEN WORDS:

THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME SELL MY NOVEL

How the Novel Editing workshop at Aspen Words helped
one writer believe in herself after years of lonely work,
dashed hopes, and persistenceand introduced her to an
agent who believed in her, too. BY ALEXANDRA OLIVA
46

THE ASPEN IDEA

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first learned about Aspen Summer Words by way of a friends

glowing recommendation. Researching further, I was intrigued by
the conferences Novel Editing workshop. In the typical writing
workshop, you can submit only 15 or 20 pages of prose, but here
was an opportunity to discuss hundreds of pages. Im not a shortstory writer, Im a novelist, and submitting the opening of a 300-plus-page
novel to workshops time and again gets old. Eventually, you want to push
past the question of Would you want to keep reading? and address
something more substantive. Here was my chance; I had to apply. When
I learned a couple of months later that Id been accepted, I was ecstatic.
The Aspen Summer Words experience offers so much more than workshops, but in the weeks leading up to the conference, my mainalmost
solefocus was my workshop. I had 600 pages of reading to complete, and
my excitement about meeting my fellow novelists grew as I delved into their
beautiful and extraordinarily varied submissions. Preparing for the professional consultations offered at the
conference was an afterthoughtor
at least I tried to convince myself that
it should be. I knew I was going to
be matched with some combination
of top-notch agents and editors for a
pair of 15-minute meetings, but I did
my best to keep my expectations low,
reminding myself that I was at least
one manuscript overhaul away from
being ready to query literary agents
maybe more, considering that the
ending of my novel was barely more
than an outline. The consultations, I
told myself, were only practice.
And then, a few days into the conference, I found myself sitting across
from Lucy Carson from the Friedrich
Agency, and she told me how much
shed enjoyed the opening of my novel. Sitting there, all I could think was
how lucky I would be to work with her. Even in our brief conversation, it was
clear that she got itshe recognized which aspects of the story were most
important to me and understood but wasnt put off by the challenges I had
yet to overcome. The conversation ended with her telling me how eager she
was to read more and me floating away. And though discussing the professional consultations was a source of bonding for us writers throughout the
week, I didnt tell anyone how well the meeting went. I didnt want to raise
my own hopes. By the time Id reached Aspen, Id been calling myself a
writer for nearly a decade, and I had two shelved manuscripts and an MFA
to show for itbut no tangible success. No bylines or publications, just a
hefty stack of rejections topped by a couple of close calls. Over the years,
Id learned more than Id ever wanted to know about not counting chickens
when all I had were eggs.
Each morning after the days consultation, I continued having breakfast
with my fellow writersof fiction, memoir, poetryat the Hearthstone
House. Then Id walk to the Hotel Jerome, grab a coffee from the table in
the hall, and take my seat in the Novel Editing workshop, where we dove
into a new manuscript each day. After workshop, we slipped down to lunch
as a group, joking about how each days spread was better than the last
and how we were always the first group to reach the buffet. Between the
workshops, the panels, the downtime bonding, and extracurricular fun, the

sense of community grew each day. I remember calling my husband one

evening and telling him how affirming I found the whole experience to be,
how even though I hadnt yet found my path through the trees, being at
Aspen reassured me that I was at least in the right forest.
Its difficult to be told no, its not good enough, youre not good enough,
over and over again. Ive often doubted my choices and my commitment to
writing. There were times in the last few years when the only thing that kept
me going was an unquantifiable sense that I was getting better, that every
time someone said no, I was able to find a way to make my writing stronger.
Twice, I put aside a manuscript with a six-digit word count and years of
effort behind it in order to begin working on a different idea that felt more
exciting. It was difficultnot my-plane-has-crashed-in-the-wildernessand-I-need-to-survive-with-a-broken-leg-and-a-head-wound difficult, but
challenging in a slow, internal way.
Thats why even if Lucy hadnt asked to read my full manuscript, even
if everything had stopped there, the
Aspen Summer Words experience
would have been worth it: for making me feel like I belonged, like I was
seeing the break in the trees, and
maybe, just maybe, that my path was
near. And for giving me the opportunity to meet and interact with other
writersso many of whom were not
only amazing talents but extraordinarily fun people.
But everything didnt stop there.
The last night of the conference,
just as I returned to my hotel from
an open-mic event, I received an
email from Lucy telling me shed
finished my manuscript, and, yes, it
needed work, but she wanted to do
that work with me. I think it took
me an hour to craft what was essentially a two-word reply: Yes, please.
The next day, I remained in shock. Delayed at the Denver International
Airport, I had dinner with several of my fellow conference attendeesand
Julia Glass, whod been in Aspen leading a fiction workshop. Word of Lucys
email slipped out and I stumbled, overwhelmed and backtracking, trying not
to jinx myselfIm not superstitious until I am, and I feared that speaking
of it would somehow undo the experience, that Lucy would send a follow-up
email saying she was mistaken and my novel was clearly a lost cause. Then
Julia put her hand on my shoulder and said, so kindly, You have an agent.
It was a powerful moment, a powerful experience, and one for which I will
forever be grateful.
Lucy didnt recant her offer. Shes been guiding me ever since, asking
the questions that needed to be asked, challenging me, and pushing me in
just the right way and with endless enthusiasm. Shes been a true pleasure
to work with, and she sold my debut novel, The Last One, to Ballantine
Bantam Dell, a Random House imprint. I have a publisher and an editor
I adore, whose authors I have long admired. Ive found my path. And it
wouldnt have happenedat least not like thisif I hadnt attended Aspen
Summer Words.

The last night of the

conference, just as I returned
to my hotel from an open-mic
event, I received an email from
Lucy telling me shed finished
my manuscript, and, yes, it
needed work, but she wanted
to do that work with me. I think
it took me an hour to craft what
was essentially a two-word
reply: Yes, please.

Alexandra Oliva is the author of the novel The Last One, available in 2016.
THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

47

Kandahar Treasure

ASPEN IMPACT

GIVING KANDAHAR
WOMEN A VOICE
A partnership between the Aspen Global Health and Development
program and an artisan enterprise gives women new respect, new
freedomand new markets so they can support their families.
BY RANGINA HAMIDI

cannot express my gratitude for saving me from the daily verbal

harassment I had to hear coming to work and going from work, says
Gul Sika, a founding member of the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise
who until recently had to walk more than a mile each day to and from
work at Kandahar Treasure. Now with the ride provided, I can come
and go in peace and am happy knowing that I am safe.
Sika is a widow with three children living in the patriarchal society of
Kandahar, Afghanistan. Women like her have few opportunities or infrastructure in place to guide them in earning a living. Kandahar Treasure,

48

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

an all womens social enterprise, is Sikas answer for help in taking care
of her children, who now have an opportunity to attend school instead of
begging on the streets. The group, which employs 21 full-time women and
nine men, provides work to more than 400 women, giving them a way to
sell their khamak, finely detailed needlework.
Kandahar Treasure is a pioneering initiative, as it is both self-sustaining
and led by and owned by women in the provincenot a popular trend in
Afghan society. The women take pride in knowing that they have proved a
model of success in the midst of 12 years of war and destruction.

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

49

Kandahar Treasure

ASPEN IMPACT

Kandahar Treasure is a pioneering initiative, as it is both selfsustaining and led by and owned by women in the province
not a popular trend in Afghan society.
Were it not for the support of its partners and friends in the United
States, Kandahar Treasure would remain invisible. One of those important
partners is the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise, part of the Institutes Global
Health & Development program. The Alliances mission is to support the
power and potential of the artisan sector to create jobs, increase incomes,
enhance cultural heritage, and promote development that respects the
uniqueness of people and place.
The transportation to and from work that Kandahar Treasure now provides Sika is made possible by a small loan given through the Alliances
partnership with Kiva, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to alleviate poverty. The partnership between Kiva and the Alliance was created to
provide financial assistance to artisans, who often have difficulty accessing
resources. Because Sika is no longer verbally abused on her commute, her
performance at workand that of her 20 colleaguesis now enhanced.

50

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

The corporate partners have joined the Alliance for a reason: some to
help the world, some to look good to their existing consumers, some to
attract new customers. But the artisans involved in making products that
they market directly, or whose products are marketed through corporations, have made it their mission to lift themselves and their families out of
the indignities and even atrocities they face daily in Afghanistans remote
villages. These artisans need a platform to raise their voice to policymakers, corporations, and financial institutions about their needs and desires.
Kandahar Treasure is proud to partner with the Alliance in giving voice
to the hundreds of women in Kandahar who dream of a better future for
their children.
Rangina Hamidi is the founder of Kandahar Treasure, a partner of the Institutes
Alliance for Artisan Enterprise.

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ASPEN IMPACT

TEACHING TEACHERS TO
LEAD OTHER TEACHERS
A new working group to help good teachers
train other teachers is filling a gapproviding practical
steps to extend proven skills from one teacher to many.
BY ROSS WIENER

xpanding teacher leadership is critical to the success of public

education. The idea enjoys broad support. But actually
distributing leadership responsibility challenges deep-seated
traditions. The Aspen Institute is taking a national leadership
role in addressing these challenges.
In 2013, the Institutes Education and Society Program created a teacher-leadership working group that provides thought partnerships, critical
advice, and networking opportunities to education leaders at the vanguard
of teacher leadership. District and charter
leaders, union leaders, classroom teachers, reform advocates, and policy experts
could all explore dilemmas from divergent
perspectives and forge practical solutions
to vexing challenges. Scott Thompson,
deputy chief of human capital for Washington, DC, public schools, described one
working-group meeting as extraordinarily thought-provoking, relevant, and
timely ... theoretical enough to make us
rethink and question our assumptions but
not so theoretical that it wont be immediately helpful and relevant.
Out of this intensive work, the Program published Leading From the Front of
the Classroom: A Roadmap for Teacher Leadership that Works in 2014. This set of resourcesincluding profiles of promising
practices in Denver and Tennessee as well
as in Chicagos Noble Network of charter
schoolshas been used as an anchor text
in a series of teacher-leader programs sponsored by the US Department
of Education, and it is shaping new work and important conversations in
school systems across the country. This teacher-leadership tool kit was created in partnership with Leading Educators, a New Orleansbased reformsupport organization that works with charter and traditional systems in
New Orleans and nationally.
For Education and Society, the focus on teacher leadership grows out
of several years of strengthening the design and implementation of newteacher evaluation systems and the recognition that the potential for break-

52

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

throughs comes from developing teachers at scaleand this cannot happen without proven, effective teachers assuming greater responsibility for
mentoring and developing their peers.
On the day the report was released, both Joel Klein, ed-reform advocate and former New York City schools chancellor, and Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers president, tweeted about it, demonstrating the Institutes ability to transcend traditional politics. And the
tool kit is influencing the field in significant ways. The Kentucky Department of Education, in partnership with
Hope Street Group, sent a tool-kit link to
every teacher in the state to inspire new
ideas about teacher leadership. According
to Robin Hebert, of the Kentucky Department of Education, the tool kit provides
concrete, step-by-step guidance and direction for how to begin, assess, measure, and
build a strong model of teacher leadership
at the local level.
For Denver Superintendent Tom Boasberg, making the role of principal more
manageable is a major motivation for investing in teacher leadership: In any other
knowledge-based profession, its an absolute
given that you wont see people trying to
coach or supervise more than six or eight
people, Boasberg says. Yet in schools, we
ask school leaders to coach and supervise 30,
40, 50 people. So Denver created a Team
Lead role, where accomplished teachers are
given reduced teaching loads to make time
for coaching and supervising other teachers.
For teaching to assume its rightful place alongside medicine, law, engineering, and other esteemed professions, teachers themselves need to
lead. Through its partnership with Leading Educators and the publication
of Leading From the Front of the Classroom, the Program is turning this idea
into action.
Ross Wiener is the executive director of the Education and Society Program at the
Aspen Institute.

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

SEIZING
HOPE
Outside the Middle East, news stories
point out instability, violence, and
extremism. Inside the Middle East, business
people brim with ideas, initiative, energy,
and success. The Institutes Middle East
Programs recently brought together
ten of the regions highest-impact tech
entrepeneurs for a week of immersive
mentorshipan experience its participants
describe as worldview-changing and
business-changing.
BY TONI VERSTANDIG AND PETER WALKER KAPLAN

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

55

SEIZING HOPE

THE STORY OF THE 2011 ARAB

UPRISINGS BEGINS WITH
MOHAMED BOUAZIZI, WHOSE
SELF-IMMOLATION TRIGGERED
THE FIRST VIVID PROTEST OF
WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE
ARAB SPRING.

Bouazizi, a self-motivated entrepreneur with a high school education

whose livelihood selling vegetables was stifled by cumbersome
bureaucracy, was repeatedly abused, demeaned by government
forces, and finally stripped of his dignity. His story is emblematic
of the interwoven political and economic origins of the transitions
that dramatically rocked Tunisia and the region thereafter. Bouazizi
wanted the quiet normality of daily life: to provide for his family
and to have economic pathways to greater prosperity. He sought this
prosperity despite high unemployment and rampant corruption.
Generating economic opportunity is the core of the Aspen
Institutes Middle East Programs. The programs mission is to catalyze
and convene networks of global leaders to deepen relationships and
develop pragmatic economic and policy initiatives that advance
stability and prosperity in the Middle East.
Middle East Programs leaders steadfastly believe that in a
region suffering from slow economic growth and high rates of youth
unemployment, high-impact start-ups and small- and medium-sized
companies are the chief engines for job creation. (The program
houses Partners for a New Beginning, a public-private partnership
focused on advancing entrepreneurship and job creation across the
Middle East and North Africa.) Linked with security and political
opportunity, these are what will advance stability and growth.
Sustained investment in the education and global exposure
of early-stage entrepreneurs helps strengthen their ventures. In
recognition of that principle, last year the Institute, with support from
the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, launched the Middle East
Entrepreneurship Program, an immersive entrepreneurship training
program for ten of the regions highest-impact technology start-ups.
This endeavor was not only conceived as a response to regional needs,
it was an acknowledgment of the regions great potential energy.

Indeed, even if the Middle East is described in daily stories as a
place of political instability, resource scarcity, and extremism, in the
region itself there is great hope. It brims with promising realities, ready
to be stitched into a brighter narrative. This is the region, after all, that
has a higher per capita GDP than China or India, where investments
tripled between 2009 and 2013, and is populated by about 370 million

56

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

people, 50 percent of whom are less than 25 years old.

The Middle East pulses with energy not only because of its
enormous youth cohort but also because it is in the midst of a
connectivity revolution. Between 2007 and 2012, internet penetration
jumped 294 percent. Mobile-data traffic grew 107 percent in 2013,
dwarfing North Americas 77 percent increase. Seven percent of the
world seeks content in its language, the entrepreneur, investor, and
author Chris Schroeder explains. But that content makes up less than
1 percent of what is online globally. Young people with connectivity
and a viable market need investment, mentors, and role models.
Fadi Ghandour, founder and CEO of Aramex, the largest
logistics company in the region and the first Arab-based international
company to trade its shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange, argues
that the Arab world is in the process of transforming into a megaregion of creative thinking and growth. In fact, he explained to
Innovator Magazine last October, entrepreneurial vigor is already
palpable across various Arab cities, from Cairo to Amman, Dubai
to Jeddah, even war-torn Gaza. Incubators, accelerators, and startup summits have proliferated across the Middle East to the point
that some urban centers are regarded as tech hubs. Forbes described
Amman, for example, as a huge emerging market becoming [an]
economic engine in [its] own right. Another recent report on Cairos
technology landscape describes a highly connected, well-developed
ecosystem with approximately 300 growing companies.

Scholars and experts in the region offer a cocktail of explanations
for why entrepreneurship is thriving. Entrepreneurship is by nature
infectious, inspirational, and sometimes palliative to social ills; it has the
ability to redefine the limits of a profession; successful entrepreneurial
ventures often beget jobs; many entrepreneurial ventures seek to
fix the problems of everyday life to appeal to the consumer market.
Entrepreneurship also means bonding. It can connect businesses, some
of which are remote or disconnected, with a world of consumers,
investors, and stakeholders. Those connections are growing wider and
deeper all over the Middle East and North Africa.

Through a weeklong training program in Silicon Valley, Middle
East Programs offered entrepreneurs from the Arab world with

proven traction in their local and regional markets the opportunity

to learn from world-class entrepreneurship experts. They came to
the United States to learn firsthand from Silicon Valley pioneers the
secrets of their success, as well as strategies to overcome failure.

The entrepreneurs experienced a week of face-to-face meetings
with distinguished leaders such as Nest CEO Tony Fadell, Stanford
Entrepreneurship Professor Tom Byers, Square COO Sarah Friar,
Rally Health COO and President David Ko, and Clouderas
CTO and Co-Founder Amr Awadallah, a Middle Eastern success
story himself. Each one shared perspectives on what will make the
entrepreneurs products and services, and their companies, truly
innovative and scalable.
The program workshopped not just company strengths but
also company challenges. In and out of sessions, entrepreneurs
identified their problems, sharing case studies and field wisdom
with one another and imploring mentors for advice. Sessions
focused on various pillars: hiring talent and building team culture,
pitching skills, thinking about design, attracting investment, legal
education, network growth, scaling success and innovation, and
brand development. Advising on scaling strategies, Awadallah
told the group not to be afraid of making mistakes and also not to
persist in failing. Tom Byers guided the group through approaches to
thinking outside the box. Nadia Roumani of Stanfords d:school,
which instructs design thinking and innovation, urged the group to
design products with portraits of consumers in mind. Advising the
group on how to attract investment, Rouz Jazayeri of Kleiner Perkins
Caulfield Byers discussed an investors calculus when selecting which
ventures to fund. Silicon Valley guru Bill Joos listened to each startups pitch, slashing at excessive details until each pitch was leaner
than subjects thought possible. Former Andreessen Horowitz partner
Kristina Simmons shared her findings from developing Lululemons
brand. Craig Tighe, a partner at DLA Piper, and Farshad Owji, a
principal at Owji Law, offered guidelines on establishing businesses
in the United States. Fadi Bishara, founder of Blackbox, a two-week

acceleration program in Silicon Valley, reminded the group that

to go fast, businesses must abandon squeaky-wheel employees and
celebrate victories. These were but a selection of the conversations.
Social impact was another mission of the program. Middle
East Programs mandated that the entrepreneurs, equipped with
tools to expand their businesses and thus create new jobs, commit
to offering their time and knowledge to local entrepreneurs as a
way of giving back. Supported entrepreneurs have a stronger
chance of creating jobs for their respective communities. Supported
entrepreneurs can also demonstrate to investors and business
leaders their communities potential.

The week shaped participants, provided them with inspiration
when their ventures stalled, connected them to mentors from whom
they sought advice, and challenged them to revise their business-value
propositions. And what followed was remarkable: the ripples that
Middle East Programs stirred in January have since become waves.
From a mission to a plan to a program, Middle East Programs has
demonstrated that investing in talented, aspirational communities is
a worthy bargain.

The Middle East is and will be experiencing turmoil and
transition for some time to come. Inevitably, each country will ebb,
flow, and find its own equilibrium. Bouazizis example, however,
should catalyze support for increased economic opportunity in the
region and around the world. Supporting entrepreneurship is a
challenge that Middle East Programs has accepted; its what Bouazizi
stood for. He provided for his family and took pains to distribute
surplus produce to those less fortunate than himself. Enacting a
Ben Franklin principle, he ran a business well, and when he saw an
opportunity to do good, he never hesitated. He was described by
loved ones as hardworking, funny, dutiful, and generous.
Bouazizi was an entrepreneur. May we carry forward his legacy.
Toni Verstandig is chair of the Institutes Middle East Programs, and Peter
Walker Kaplan is the program coordinator.

SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
IS A CHALLENGE THAT MIDDLE
EAST PROGRAMS HAS ACCEPTED;
ITS WHAT BOUAZIZI STOOD FOR.
HE PROVIDED FOR HIS FAMILY
AND TOOK PAINS TO DISTRIBUTE
SURPLUS TO THOSE LESS
FORTUNATE THAN HIMSELF.
THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

57

SEIZING HOPE

MOE GHASHIM

Founder, ShopGo, Syria/Jordan

LAMIA TABBAA-BIBI

Founder, Little Thinking Minds, Jordan

Our sessions at Stanford were incredibly inspirational, says

Tabbaa-Bibi, whose company targets pre-K learners to game-ify
numerical, phonic, and grammatical education. This will change
the way Little Thinking Minds views product design. Since
Tabbaa-Bibis week in Silicon Valley, she has secured another
angel investment for that project. On the heels of MEEP, she also
announced the launch of the first Arabic digital library and guidedreading program, a social initiative to fight regional illiteracy.
Learn more at IreadArabic.com. Since MEEP, Tabbaa-Bibi was
announced as one of USAIDs All Children Read grantees: she will
be one of 2015s 14 global winners, selected from 250 nominees.

Ghashim has implemented two structural changes since MEEP to

reinvent the culture of ShopGo, a website where you can create your
own e-commerce site in one click. Ive hired an academy manager,
he says. We plan to grow a community around ShopGos product.
He has also brought advisers to strengthen the company and
balance the leader-investor relationship, as well as to assist in
our search for high-profile investors. Additionally, Moe has begun
developing a major refugee-based philanthropic initiative, the details
of which are still under wraps. I will stay involved going forward,
he told us. This program can be a life-changer.

It was outstanding. You see things a different

way. For me, what I saw here is the spirit and the
culture. Hopefully, I can transfer that to ShopGo.

I will make it a point to wake up each morning

and remember that today is a great day because
Im building this amazing thing. I would have
loved for this program to be ten days longer.

ZINEB AND DRISS DRISSI

Co-Founders, Dabadoc, Morocco

FIRAS AL-OTAIBI

CCO & Co-Founder, Kharabeesh, Jordan

Kharabeesh, which produces content on YouTube in the form of
satire, cartoons, political commentary, and hybrids of each, has
continued to grow and recently exceeded one billion page views.
It has expanded its program since MEEP and is now opening
another major round of funding; it has already been approached
by major investment groups. And since reaching a billion views, it
has begun to scale its brand to the United States.

MEEP was a lifetime experience;

I cant wait to have another like it.
58

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Dabadoc, a database that pairs clients with medical practitioners,

entered MEEP at the end of its first year and is one of its
smallest ventures. Since the conclusion of MEEP, its clientele has
grown from 1,000 to 2,000 medical specialists and generalists,
a 100 percent increase. It has also expanded its operations to
Algeria and Tunisia, already achieving its next-step scaling
goals. Dabadoc has been the focus of six written and broadcast
interviews relating to MEEP. The Drissis told The Aspen Idea that
they have focused on perfecting their workforce, a takeaway from
MEEP: We are hiring more people and recruiting a better team;
the idea is to focus on making a great team.

We are all going to take away from this much more

than we came in with. The people we met, the pace
at which we were going, the quality of the interactions
we had: I think its been extremely amazing.

AMIR BARSOUM

Founder & CEO, DrBridge, Egypt

When Amir arrived at MEEP, DrBridge, a digital health care system
that compiles patient medical records in order to automate data
transactions between stakeholders, had been in operation for two
and a half years and had 1,000 clients. Since MEEP, in just three
months, 1,300 more doctors have signed up for DrBridge. Compared
with his previous monthly growth rates, Barsoum says that DrBridge
is experiencing 1,124 percent growth per month. Barsoum attributes
this to the complete strategy change he embraced after his week in
Silicon Valley. Specifically, Barsoum attributes his epiphany to the
MEEP discussion at Uber on digital innovationwhat he calls the
Great Uber Experience.
Barsoum outlined three other ways DrBridge has changed in
light of MEEP conversations: first, a more vested interest in office
culture; second, a greater emphasis on team-building; and third,
a concerted effort to celebrate successes and victories inside the
company. We built a table-tennis tableI play more than my
coworkers, Barsoum says. The Institute looks forward to hosting
him as a Spotlight Health scholar at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival.

This week gave us three key pillars. One, we got

introduced to different business models, some of
which will dramatically affect ours. Second, we got
to know success stories, which adds motivation. And
third, it gives us very good ideas about how to build an
ecosystem in our part of the world.

AMINE CHOUAIEB

Founder, Chifco, Tunisia

MUJDAT AYOGUZ

Founder, Woisio, Turkey

The networking exposure, Ayoguz says, has been the most

effective part of this trip for meboth in the Bay Area and with
fellow entrepreneurs. Woisio is a social-media-based television
platform that allows users to curate information streams by selecting
tags that interest them. Through MEEP, it struck up a partnership
with Kharabeeshs Firas Al-Otaibi to feature its content on Woisios
platform, which boasts 3.5 million monthly users. Following MEEP,
Ayoguz also secured a meeting with Kleiner Perkins Caulfield
Byers. And he says, Connecting with local entrepreneurs to drive
growth is an opportunity I will pursue.

You get the exposure in this program youd get

in six months or a year. This is all about the
entrepreneurship community. [Collaboration] is for
the greater good of the region.

Chifco is a customer-engagement platform that reinvents the way

utilities, telecommunications companies, and facility managers
interact with customers and devices. Since MEEP, Chouaieb was
featured at the Investment and Entrepreneurship Conference
and hosted by the US State Department, the American Chamber
of Commerce in Tunisia, and the Aspen Institute. Chifco has
also welcomed a consultant from Microsoft to their team for six
months to strategize smart business growth. Chouaieb has been
featured on Tunisie Radio to discuss program takeaways; he will
also be publishing his program reflections in The Huffington Post.

Square and Rally Health shared with us their

visions and both the good and hard parts of
business. There will be two major takeaways: to
share best practices through visiting one another
and to support one another in business. We
will give more responsibility to young people
important work for us, as we are hiring a lot of
people.
THE ASPEN IDEA

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THE INITIATIVE AND DISCIPLINE

OF MILITARY TRAINING CAN AND
DOES LEAD TO THE CREATION
OF ART. A NUMBER OF VETERANARTISTS AFFILIATED WITH THE
INSTITUTE SPEAK ABOUT HOW THEIR
EXPERIENCES IN THE MILITARY
HAVE SPARKED THEIR CREATIVITY
AND HOW CREATIVITY HAS BEEN
ESSENTIAL TO MAKING SENSE OF WAR.
BY SACHA ZIMMERMAN

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THE ASPEN IDEA

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Erin Baiano

Donley sings while Bloom

accompanies him on piano.

2015

61

I say, not so much to Jenks as the empty bar behind him. Were
at a table in the corner, with a view of the entrance.
Jenks shrugs and makes a face. Hard to tell what it means.
Theres so much scar tissue and wrinkled skin, I never know if
hes happy or sad or pissed or what. Hes got no hair and no
ears either, so even though its been three years after he got hit,
I still feel like his head is something I shouldnt look at. But you
look a man in the eye when you talk to him, so for Jenks I force
my eyes in line with his.
I dont tell war stories, he says, and takes a sip of his glass
of water.
Excerpt from Phil Klays Redeployment

Erin Baiano

Im tired of telling war stories,

Klay

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ational Book Awardwinner and Iraq War veteran Phil

Klay is sitting forward in his chair onstage in Washington,
DC, talking to an Institute audience about war.
Do I have the right to tell these stories? he asks. Klay is
wrestling with what it means to write about war from different
perspectivesto tell his characters stories even if they are not his
own. Klay, a US Marine, shifts in his chair and settles on an answer.
Every character is me, and none of them are, he says.
For many veterans, the military seems to fire a sense of internal
purpose that can be isolating and depressing if left uncultivated.
But directed toward specific ends, that purpose is revelatory. The
initiative and discipline of military training can lead to the creation
of arta process that can even be therapeutic. A number of
veteran-artists affiliated with the Institute have in the past months
spoken about how their experiences in the military have sparked
their creativity, or how creativity after service has been essential to
making sense of war.
But in a culture that often reflexively lionizes the creative work
that is engendered by war, entering the artistic space in a spirit
of both authenticity and vulnerability can
be tricky. Klay is now worried that readers
might mistake his truth for the only truth.
Everyone has their own war, he says. No
art is the defining war novel, war movie
The canon, of course, is rich. Books like
All Quiet on the Western Front, The Naked and
the Dead, and The Things They Carried made
war disconcertingly intimate. These books
dispatched with any chest-thumping romantic
heroics and brought the reader into the gritty
terrors and realities of a foxhole. Films like Das
Boot, Apocalypse Now, and The Hurt Locker gave
audiences a visual language through which
to understand the brutalities of war. And
songs like Fortunate Son, Sunday Bloody
Sunday, and Whats Going On? gave voice
to the unavoidable politics of any war.
War as art is inherently political, Klay
acknowledges. Its about our decisions on the ground. But everyone
may react differently to the work. One mans freedom fighter, after
all, is anothers insurgent. Klay himself reacts differently to his own
work than some might expect. He says writing Redeployment was not
the cathartic experience people often want him to say it was.
Writing a book after service was not a goal, he says. I was not
traumatized. Writing the book angered me. I wanted to do it, felt I
had to do it. But is that healing or not?
It was Klays second appearance at an Institute event in a
yeara year in which the intersection of art and war became a
theme, threading through the words of speakers at major Institute
events while the nation tried to end its longest war, Afghanistan.
The effects of the September 11 attacks continue to reverberate

in many forms of art and across culturesfrom Ground Zero in

one of the most famous cities in the world to the craggy peaks of
Kandahar.
US Marine Timothy Donley deployed to Helman Province in
January 2012but his in-country service lasted just one month. In
February, a roadside improvised-explosive device tore Donley down
while he was on patrol. He lost both legs. A long and painful recovery
awaited him at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. And
that is where Donley discovered artor, rather, art discovered him.
Donley sings in the Wounded Warrior Band, part of the
MusiCorps program at Walter Reed, which gives severely recovering
veterans an opportunity to enter conservatory-style musical training.
It takes guys who never picked up an instrument before in their
lives, and three months later are really goodI mean really good,
Donley told an audience at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter
College in New York City this February as part of the Institutes
Arts Program event Art in the Aftermath of War.
It turns out, if you combine the rigor and work ethic of a soldier
with a lot of downtime and a desire to quell the lethargy, and you
channel it into music, the results are stunning.
Having a goal to focus onand something to
achieveDonley said, brought life back into
peoples eyes.
Arthur Bloom, who also participated in
the event, agreed. An Aspen Ideas Festival
regular and 2014 CNN Hero awardee,
Bloom founded MusiCorps in 2007 to
help veterans pass the time during painful
recoveries; what he found was a group
of particularly disciplined and motivated
students. Now Bloom, a graduate of the
Yale School of Music, teaches participants
to practice classical technique in a
conservatory style.
Some of what we do, you could call
adaptive music-making, Bloom told the
Donley, Yo-Yo Ma
New York crowd. The folks who are
missing limbs or have damaged hands
and arms sometimes require specialized instruments, which we
provide. And when this happens, the veterans moods improve,
they are more engaged, and they excel artistically.
Bloom had stumbled upon what Dr. Iva Fattorini has called the
latent therapeutic power of the arts. As an Institute Spotlight
Health speaker last summer, Fattorini called for merging the
arts and medicine globally with the highest professional artistic
standards. Fattorini is chair of the Cleveland Clinic Arts and
Medicine Institute, which she founded in 2006, serving as its first
executive director. Fattorini says hospitals need to provide more
than just basic medical treatment.
Neuroimmunology teaches us that extensive bidirectional
communication takes place between the nervous and theimmune
systems in both health and disease, Fattorini said. Thus, ifarts

Writing a book after service was not a goal.

I wanted to do it, felt I had to do it.
But is that healing or not?

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63

Man versus nature is always compelling, I go to

all sorts of interesting places and meet interesting
people. Pictures connect me to other people.

affect emotions, andemotions affect health, then arts affecthealth.

According to Fattorini, when a person faces a life-threatening crisis,
there is a level of self-reflection that is stronger than if they were not
being forced to encounter their own mortality. Fattorini believes that
these moments of crisis are criticalmoments when patients should
be exposed to fine art. Studies, she said, have shown that integrating
arts and medicine improves health outcomes and quality of life. And
a Cleveland Clinicstudy showed that music therapy decreased levels
of anxiety, pain, and depression.In other words, with art, a patients
complete being is attended to while they are in the hospital.
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At the New York event, Donley performed blues-folk legend

Buddy Millers Wide River to Cross, accompanied by Bloom
on piano. Donley sang the elegiac chordsTheres a sorrow in
the wind/Blowing down the road Ive been/I can hear it cry while
shadows steal the sunas the audience sat rapt.
Bloom said his work is perhaps best captured in the words of one
wounded veteran: Through music were able to be heroic again.
When Christopher Michel was in the middle of his Henry Crown
Fellowship, in 2006, America was in the middle of two wars. A former

Christopher Michel

Michel aboard a U-2 spy plane at 70,000 feet.

This Page: Christopher Michel

US Naval flight officer, Michel had been an active-duty navigator, tactical

coordinator, and mission commander aboard the P-3C Orion aircraft.
Whats more, the Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellow had already
founded Military.coman online portal for service members, veterans,
and their familiesand written The Military Advantage: A Comprehensive
Guide to Your Military & Veterans Benefits (Simon & Schuster). When it came
time to start an AGLN Leadership Project, Michel continued this work
in a new way: ReconnectAmerica.com tackled the growing gap between
American civilians and military service men and women.
Sometimes a quick Thank you for your service as we breeze through
a busy airport is as close as many Americans come to connecting with
military personnel. Starting in 2006, Michel endeavored to bridge that
chasm by launching a media program that featured a new military
charity each month to help connect Americans at all levels of society
with service members. He then promoted ReconnectAmerica.com
on the Discovery Channel and Military.com.
You dont fight forces, Michel tells The Aspen Idea. You use them.
It was the kind of project, Michel says, where you dont ask for money.
Instead you ask for ad space and production facilities: Its easy for
them to do that.
In 2008, when Michel sold his company Affinity Labs to Monster
Worldwide, he was at what Institute Fellows call an inflection point.
Having flown over Bosnia in the 1990s, Michel had developed an acute
sense of adventure. He also found the military to be unexpectedly
creative. In the military, you create, create, create, he says. Klay
describes it this way: Its not that you feel most alive; its that you feel
most utilized.
Michel longed to travel to extreme environments and to create
something, but for what purpose?
The camera is like a magic carpet, Michel says. The onetime
Naval officer, Pentagon aide, writer, and entrepreneur had found his
new passion: photography, a complete addiction.
I take pictures now because you cant go back in time, he says, a
bit wistful that he never took photos when he was on active duty. Your
average moment could be an above-average memory.
And like Klay and Donley, Michels inner drive yielded art. He is now
a prolific professional photographer who specializes in shooting extreme
environments. His most recent trip this spring was to the North Pole
aboard a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker. Man versus nature is
always compelling, he says. I go to all sorts of interesting places and
meet interesting people. Pictures connect me to other people.
Back in Washington, DC, Klay has come to the same conclusion.
Art is a place where people can come together to talk about issues
that are meaningful to them, he tells the crowd. And if writing
Redeployment was not as healing for him as Donleys music curriculum,
it certainly was meaningful.
We have a responsibility to the vets who are coming back to
our communities, Klay says. It has political consequences and
interpersonal consequences if we assume that this one aspect of
human experience forever alienates you from mankind, and I dont like
that idea. Klay doesnt want people to look away from the injured vet
or just mutter, Thank you for your service in passingunless, that is,
it is the start of a real conversation. Like Michel, Klay wants to connect
ordinary Americans with their nations military men and women.
It was important not just to write a good story, but to communicate
something, Klay adds. What we do overseas relates to what happens
over here. These are all of our wars.

Sacha Zimmerman is executive editor of The Aspen Idea.

Top: A young man in Papua, New Guinea. Center: Aboard a naval

aircraft carrier. Bottom: Old and new converge in Yangon, Burma.

THE ASPEN IDEA

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B y C aitlin C olegrove

The 11 women in the

ninth class of the Central
America Leadership
Initiative decided to build
their own mentorship
program for girls who
could and should become
leadersbut who have
so few models of women
leaders to look to that
they seldom get the
chance to dream.

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Rajesh Krishnan for Abriendo Oportunidades

THE ASPEN IDEA

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Rajesh Krishnan for Abriendo Oportunidades

Soy Una Nia y Construyo mi Futuro (I Am a Girl, I Build My Future)

helps 1,000 girls across six Central American countries.

As a child, I was vulnerable, explains Maura Zapata, a 26-yearold attorney, as she recounts her formative years in Ciudad Sandino,
Nicaragua. My family had scarce resources, my father was a
farmer, and my mother sold goods door to door. I was the youngest
of six. It was school that helped me identify my leadership potential
and develop the critical thinking that led me to my profession.
After graduating from law school in Managua, Nicaragua,
Zapata wanted to repay her school and community for the
extraordinary opportunities she had received. Her hope was to
give back by mentoring young girls and empowering them to take
control of their futures. While she found a steady supply of worthy
NGOs and causes around her, she struggled to find an opportunity
68

THE ASPEN IDEA

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that would allow her to work directly with young girls. When she
learned about the Soy Una Nia y Construyo mi Futuro (I Am
a Girl, I Build My Future) program, she knew she had found the
perfect opportunity to become a mentor.
The program was conceived by the 11 women who together
comprise the female contingent of the ninth class of Central
America Leadership Initiative Fellows. Like Zapata, the other
Fellows recognized the combination of luck and circumstances
that allowed them to advance in life, and they felt a responsibility
to help the next generation. As CALI Fellow Denise Vargas, the
commercial manager for Ultramotor and Motomundo, the leading
motorcycle-distribution companies in Honduras, puts it, Deeply

Rajesh Krishnan for Abriendo Oportunidades

The program started after the CALI Fellows read Simone de Beauvoir.

I was the youngest of six. It was

school that helped me identify my

leadership potential and develop the critical
thinking that led me to my profession.
rooted in our hearts is our concern for the future of so many
vulnerable girls in our countries.
CALI was founded in 2005 by two Henry Crown Fellows, one
of the 13 programs in the Aspen Global Leadership Network,
a worldwide community of more than 2,000 action-oriented
leaders committed to making the world a better place. Fellows
are selected in groups of 20 to be part of one of 13 geographic
or sector-specific initiatives around the world, each modeled after
the Henry Crown Fellowship Program. The 20 Fellows enter the
experience having demonstrated a great deal of personal success
and leave it inspired to make a greater mark on their communities
and the world.
The development of I Am a Girl, I Build My Future began in
March 2014 with leaders from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panam seated around a table in
Managuathe second in a series of four seminars in which each
class of AGLN Fellows participates. (The second of the four
seminars is always a classic Aspen Seminar.) The group of 24 men
and women, CALIs ninth class, were engrossed in a discussion of
Simone de Beauvoirs The Second Sexso much so that they decided
to name themselves the RadiCALI class.

Zapata

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The original idea for the specific regional program came from a discussion

about the mixed messages our children, and particularly girls, receive through media,
merchandise, and role models.
Karla Blanco, the corporate-affairs director for Intel in Costa
Rica, stopped and read one sentence aloud: For the individuals who
seem to us most outstanding, who are honored with the name of
genius, are those who have proposed to enact the fate of all humanity
in their personal existences, and no woman has ever believed herself
authorized to do this. Though the CALI Fellows didnt realize it
at the time, this moment would mark the beginning of a major
regional initiative on women and girls. As proven leaders selected
to be part of this selective fellowship program, says Maria Isabel
Mayorga, the executive director of Fundacin Geden, which works
to improve civic engagement in Guatemala City, I had a moment
where I looked around the room and realized I was among the most
privileged in my country. My CALI classmates and I share a sense of
responsibility for supporting the next generation.
The 11 women in the class left the seminar resolved to do more
for women and girls in their countries. A spirited WhatsApp group
text discussion just a few weeks later helped give shape to what the
women wanted to do. The original idea for the specific regional
program, Denise Vargas says, came from a discussion about the
mixed messages our children, and particularly girls, receive through
media, merchandise, and role models.
Feinstein

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Armed with a concept for a major regional mentoring

program focused on empowering girls, Ana Margarita Vijila
Fulbright scholar and president of the Sandinista Renovation
Movement, a center-left political party in Nicaraguafocused
on fundraising. She proposed that the RadiCALI women apply
to the US State Departments Alumni Exchange Innovation
Fund. Via online communication, the women worked on the
grant application as a team for two weeks in April. In June,
the State Department announced that the women had been
selected from hundreds of programs for a $23,000 grant. The
gift would allow I Am a Girl, I Build My Future to reach 1,000
girls in the six countries of Central America in their first year
of operations.
Buoyed by their seed funding and this vote of confidence, the
women met in Guatemala City in July and invited Fellows from
previous CALI classes to join them. Maria Pacheco, a fellow of
the second class and a John P. McNulty Prize laureate, introduced
them to a methodology called Abriendo Oportunidades (Opening
Opportunities), which was developed by Vital Voices Guatemala
and the Population Council.
With the program established and start-up funds raised, the

Rajesh Krishnan for Abriendo Oportunidades

The State Department awarded

I Am A Girl a $23,000 grant
the program beat out hundreds
of applicants for the honor.

Rajesh Krishnan for Abriendo Oportunidades

The girls learn about self-esteem,

finance, and reproductive health
topics girls are seldom educated in.

Our project has taken shape without organizational structure andwithout

formalityjust passion, respect, and love. I believe this dynamic is the best evidence of
what true fellowship means.
group now knew that the biggest hurdle to scaling their project
throughout the region would be capacity. To build that, they
needed support and connections. They quickly found both in
the CALI network of Fellows. Glasswing International, founded
by CALI Fellow Diego de Sola, offered them access to its robust
network of volunteers and infrastructure in Guatemala, El
Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Meanwhile, in Costa Rica,
the education NGO Fe y Alegra (Faith and Happiness) and
the CEPIA Association, both founded by CALI Fellow Laetitia
Deweer, offered their local networks as well.
Meanwhile, the RadiCALI women had been hard at
work selecting mentorseach carefully chosen for their blend
of life experience and professional achievement. In February,
the Population Council invited all I Am a Girl, I Build My
Future mentors to Guatemala for training in nine methodologies
it had developed in areas like self-esteem, resource management,
financial literacy, sexual and reproductive health, and identifying
and preventing violencetopics girls are seldom educated in.
With eager mentors like Maura newly graduated from training
sessions, the Girls Clubs officially launched in April in each of the
six countries. Mentors lead weekly meetings in a safe space. The

girls who attend are between the ages of eight and 15. Maura has
already mentored 50 girls who grew up in the same conditions she
did and are, as she was at that age, vulnerable.
The RadiCALI women have formed the sort of bond we
regularly see in classes of AGLN Fellows around the world.
They regularly test each others views about their roles as
mothers, partners, leaders, and friends. From an initial spark of
collaboration among classmates to a major regional program, I Am
A Girl, I Build My Future is now poised to make a difference in
the futures of many vulnerable girls throughout Central America.
It has been wonderful to witness each of the womens leadership
emerge when most needed, Maria Isabel Mayorga, an NGO
leader from Guatemala, explains, and then take a backseat when
not. Our project has taken shape without organizational structure
andwithout formalityjust through passion, respect, and love. I
believe this dynamic is the best evidence of what true fellowship
means and its power to change the world through a sharedvision
and selflessness.
Caitlin Colegrove is network and communications manager for the Aspen
Global Leadership Network.

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IDEAS

THE MORAL IMPERATIVES

TO FOOD SECURITY

78

BRINGING HEALTH CARE

TO TRIBES THAT NEED IT

The scale of global food

After years of poor dental care,

insecurity is unprecedented.
if any, Native youth took matters

How do we feed the world?

into their own handsonly to

Madeleine Albright, Tom

find unexpected resistance. The
Daschle, and Dan Glickman

Center for Native American

on what needs to happen now.
Youths Erin Bailey explains why.

72

THE ASPEN IDEA

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84

REBUILDING LIVES,
REDUCING COSTS

A new model for jobs vs. jail

has investors betting prison

reform will work. ImpactAlphas

David Bank and Jessica
Pothering say why its a

good bet.

THE MORAL IMPERATIVES OF

FOOD SECURITY

It is peculiar to live in a world where hunger is an endemic problem

for half the planet while diet books are best-sellers in the other half.
This point is often lost in the broader bundle of jargon that now
defines the conversation on food security in the 21st century, but it
should not be.
A food security expert today will tell you that in order to feed the
worlds population, projected to reach nine billion people by 2050,
we must adopt a sophisticated strategy of streamlining market
efficiencies, scaling best practices, and leveraging disruptive
technologies to put food in the mouths of the poor and the hungry.
True. But there is more to this story.
In reality, food insecurity predates public-private partnerships
and market-driven solutions by several millennia, and the essence
of the issue remains unchanged. Even in the 21st century, chronic
hunger and malnutrition are propagated by two forces: inequality
and injustice.
This means that food security is as much a moral and political
issue as it is one defined by markets and international agreements.
Accordingly, we have an obligation to make the case for plugging
the gaps in the global food systemnot only because of how it will
benefit economic growth and political stability but also because it
is the right thing to do.
It is therefore time for a clear-eyed moral framework for
reaching food security. This means building support among
core participantsgovernments, the private sector, NGOs, and
international institutionsfor the principle that feeding the
worlds growing population is an end in itself and not merely a
means to other ends. Generating returns on investment, exploring
new markets, and protecting the worlds resources are important
benefits that will come from working toward food security. But they

are a small part of a greater moral good that should remain the
fundamental principle of food security. What does this principle
look like in practice?
Government is first and foremost a social contract that outlines
responsibilities for order and well-being between those who rule
and those who are ruled. I therefore believe that governments have
a responsibility to feed those who cannot feed themselves. But we
must better understand what tools governments can use to achieve
that objective.
First, property is everywhere in this discussion, and governments
have the power to define the legal architecture of property rights.
Food is about agriculture; agriculture is about land and water; and
land and water are about propertywho owns it, who has access to
it, and who cultivates it. As the economist Hernando De Soto has
pointed out brilliantly, if we can do a better job of making property
rights accessible to all, we can also help the poor to use those rights
to obtain credit, make investments, and increase their agricultural
output. Property rights give poor people a stronger voice and a
greater stake in their economies. We cannot expect to increase the
agricultural output of the worlds arable land if the smallholder
farmers responsible for its cultivation are not invested in its future.
Second, as the providers of social services, governments are
in a unique position to structure how issues such as nutrition,
agriculture, and infrastructure intersect with welfare and social
services. One of the resounding lessons from the work of the Food
Security Strategy Group at the Aspen Institute is that an integrated
approach for reducing food insecurity has a greater impact than
separate strategies for each sector. Ethiopia has demonstrated
the wisdom of such an integrated strategy in its Agricultural
Transformation Agency, a forward-thinking agency designed to

Food should be a human right. Resolving hunger

is a matter of justice and equalitywhich puts it squarely
in the camp of governments and spiritual leaders.
Businesses, too, stand to profit from increasing
food accessthey have the largest stake in improving it.
BY MADELEINE ALBRIGHT
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reduce food insecurity by mandating collaboration between key

government ministries and finance, agriculture, health, relief, and
social services. The success of this model is evident in the fact that
since the strategys implementation, Ethiopia has made greater
gains toward food security than any other country, as measured by
the DuPont Global Food Security Index.
Third, governments have the power and responsibility to create
clear regulatory environments to accelerate technologies that support
safe and sustainable agricultural production increases. One important
opportunity will come later this year, when the United Nations sets
out its post-2015 development goals. Part of the discussion about the
proper role of the UN in food security should include whether we
consider access to food a human right. Importantly, this could help
reframe the debate on hot-button moral issues, such as agricultural
subsidies and genetically modified (GM) seeds.
The green revolutions and their modern-day counterparts
have saved countless lives. Yet there are countries with starving
populations that for a variety
of reasons have decided they
will not use any crops that
have been exposed to GMs
or are themselves genetically
modified. Consensus in the
scientific community supports
the position that GM crops
increase yields and do not
pose a threat to human health.
While this position could shift,
until that happens we have a
moral imperative to use these
agricultural innovations to
decrease hunger and increase profits for farmers in the developing
world. Only governments have the authority to drive evidencebased policy reforms that decrease hunger, enhance nutrition, and
support innovation.
From the legal architecture of land and water rights to the
provision of social services and the power to shape and accelerate
high-impact technologies, governments possess considerable tools
to deploy in the global effort to fight food insecurity. Moreover,
as the guardians of social order and justice, governments have a
compelling moral responsibility to lead the way toward a more
food-secure future.
But governments cant do this alone. Governments are not
omnipotent, nor do they possess infinite resources. The two
sectors best positioned to complement the tools and capabilities of
governments are the private sector and what we may consider the
spiritual sector, or global religions.
Businesses, of course, have the greatest stake in achieving a foodsecure future. And it is here that the moral underpinning of food
security becomes particularly important. Businesses, including large
multinational agriculture companies, stand to gain a great deal
in the markets that now exemplify the most endemic and vexing
challenges of food insecurity. Yet the path to profitability in those
regions is not always confluent with the long-term sustainability
and welfare of the most vulnerable communities.

Businesses have a responsibility to share the burden: to do

well by doing good. In the agriculture sector, this means making
a commitment to developing resources and human capital at a
community level so that smallholder farmers, who are mostly
women, share the profits of the global rise in agriculture yields by
having fair access to water, land, and fertilizers.
Even with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors fully
engaged, its in our interests to recognize that another set of voices
can mobilize grassroots action on an issue such as food security in
a way no other organizations can. These are the voices of religious
authorityfrom the Pope to imams, and everyone in between
who have the power to spur broad-based action on agriculture and
nutrition to help the poor and malnourished.
Notably, Pope Francis and his deputy, Cardinal Peter Turkson,
have been outspoken on this issue, with Pope Francis going so far as
to call it a God-given right of everyone to have access to adequate
food. Moreover, they have mobilized the Churchs development
arm, Caritas Internationalis,
in a global campaign to
end hunger by 2025 by
leveraging for the first time the
worldwide footprint of Caritas
Internationalis and its affiliated
organizations to present a
unified call for systemic change
in the global food system.
The Popes voice and action
on this issue, as evidenced by
his strong endorsement of the
Rome Declaration on Nutrition and
Framework for Action, exemplifies
how religious leaders can use their gravitas and authority to galvanize
support for public-sector-led initiatives.
Meeting the complex challenge of achieving food security by
mid-century mandates new thinking and action. Yes, it requires
dynamic partnerships, models for scalable impact, and
disruptive technologies, along with a host of other ingredients
that would be dizzying to list. But the real challenge is to use the core
competencies of each sector to pursue a common goal. Businesses
make moneythey must find it in their interests to grow in a way
that leaves the poor and malnourished better off in the areas in
which they work. Governments make laws and uphold orderthey
must see protecting the poor and malnourished as fundamental to
social and political stability over the long term. Religions and other
NGOssuch as those focused on empowering womencan share
compelling narratives and motivate people to give back, cut back,
and reduce food waste. In a world where one-third of all edible
food never makes it to the mouths of the hungry, we all have an
individual moral responsibility to do our part. The imperative to
support those in need is the ideathe larger frameworkthat
unites each of these sectors in achieving food security. We should
embrace this sense of shared purpose.

As the guardians of
social order and justice,
governments have
a compelling moral
responsibility to lead the
way toward a more
food-secure future.

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Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is the co-chair of the Aspen Institute Food
Security Strategy Group with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former Secretary
of Agriculture Dan Glickman, and the philanthropists Tony Elumelu and Javier Solana.

FOOD SECURITY:

WHO LEADS?
The short answer: everyone. Governments can set
important agendas. But the private sector holds
the keys to getting more people better food.
The world is facing a food security
challenge of unprecedented scale in the
21st century. The numbers are familiar,
and they are stark: food production,
according to the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations,
must increase by at least 60 percent in the
next 35 years to feed Earths growing and
hungry population. And food production
must meet that rising demand while
contending with other crises like climate
change, migration, conflict, and disease,
which will all affect our ability to grow
more food.
More important, food production must meet that demand
sustainably and equitably, with respect for the environment and
the smallholder farmers that make up the backbone of global
agriculture. This is no easy task.
Like many of the greatest challenges facing world leaders today,
achieving food securitydefined as when all people at all times have
access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to stay healthy and active
over the long term requires tight coordination and progress across
all sectors. Governments, NGOs, international organizations, and
corporations all have a role to play. But who will lead? And where
can we focus our resources to make the greatest impact?
Reflecting on our long and shared experience tackling these
issues in government, informed by the storied history of farming
in our home states and across America, and fueled by the powerful
data and evidence on global agriculture markets and innovation, we

believe the private sector can provide the greatest improvements in

food security. Governments, NGOs, and international organizations
must thus not only cultivate values-based leadership in the business
community but also empower those leaders in both business and
politics who recognize the private sectors unique potential to meet
one of the most pressing challenges of this century.
According to the FAO, global trade in agriculture exceeds $1
trillion each year, or more than 200 times the annual operating
budget of the World Food Programme, the worlds largest food aid
organization. To put that in perspective, a 1 percent per year gain
in the efficiency of global agriculture markets would alone free up
enough money to cover all global food aid costs many times over.
The private sector, then, is poised to be the engine for driving
sustainability in agriculture and natural resource use over the next
30 years. How? By reinvesting capital in sustainable supply chains,
developing nutrient-rich and high-yield crops, creating innovative
financial products that increase smallholder farmers access to
financing, and developing country-level cooperatives.
To take just one example, efficiency gains in crop development
hold enormous potential. As data-driven philanthropists Bill and
Melinda Gates outlined in their 2015 annual foundation letter,
American farmers get five times as much maize from their land
as African farmers do. Investment to enhance the efficiency and
resilience of Africas agriculture sector is a no-brainera down
payment on the future food security of a continent that, despite its
incredible resource potential, continues to spend $50 billion each
year to import food.
The history of cooperatives and the agriculture industry
offer another example, and one where the history of the
United States can point the way for the future. Both the United
States and developing countries show us how investment in
disaggregated agricultural markets not only pays dividends
to shareholders but also increases sustainability over the long
term. The growth of cooperatives was in fact one of the
most significant factors in US agricultures rapid rise over

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the past century, combined with government investment in

infrastructure like roads and rail, and investment in marketpricing frameworks like the commodities trade.
Cooperatives help farmers get access to the financing they need
for growth. The private sector has a significant role to play in
bringing small farmers together. Because of cooperatives, todays
agribusinesses can increase crop yields while bolstering food quality
and the stability of international trade. The Minnesota-based dairy
company Land O Lakes, for example, has been organizing and
strengthening cooperatives in developing countries and increasing
farmers access to improved seed and animals while also providing
education in effective production and economic management.
Harnessing market forces will be necessary to double world food
production by 2050. But more than mastering the market is necessary
to achieve growth the way it should be done. That will require a
dedication to socially and environmentally sustainable investment
principles. And it will require corporate leadership that puts a high
value on the nutritional quality of food, a sustainable food supply, the
sensible use of water, and working to ensure climate security.
Using the power of its supply chains to affect change, the CocaCola Company is setting a notable example through its sustainablesourcing strategies, empowerment of women and smallholder
farmers, and protections of local land rights. By the end of the
decade, the company will have spent $17 billion in Africa developing
new manufacturing lines, installing cooling and distribution
equipment, implementing safe-water initiatives, and supporting
womens economic empowerment and community well-being.
The quality and not just quantity of foodits nutritional valueis
inextricably linked to global food security. On a planet where one-innine people is undernourished and more than 1.4 billion people are
overweight or obese, the private sector must prioritize sustainable
calories and recognize that the return on investment in nutritious
food will deliver greater value over time. DuPonts Nutrition and
Health division collaborates with the public and private sectors to
develop science-based food-ingredient and food-protection solutions
that improve the health profile, quality, and safety of food. The
Global Food Security Index, a unique and progressive collaboration
between DuPont and the Economist Intelligence Unit, is an
important step in bringing nutrition food security planning to the
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forefront. The index measures food security across 109 countries

based on 28 indicators, including diet diversification, protein quality,
nutrition standards, food waste, and obesity. Each of these indicators
is critical to addressing the global challenge of malnutrition.
Climate change is also an inextricable part of food security, and
here the reinsurance industry has been taking the lead in addressing
risks from extreme weather such as floods and droughts. Swiss
Re has created new insurance products that protect companies
weather-related earnings and prevent losses from weather and
commodity price shocks. The company has also developed new
types of crop-shortfall insurance, weather-based index coverage,
and structured price hedges for businesses concerned about possible
low production resulting from unpredictable weather.
With all of this potential, what models of private leadership should
be promoted as setting the gold standard? How should corporations
engage with governments and NGOs working on food security issues?
In the future, categorizing this type of work under the umbrella term
public-private partnerships will be insufficient as a guide for change.
We believe that clearer conceptions for what enlightened private-sector
approaches look like must be discussed and established.
Food security conversations today need to build from an
understanding of initiatives like the ones now happening on the
ground. There is broad agreement on the need for sustainable
intensification of agriculture in order to increase both yields and
nutritional quality of cropsand to consolidate and empower
smallholder farmers, particularly women farmers, to increase their
economic power and improve their access to the global food trade.
How this will happenand what kinds of private-sector investments
will be needed to make it happenis the great puzzle of the day.
Our job is to help fit together the puzzle pieces of private-sector
leadership to ensure the globes long-term food security.
Madeleine Albright, Tom Daschle, and Dan Glickman serve as co-chairs of
the Institutes Food Security Strategy Group, along with philanthropists Tony
Elumelu and Javier Solana. Madeleine Albright, Institute Trustee and chair of
Albright Stonebridge Group, previously served as the 64th US secretary of state.
Tom Daschle, currently a policy adviser, was the Senate majority leader. Dan
Glickman is the executive director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program
as well as a former US secretary of agriculture and member of the US House
of Representatives.

TWENTY
BEST IDEAS
OF THE DAY

How do you frighten

political strongmen?
Teach journalism.
Thomas Fiedler
in The Conversation

Add kids football

to the list of cultural
dividers in America.
David Leonhardt
in The Upshot

Its time to pay

college athletes.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
in Jacobin

Hacking out of prison:

San Quentin inmates
are learning to code.

Charley Locke in EdSurge

Solar power can

provide hot meals
for the masses.
Jos Andrs in The Plate

Every day at noon, the Institutes Journal of Ideas posts the FIVE BEST IDEAS OF
THE DAY, taken from all over the web. Here are 20 provocative, new ideas, many of them
by Institute contributors, that appeared recently. Youll find the links at www.aspen.us.

11

Its time to build a

more secure internet.
Walter Isaacson in Time

Juries are getting

virtual reality headsets
to visit crime scenes.
Jessica Hamzelou
in New Scientist

ISIS is bringing
recruits onto the
battlefield faster than
we can kill them.

Our high incarceration

rate no longer reduces
crime.
Lauren-Brooke Eisen
in USA Today

12

Leif Coorlim
at the CNN Freedom Project

Better than an action

movie: Catch a college
lecture on your next
commercial flight.

10

Kim Clark in Money

16

Antonio Regalado
in MIT Technology Review

For some returning from

war, a G.I. bill for farming
eases the transition home.

Blue-collar jobs are

coming back, and
pay well. But women
are missing out.
Mitchell Hartman
in Marketplace

17

Abby Wendle
in Harvest Public Media

13

Tim Mack & Nancy A. Youssef

in The Daily Beast

One NGO is
crowdfunding the
fight against human
trafficking.

Just because were

able to edit the DNA
of tomorrows children,
does that mean we
should?

Its time to give up the

uniquely American
institution of the
network anchorman.

The U.S. wants to hack

your phone because it
doesnt have the real
spies it needs.

18

Frank Rich in New York magazine

Patrick G. Eddington in Reuters

14

For developmentally
disabled kids, the
benefits of organized
sports are huge.
Darrin Steele in Quartz

15

How do we convince
Americans that justice
isnt for sale when in
39 states, it is?
Sue Bell Cobb in Politico

We know how to
reduce earthquake
deaths. So why arent
we doing it?

19

Brad Plumer in Vox

Go ahead and start

a new career in your
fifties. Its easier than
you think.

20

Donna Rosato in Money

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BRINGING

HEALTH CARE
TO TRIBES THAT NEED IT
Native youth are bringing national attention to an
innovative program pioneered by leaders from
Alaska Tribal Nations to bring oral health care to communities
that have had no access to itand succeeding in the face
of strong opposition by dental trade associations.
Littlebear Sanchez, 22, a foster youth from the Mescalero Apache
Nation, suffered from a broken and infected tooth for many
months, unable to get a dentist appointment in New Mexico. As
the pain became unbearable, Littlebear recalls, I even tried
pulling the tooth out myself. He has shared his story with White
House staff, members of the presidents Cabinet, and media outlets to raise awareness of the importance of access to safe health
care and to advocate for policy change.
Alayna Eagle Shield, 24, from the Standing Rock Sioux Nation,
testified during a North Dakota state legislative hearing in October
2014 about the use of dental therapy, and she wrote an op-ed sharing her stories of long, early morning trips across a winter prairie
for the chance to see a dentist. According to Alayna, only a lucky
few can be seen each day, so many of our youth grow up with
missing teeth. As an aspiring medical student, Alayna is determined to ensure that Indian tribes and rural communities can end
the status quo and bring back good health.
As an organization committed to youth leadership and development, the Center for Native American Youth creates opportunities
that bolster youth initiatives and lift up their voices. CNAY was
founded in 2011 as a policy program at the Institute by former
US Senator Byron Dorgan with $1 million from excess campaign

funds. The organization is dedicated to improving the health, safety, and overall well-being of Native American youth through communication, policy development, and advocacy on a national level.
Alayna and Littlebear are examples of that advocacy.
Centuries of failed policies and chronic underfunding of programs intended to serve Native Americans have led to intolerable
disparities in health, socioeconomic status, housing, education, and
other social determinants of health, seriously affecting the ability
of Native American youth to reach their full potential.
That includes oral health. For Native American youth, lack of
access to oral health care persists as a very real and sometimes
deadly cause of poor health outcomes, pain, and grief: 72 percent
of Native youth nationwide currently suffer from untreated tooth
decaydouble the rate of the general population. For children
ages two to four, the rate is five times the US average. Nearly 50
percent of Native youth in the United States live in federally designated dental-shortage areas. All too often, medical help is hours
away.
The Indian Health Service, an agency within the Department
of Health and Human Services whose mission is to carry out the
federal governments responsibility to provide health care to Native Americans, remains chronically underfunded, with less fund-

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ing for health care services per capita than veterans and prisoners,
not to mention Medicaid and Medicare patients. One of the results of historic underfunding and potential future budget cuts is a
dentist vacancy rate hovering around 30 percent.
Ten years ago, Alaska Native tribes and leaders designed a solution to the high rates of tooth decay in their children. They had
tried what many tribal communities had tried beforeto lure dentists to remote areas with lucrative employment packages and loanpayback models. Unfortunately, these efforts failed. So the Alaska
Native Tribal Health Consortium, a not-for-profit health organization led by Alaska Native leaders, looked outside the Indian health
system for innovative solutions to the growing rates of tooth decay
in Alaska Native villages.
Ultimately, ANTHC brought innovative oral health care to their
communities through dental therapists, mid-level providers who
supply evidence-based care in more than 50 countriesbut, until
recently, not in the United States. Sometimes compared with nurse
practitioners and physicians assistants, dental therapists serve as
an addition, not a replacement, to a dentist-led team. Although
supervised by a dentist, dental therapists do not have to be in the
same location, allowing them to reach more people in need. Dental therapists are thoroughly trained in pediatric care, which makes
up 60 percent of their work, and acquire cutting-edge skills, including motivational interviewing, to better interact with families
and children.
This trailblazing program, the first of its kind in the United
States, increased access for 45,000 Alaska Natives in ten years. Instead of seeing a dentist every couple of yearsif at allAlaska
Natives now have access to continuous care from dental therapists
who use airplanes, boats, and snowmobiles to reach them. For the
first time in more than a century, Alaskas Native communities are
seeing cavity-free children. Unlike the dentists who needed to be
attracted to rural areas, the majority of dental therapists grow up

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What Ive learned from this

program and working with
these incredible providers is
sometimes you have to do
something because its hard. If
you dont, nobody else will. This
is about real kids who need real
dental care. In one generation,
weve made change.

in the communities they serve, and thus understand residents challenges, norms, and culture. With a strong education and service to
community, dental therapists become important local leaders.
Yet restoring the oral health of Alaska Natives has reopened
longstanding policy issues and complex relationships among
tribes, states, and the federal government. Organized dentistry
disapproved of ANTHCs solution. That opposition includes the
American Dental Association, which has long opposed mid-level
dental providers and which unsuccessfully sued the Alaska Native
tribes as well as the original class of individual dental therapists.
What Ive learned from this program and working with these
incredible providers is sometimes you have to do something because its hard. If you dont, nobody else will, says Valerie Davidson, a Yupik Native and a former senior director of legal and
intergovernmental affairs at ANTHC who successfully defended
Alaska Tribal Nations in allowing the program to continue. This
is about real kids who need real dental care. In one generation,
weve made change.
Despite opposition, the program has gained national attention,
and not just in Tribal Nations. Many communities, especially in
rural America, suffer from a lack of access to dental providers: 77

percent of all US counties include designated dental care shortage areas. Simply not enough dentists serve rural and low-income
areas. Thats why Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and states are
looking to dental therapy for needed change.
Currently, two states have passed legislation authorizing the use
of dental-therapy providers, and nearly 26 states are exploring use
of dental therapists. But the issue remains contentious, and the
ADA and its state affiliates continue to flex their lobbying power in
opposing the expansion of dental therapy.
Native youth play a fundamental role in pushing past opposition and in designing a healthy future for their communities. Youth
change the conversation; their stories hold us accountable. Their
stories matter. Native youth need and deserve quality medical
carenot losing family members from abscessed teeth, traveling
long hours for a chance to obtain treatment, or trying to pull their
own teeth to end pain. Tribal Nations were first in developing dental therapy in the United States. Theyand their youthare leading the way for all communities.
Erin Bailey is the executive director of the Institutes Center for Native
American Youth.

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INSTITUTE
DIGITAL
EXCERPTS

THE ASPEN
JOURNAL OF IDEAS
is a way to capture
essays, conversations,
and opinions from the
leaders of the Institute
community. The goal
of the Journal, an
online publication, is
to highlight important
ideas, flesh out
innovative solutions
to pressing issues, and
to tell stories about good
policy that will change
lives. Here are just a
few of the voices that
appeared in the Journal
in recent months.
VISIT ASPEN.US/JOURNAL
EARLY AND OFTEN TO HEAR MORE.

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ON AMERICA, TORTURE
REVELATIONS AND OUR FOREIGN POLICY:
A CONVERSATION WITH DAVID IGNATIUS
Itll be some time before CIA officers will undertake activities that
they believe are not going to have long-term public support. And I
think thats one of the delicate issues. The CIA is like the military.
When people receive an order from their commander to go do
something, if the response is let me talk to my lawyer, thats not
a good situation. I think the next president will have to worry as
President Obama realized he had to worry about the morale. In
this world, you need a quality intelligence service.

REDUCING INEQUALITY:
SIX NEXT MOVES FOR
BUSINESS
By Maureen Conway and
Judy Samuelson
Inequality brings government
regulation and public policy
fixes to mind. But lets face it
decisions about wages, benefits,
work schedules, and skills
reside largely in the business
sector, which holds the key to
expansion of the middle class.
At the upper end of the scale
are issues including runaway
executive compensation, a
significant contributor to the
growth in wage inequality.

What else then should
be in the plans of chief
executives who have read the
same tea leaves about the cost
to the commons of growing
wage inequality? What are
some solutions that lie within
business itself ?

A GAME PLAN TO
BREAK THE GRIDLOCK
By Jim Nussle and Peter Orszag
A new Congress has been
sworn in and our government
is divided. A goal that both
parties should share is to do a
much better job of ensuring
that scarce taxpayer dollars
are invested in programs
that work. That is why we
have joined with current and
former government leaders
and advisors from across the
political spectrum to call on our
government to play Moneyball.

By using data, evidence,
and evaluation, we can improve
government performance
in the same way that Billy
Beane famously revolutionized
baseball. By playing Moneyball,
government can provide better
services to millions more
Americans while saving billions
of dollars.

WHAT COULD BE LOST AS

EINSTEINS PAPERS GO ONLINE
By Walter Isaacson
With online archives, research can be crowdsourced. Students from
Bangalore to Baton Rouge can drill down into Einsteins papers
and ferret out gems and connections that professional researchers
may have missed. That will reinforce a basic truth about the digital
age: By empowering everyone to get information unfiltered, it
diminishes the role of gatekeepers and intermediaries. Scholars and
experts will still play an important role in historical analysis, but
their interpretations will be challenged and supplemented by the
wisdom of crowds.

NETPOLITIK: WHAT THE EMERGENCE OF NETWORKS

MEANS FOR DIPLOMACY AND STATECRAFT
By Charlie Firestone and Leshuo Dong
Netpolitik is the optimization of the network form to engage in international affairs, particularly
international communications. It overlays a network mentality on the more traditional approaches of
realpolitik and international liberalism for greater effectiveness. That is, as world players think about
how to get others to act in ways consistent with their interests and values, they need to be ever conscious
of the network form as a means or a medium to achieve their goals.

The world of diplomacy has moved from one of diplomats speaking candidly behind closed
doors and cabling back to their ministries to a multidisciplinary business of influencing publics within
countries via public diplomacy, for a government, or via a host of other categoriescitizen diplomacy,
cultural diplomacy, business diplomacy or fringe diplomacyfor a non-state actor. The formal or
informal diplomats who succeed will be the ones who become part of the Net: active, transparent,
respected members of the global community coordinating, encouraging and empowering others to act.

TAKING A
NATION TO WAR
By Mickey Edwards
Many can legitimately point
to potential hardships here if
ISIL succeeds and much of
the worlds oil supply is held
hostage because America did
too little to stop the advance
of terror. Some will argue that
by supporting uprisings against
dictators who were maintaining
Middle East stability, the
United States bears some
responsibility for the unraveling
that has followed. None of
these are inconsequential
arguments. But a decision
today to empower President
Obama to bring our multiple
resources to bear against ISIL
need not preclude revisiting
the issue in three years, or even
sooner if Congress chooses.

For now the best answer
is to demand that those most
threatened take the lead in
protecting themselvestheir
countries and their lives
with the United States as a
supporting ally. Thats the
position I would advocate if
I were still in Congress today.
Whether or not that is the view
that prevails, what matters is
that the decision will be made
by the peoples representatives,
just as the Constitution
requires.

THE PROMISE OF UNIVERSAL

COMMUNITY COLLEGE
By Josh Wyner
President Obamas initiative to make the first two years of
community college tuition-free represents an immense investment
in the future of the nation. But as with all investments, those
responsible for its returns should ensure that the unprecedented
access it offers is not hollow that the nine million students who
could go to community college free actually learn, graduate, and
attain the jobs and further education to which they aspire.

We know it can be done. There are community colleges in
our country, like South Dakotas Lake Area Technical Institute,
with graduation rates above 75 percent. Santa Fe College in
Gainesville, Florida, sends more than half its students to four-year
universities, and nearly two-thirds of those students go on to earn a
bachelors degree. Graduates from Washington States Walla Walla
Community College earn an average annual salary of $42,000
immediately after graduating, growing to $57,000 five years later.

Combine results like these with the elimination of community
college tuition and our nation can unleash a new era of innovation
and economic growth--like universal high school did. Just imagine.

NEW LUDDITE FEARS

ARE MISPLACED: IF NEW
TECHNOLOGY REALLY
CUT JOBS, WED ALL BE
OUT OF WORK BY NOW
By Walter Isaacson
If new technologies reduced
the total number of jobs, we
would all be out of work by
now. But times of technological
advance have been times of
job creation. Last year, as
whole new waves of robotic
systems were introduced, the
US added 3 million jobs. The
unemployment rate hit a sixyear low, and average hourly
earnings for private sector
workers rose.

Be wary of those who
lament the demise of jobs for
checkout clerks and meter
readers, as if preserving such
jobs will lead to a healthier
economy. This Luddite fallacy
is based on a presumption that
there is only a set amount of
goods and services people want.
If technology permits those
things to be produced more
efficiently, Luddites argue,
there will be less work to do.
In reality, technology leads to
an increase in productivity and
wealth. That in turn leads to
increased demand for goods
and services and thus more
jobs, including ones in fields we
can barely imagine.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: DEBATING A RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS WITH RUSSIA

By Nicholas Burns
As a long-time observer of the US-Russia relationship, I certainly believe this is the most
consequential and worrisome US-Russia crisis since the end of the Soviet Empire. I was privileged to
serve on the National Security Council staff at the White House from 1990 to 1995, and I remember
distinctly the collective feeling of relief and even elation in Washington when the Cold War ended
without a shot fired.

Those were more optimistic days; we believed a new era of peaceful and even cooperative relations
might be possible with the Russian people and government. Twenty-three years later, President Obama
faces a very different challenge. Putins invasion of Georgia in 2008 and of Crimea and eastern Ukraine
this year has suddenly produced new dividing lines in Europe. By intimidating and threatening Ukraine,
Georgia, Moldova, and Armenia from even considering trade agreements with the European Union,
Putin seeks to build a band of buffer states to the south and west of the Russian Federation to insulate
his country from NATO and the European Union.
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REDUCING COSTS BY
REBUILDING LIVES
Social impact bonds offer a new kind of philanthropic
investmentinitial risk for long-term returns if public-service
programs save money. The Institutes Ascend program, in
partnership with the Program on Philanthropy and Social
Innovation, is tracking a number of innovative investments,
with an especially close eye on one that helps ex-offenders in
New York find jobs faster and stay out of prison.
The snow was blowing, and it was in the 20s on Wall Street the day
after New Years, but dozens of mostly young, mostly black, and
mostly unemployed men showed up for job training and placements
on the first working day of the year.
They were eager to enroll at the nonprofit Center for
Employment Opportunities, better known as CEO, which operates
out of the 18th floor of a building in the heart of New York Citys
financial district. The men, all recently released from prison, were
making an investment in their own futures. Other, more familiar,
fixtures on Wall Streetincluding former Treasury Secretary Larry
Summersare making an investment in the young men as well.
The ex-offenders lining up for employment help were among the
first of 2,000 CEO clients in New York City and Rochester, whose
job-training costs are covered under a pay-for-success contract
financed by private investors. Bank of America Merrill Lynch
offered the investment to its private banking clients, and between
Thanksgiving and New Years Eve last year, more than 40 high-networth investors committed $13.5 million.
If enough of the formerly incarcerated men stay out of prison,
the investors stand to recoup their principal, plus a return that
can range between 5 and 12.5 percent. If CEOs program fails
to significantly reduce recidivism, with at least an 8 percent
reduction in jail and prison days, investors will lose up to 90
percent of their money.
For investors, pay-for-success contracts, colloquially known as
social impact bonds, might more accurately be called repaid-

for-success. Investors provide the upfront risk capital to finance

preventive services and get their capital back, plus a financial return,
out of the governments avoided costs from a successful intervention.
Social impact bonds are attractive to cash-strapped states and cities
because lenders are obligated to pay only when results are proven
and savings are realized.
The CEO contract was of particular interest to Ascend, a program
at the Aspen Institute that was created in 2010 with a vision to help
move low-income children and their parents toward educational
success and economic security. Recognizing that ending the cycle
of poverty requires leadership across all sectors, Ascend partnered
with the Institutes Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation
to take an in-depth look at the field of impact investing as one tool
that could help advance economic mobility for families. Ascend and
PSI sought to find out what tools, strategies, and models could be
distilled from impact investments that could lead to better results
for children and families. They focused on the lessons and trends
among investors making significant impact investments in education,
economic security, and health and well-being. And they took an
under-the-hood look at deals, because there is an imbalance between
capital, which is more available, and the pipeline of deals ready for
investment, which is underdeveloped.
In keeping with its mission to help all low-income families, Ascend
is following the CEO deal to see what it can learn and share with
its national network to strengthen programs and policies for families
who have been involved in the justice system. Ascend has also tracked

BY DAVID BANK WITH JESSICA POTHERING

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the work of two other market-based approaches: Acelero Learning,

a private-sector Head Start operator that is using data to close the
achievement gap, and the Nurse-Family Partnership, which operates
a pay-for-success contract to help low-income pregnant women
avoid the hefty long-term financial and human costs of chronic
poverty and poor health. Leaders from both organizations have been
selected for the Ascend Fellowship.
The CEO contract, issued by the New York state, is not the first
pay-for-success contract, but it is the first to be offered directly to
individual qualified investors. In earlier deals, institutional investors
like Goldman Sachs backed social impact bonds with their own
capital. The New York state contract is the first test of privateinvestor interest in financing this new way to deliver preventive
social services. With a minimum investment of $100,000 and a fiveand-a-half-year lockup, the private investors committed an average
of $300,000 each. The whole deal was brokered by an innovative
nonprofit called Social Finance, which has helped bring the pay-forsuccess model from the United Kingdom to the United States. Other
investors include the Utah philanthropist James Sorensons Sorenson
Impact Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, and the Laura and
John Arnold Foundation.
Performance-based contracts are common in areas such as energy
efficiency, in which predictable savings allow energy service companies
to guarantee their results. But theyre new for social services, where
conventional budgeting processes generally pay for services, not
outcomes. To government bureaucrats, a reduced number of prison
bed-days is at least as appealing as a lower electricity bill.
Pay-for-success is a funding arrangement that allows governments
to make risk-free investments in an effort to improve citizens lives,
says Leila Walsh, a spokeswoman for the Arnold Foundation. It
ensures that taxpayer dollars are allocated in the smartest, most
efficient way. She adds that any returns to her foundation will be
reinvested to scale up the projects that prove to have impact.
For social service providers, social impact bonds represent a sea
change not only in the amount but also in the kind of available
capital. Payment in advance eliminates the challenge of meeting
expenses while waiting for government reimbursement. Since
investors are repaid based on outcomes, not inputs, unrestricted
funding is not tied to specific program components and can be spent
on what works best. With costs covered in full, providers can focus on
services, not fundraising.

Social impact bonds

are attractive to
cash-strapped states because
lenders pay only when
results are proven
and savings are realized.

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At CEO on a recent morning, dozens of men cluster around tall

bistro tables with bright green chairs in the glass-enclosed reception
area, waiting for their next work assignments. The agency runs its
own social enterprise and contracts with city agencies and other
companies to provide transitional employment that builds basic work
skills and habits. Before the men go out to work, however, CEO helps
them identify their own motivations in a one-week life-skills class.
In two classrooms, life-skills sessions might be under way: one for
younger participants ages 18 to 25, the other for older participants,
some of whom have served sentences for more serious offenses,
including murder and armed robbery.
In the first classroom, students are reading from an essay by
basketball star Michael Jordan. Everyone had a different agenda for
me, but I had my own, one young man reads. Heads nod around
the room. One student says for jokes his mother wanted him to be a
basketball player. He wants to start a clothing line.
I just dont want to go back to jail, another says.
In the other classroom, an instructor named Mary is leading about
20 men through a set of short, direct questions. What is your goal
when you leave this class? Some of the responses, hesitant and
mumbled, sound like lines the men may have heard from others: To
better myself. To take care of myself and my family. To be a
positive member of my community. Mary keeps pushing.
One man, wearing a collared shirt and glasses, lifts his head. To
get a job, he answers. Bingo.
Today is graduation day, Mary says, as she distributes certificates
and hugs. Today marks something you started, and something you
finished.
The men will receive a badge, work boots, and their first assignment
as official employees of CEO. Each employee is responsible for
signing up for transitional job placements and can work at those sites
for up to 75 days before moving into a permanent job placement.
CEO seeks to place graduates in full-time jobs, ranging from the retail
sector to food service to the construction trades. While challenges will
remain, these are important steps on the ladder toward economic
security and self-determination.
As with all philanthropy, measurement is crucial. And prison
recidivism, which has been an easy and obvious target for the first
social impact bonds in both the United Kingdom and the United
States, offers relatively easy metrics. Reduced recidivism means
dramatic savings in prison occupancy, victim assistance, and other
social costs. Determining whether an individual is or isnt in prison is
binary, rather than the shades of gray that can color program results
in other areas. The average number of days of incarceration per
person is easily measured, as are the states financial savings.
CEO estimates that intensive job support for people coming out of
incarceration saves $60,000 per individual per year. New York state,
for example, was willing to pay about half of that, or $85 for each
bed-day saved. High levels of incarceration, particularly of young
black men, is an increasingly charged issue in local and national
politics, but pay-for-success financing transforms it into a rational
calculation. The New York state can repay the investors capital,
with a modest premium, and still save millions of dollars in the long
run. (It doesnt hurt that the United States Department of Labor

The pay-for-success
model has the potential
to scale up much
more dramatically than
either government
spending or traditional
charity.

will cover the repayment for service delivery taking place in the first
two years, under a pilot program to test these kinds of financing
arrangements.) And on top of those savings, New York will also
benefit from the improved prospects of the target population and
the community at large.
Investors will start to receive repayments if the project reduces
the number of nights the clients in CEOs target group spend
back in prison by at least 36.8 bed-days per person, or 8 percent,
compared with a similar group that does not receive CEOs services.
If performance exceeds those thresholds, investors can earn up
to 12.5 percent after five and a half years. Once the minimum
is met, investors get 100 percent of the states savings until their
capital is repaid, then split additional savings 50-50 up to the cap.
If reductions are even more dramatic, the state keeps the additional
savings. Most observers expect returns in the mid-single digits.
The program must also show a 5 percent increase in employment
perhaps the key determinant in staying out of prison. In New York
state, an estimated 44 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals
on parole who are unemployed return to prison within two years.
For those with part-time unemployment, its 29 percent, and for
those with full-time employment, its 23 percent.
The contract is driving increased cooperation between the New
York Department of Corrections and CEO. The data show that
CEO is particularly effective with high-risk clients that it can reach
as soon as possible after release. In the new program, the participant
meets jointly with a parole officer and a CEO outreach worker in
the very first weeks after release. That match candidate meeting
is intended to convey that the candidate has been selected for a
program specially tailored to his needs.
More broadly, the shared incentives mean state officials are eager
to see the program work. CEO and state officials zip spreadsheets
back and forth monthly, or even weekly, tracking enrollment rates to
assess if the project is attracting the desired participation.
CEO is confident it can replicate the results from its earlier randomassignment evaluations. Theres a risk we wont, so we could suffer,
says Marta Nelson, who previously headed CEOs New York City
office. If we dont succeed, its going to be on the front page.

And CEO is confident in keeping investors interest. Its not

about share of wallet, its about share of mind-set, says Jackie
VanderBrug, the US Trust executive responsible for developing the
firms sustainable investing strategy. Its going to be a very small
percentage of their portfolio. But its going to be a big percentage
of what they talk about around the Thanksgiving table with their
grandkids.
As investor interest grows, the pay-for-success model has the
potential to scale up much more dramatically than either government
spending or traditional charity. Already, more than $50 million in
private capital in the United States has been mobilized through payfor-success contracts targeting early childhood education in Utah
and Chicago, as well as recidivism in Massachusetts and New York
City, in addition to the New York state contract.
Since the first deal closed, New York has announced four finalists
to its request for proposals for partners on additional pay-for-success
initiatives in early childhood and child welfare, health care, and
juvenile justice. CEO, Social Finance, and a California partner are
pursuing an additional pay-for-success project in San Diego.
More broadly, if the New York state deal signals a wave of private
investment in social impact bonds, it could usher in something like
a new social contract, aligning private capital and the common
good. In an earlier era, proven approaches, often developed by
nonprofits, could be taken to scale by government agencies that
would implement them more broadly. With public budgets under
severe constraint, private funding needs to fill the gap. Once the
savings are proven with private investment at risk, government can
incorporate the solutions into normal budget processes.
In the global financial crisis, taxpayer funds bailed out some large
financial institutions, says Tracy Palandjian, the chief executive of
Social Finance. Social impact bonds flip that paradigm on its head.
Here, risks are privatized and gains are socialized. Thats a new
model, one harnessing private capital to serve the public good.
David Bank is editor and CEO of ImpactAlpha, a provider of news and data
about investments that generate social, environmental, and financial returns. Jessica
Pothering, a business and finance journalist, is a writer at ImpactAlpha.

THE ASPEN IDEA

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FACES:

31ST ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

Dele Olejede,
Rjane Woodroffe

Stephen Colbert

Reed Hastings,
Bill Bynum

Nicole Avant, Ted Sarandos

Mercedes T. Bass,
Lynda Resnick,
Arianna Huffington
Nasser Abdul Hadi

Madeleine Albright, Walter Isaacson,

Anne Welsh McNulty

WHO: Hundreds of friends of the Institute celebrated the Institutes annual awards tradition. WHAT: The 31st Annual Awards
Dinner. WHERE: Guests enjoyed a reception and dinner at the historic Plaza Hotel in New York City. WHEN: November 13, 2014.
WHY: Netflix CEO and Henry Crown Fellow Reed Hastings and Roll Global co-owner Lynda Resnick were feted in an evening
that included an introduction of Resnick by comedian Stephen Colbert and a discussion by Hastings of net neutrality and
bringing House of Cards to the small screen.

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THE ASPEN IDEA

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Patrick McMullan

Maryam Uwais, Andrei Tarnea,

Lana Abu-Hijleh

Jeff Gordon ranch

If you have driven around Missouri Heights, you
have surely noticed this extraordinary ranch as it
seems to remain green even in dry years because
of its significant water rights. The entire ranch
encompasses 1,930 acres, 524 on the lower
parcel and approximately 1,406 in the upper
parcel. This working ranch has water rights from
multiple ditches and springs as well as a 30%
share of Consolidated Reservoir above the
lower parcel. This is a ranch of many uses; raise
horses and cattle, grow crops, hunt, endless
recreational uses or even plan a development
for the future. The views are dynamic. With no
conservation easements currently in place
on any part of the ranch, the sky is the limit
- literally.
Offered for: $10,500,000

buck point ranch

Buck Point Ranch is a 1,000+/- acre property
located in one of the last pristine valleys in
close proximity to Aspen. With senior water
rights, sweeping, south-facing Elk Range views
over irrigated meadows, a half-mile of West
Coulter Creek, and adjacency to BLM lands, this
property showcases western Colorado at its
best. Surrounded by other large, legacy ranches,
this unimproved property ranges in elevation from
7,200-8,500 feet, provides excellent hunting, and
is unencumbered by a conservation easement,
presenting a great land conservation opportunity
with potentially lucrative tax credits for a
landowner.
Offered for: $7,950,000

double c ranch
Double C Ranch is in a stunning setting on 35
acres. Five bedrooms and four and a half
baths with an open layout, a large living area
including dining, kitchen, living room with 35
ceilings, a custom bar and large windows to view
the entire ranch. Access to miles of hiking and
riding trails, while only minutes to restaurants
and shopping. Extensive water rights for
irrigating pastures and growing hay. The property
includes a quarter mile of private river frontage
to the Roaring Fork River. It has a great indoor/
outdoor entertaining space with a vintage country
dcor.
Offered for $5,495,000

cHris Flynn
970.618.5267

chrisflynn@aspenbrokers.com

a. scOtt DaviDsOn
970.948.4800
scott@zgaspen.com

tOny Dilucia
970.379.4275

tony@tonydaspen.com

970.544.5800
THE ASPEN IDEA
510 East Hyman avEnuE, suitE 21, aspEn

SUMMER 2015

89

FACES:

ASPEN HOLIDAY PARTY

Brad Bachmann, Michelle Stern

Leelee Harriman,
Bill Harriman,
Judy Lovins

Judith Steinberg, Peter Rispoli,

Maxwell Rispoli
Elliot Gerson, Mike Bezos

Jay and Linda Sandrich

Mercedes T. Bass,
Alan Fletcher,
Ann Hudson

WHO: The Society of Fellows is an intimate community of contributors to the Institute. WHAT: The annual Aspen Holiday Party
gives friends of the Institute an opportunity to celebrate the season and the years accomplishments. WHERE: The DoerrHosier Center in its full holiday regalia. WHEN: December 29, 2014. WHY: A live band provided entertainment for the evening,
which included a conversation with Mike and Jackie Bezos about the work of the Bezos Family Foundation.

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Peggy Wilkie

Jeff Bezos

Owning Real Estate in Aspen/Snowmass

always a great IDEA
1.
2.
3.
4.

60 acres, 11,000 sq ft home, amazing views, privacy $17.8M

Walk to Aspen Core, 2,800 sq ft on a 3,000 sq ft lot $3.3M
14 new townhomes on Aspen Mtn. $8.5M to $16.2M Delivery Fall 2017
In the woods privacy, ski-in/ski-out, elevator, views, perfect $8.25M

5.
6.
7.
8.

Red Mtn. location with Independence to Mt. Sopris views, privacy $8.9M
Modern family home, sprawling lawn, river, views, fun $4.2M
Smokin hot deal, West Aspen location, expansion possibilities $2.1M
The best ski-in/ski-out on Cascade, sun, views, A/C, great floor plan $8.5M

MAUREENSTAPLETON
maureenstapleton.net

970.948.9331 cell

maureen@maureenstapleton.net

THE ASPEN IDEA

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91

FACES:

TISCH AWARDS
Tracey Kemble, Michel Martin, Charles Sheffield

Roy Bostock, John Lewis

Emily Tisch Sussman

Roy and Merilee Bostock

Darren Walker

Erin Baiano

Laurie M. Tisch

WHO: Legendary civil rights leader and US Representative John Lewis received the 2015 Preston Robert Tisch Award for Civic
Leadership. WHAT: NPRs Michel Martin led an inspiring conversation with Lewis before a dinner for special guests. WHEN:
December 8, 2014. WHERE: Florence Gould Hall at the French Institute Alliance in New York City. WHY: The annual Tisch
Award was created in 2009 by Bob Tischs children to honor their fathers legacy of public service and philanthropy.

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The esTaTe aT 275 sunnyside

a True Compound

The Estate at 275 Sunnyside is a true compound consisting of a 6 bedroom 11,210

square foot main house, a 2 bedroom 1,040 square foot guest house, and a 1,930
square foot barn all on over 15 flat, usable, fenced and gated acres with ponds and live
water. At only 10 minutes to the Hotel Jerome, there is simply nothing else like it on
the market. This property has it all with signature southern views, acreage, water rights,
proximity to town and enough space for even the largest of extended families.
Price available upon request.

aspen associates realty group

510 east hyman avenue, suite 21
aspen 970.544.5800

Jonathan Feinberg
970.379.3405

THE ASPEN
IDEA
SUMMER 2015
oxbow@rof.net

93

FACES:

SPRING RECEPTION
Laysha Ward,
Viviane Warren

Carol Adelman,
Bonnie McCloskey,
Diane Morris

Larry Thomas, Atti Worku,

Paul Dimoh, Jerry Augustin

Jim Crown, Bob Hurst

Elliot Gerson, Norma Saafir

Alma Gildenhorn,
Marty Sherwin,
Michael Eisner

Walter Isaacson,
Ambassador Ritva Koukku-Ronde,
Bob Steel

Patrice Gilbert

Nathalie Reyes, Luis Echarte

WHO: Institute Trustees and special guests gathered in Washington, DC. WHAT: The event concluded the 2015 Society of
Fellows Day in Washington, where attendees learned about new Institute happenings, including the Endangered American
Dream initiative. The reception celebrated the official launch of the Latinos and Society Program. WHEN: April 9, 2015. WHERE:
The Finnish Embassy, a Scandinavian-designed oasis in the nations capital. WHY: The reception offered new and longtime
members of the Institute a chance to catch up and enjoy each others company.

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Education has the power to expand

opportunities and transform lives

The Walton Family Foundation is working to improve K-12 outcomes for all students,
especially those of limited means, by ensuring access to high-quality educational choices
that prepare them for a lifetime of opportunity.

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

95

waltonfamilyfoundation.org I twitter.com/waltonfamilyfdn I facebook.com/waltonfamilyfoundation

FACES:

2015 WINTER
SOCRATES PROGRAM

Charlotte HIll, Victoria Gullo, Kim Smolik

Peter Hirshberg,
James Waldron,
KC Waldron

Nayyera Haq

Eric Liu
Peter Orszag

Timothy Kim

WHO: The next generation of leaders from across industries were led in a weekend of conversation by Socrates moderators
Eric Liu, director of the Aspen Program on Citizenship and American Identity; Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of the
New America Foundation; and Peter Orszag, vice chairman of global banking for Citigroup. WHAT: The 2015 Socrates Winter
Seminars. WHEN: February 1316, 2015. WHERE: Roundtable conversations took place on the Aspen Meadows campus, and for
a bit of diversion, participants skied up and down the slopes of Aspen. WHY: The Socrates Program provides a forum for young
emerging leaders to convene and explore contemporary issues through expert-moderated dialogue. Participants were also
invited to ski, practice yoga, and make new connections.

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THE ASPEN IDEA

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Leigh Vogel

Oscar Bedolla

legacy

noun | legacy | \'le-g -s\

e

2: Something transmitted from an ancestor

If you are prepared to leave a lasting Legacy

B U T T E R M I L K W E S T E S TAT E

estate

noun | es-tate | \ i-'stt\

4a : the degree, quality, nature, and extent of
ones interest in land or other property

T WENT Y ONE MILLION NINE HUNDRED THOUSAND

and want to enjoy your own

Rocky Mountain Estate
C A L L M E F O R A P R I VAT E S H OW I N G

Doug Leibinger

SearchHomesInAspen.com

970.379.9045
Doug.Leibinger@sir.com
THE ASPEN IDEA

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INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

Juan Ramn de la Fuente (far left) and Bill Clinton in Mxico

BILL CLINTON ADDRESSES ASPEN INSTITUTE MXICOS YOUTH AND

PRODUCTIVITY SUMMIT: THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT MXICO TO LOOK
LIKE IN TEN YEARS AND WORK TOWARD THAT.
BILL CLINTON SPEAKS AT A MXICO
SUMMIT ON YOUTH AND PRODUCTIVITY
In February, the Aspen Institute Mxico, the Inter-American
Development Bank, and the Laureate International Universities
convened a solution-focused gathering on how technical
and vocational education can help create a more productive
workforce in Mxico. More than 400 leaders in politics,
business, arts, and civil society, as well as local university
students, attended the first Laureate Summit on Youth and
Productivity at the Universidad del Valle de Mxico Campus
Coyoacan, in Mxico City. The summit was also streamed
online to thousands of viewers. Former US President Bill
Clinton, along with other distinguished guests, participated
in the session focused on improving the workforce with
new models of higher education, effective public policies,
and employer practices. This years gathering came at a
critical time as Mxicos Congress has passed 11 structural
reforms over the past two years in order to improve global
competitiveness.
Ildelfonso Guajardo, minister of economy, and Emilio
Chuayfett, minister of education, addressed the audience and
spoke of the relevance of entrepreneurship in both national
education and economic development. Innovation is the new

98

THE ASPEN IDEA

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frontier, said Guajardo. The challenge for new generations is

how to give value to global chains. The minister of education
reaffirmed the governments commitment to diminishing the
gap in access to higher education. The closing dialogue brought
together Clinton; Luis Moreno, president of the Inter-American
Development Bank; Douglas Becker, president of Laureate
Education Inc.; and Juan Ramn de la Fuente, president of
Aspen Institute Mxico. They proposed that inclusion and
improving technical education would positively impact the labor
market in Mxico. President Clinton advised, Think about what
you want Mxico to look like in ten years and work toward that.

ANANTA ASPEN CENTRE WELCOMES NEW

CHAIRMAN AND DISCUSSES OBAMAS INDIA VISIT
Thoppil Ninan Ninan, chairman of Business Standard, is the new
chairman of the Ananta Aspen Centre. Ninan succeeds Gautam
Thapar, founder and chairman of the Avantha Group who
decided to step down as the centres chief after a stellar five-year
term. In an illustrious career spanning a quarter-century in the
media, Ninan has been at the helm of several news organizations.
He was the editor of Business Standard (also its publisher from
1996), Economic Times, and Business World, bringing about
radical change and achieving rapid growth in all of them during
his stewardship. He was also executive editor at India Today in the

Courtesy Aspen Institute Mxico

GLOBAL REACH

THE ASPEN IDEA

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2015

99

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
sponsored by French President Francois Hollande. The
event provided an opportunity for more than 180 European
and African leaders to exchange views on the key theme
of technological innovation. Among the participants were
Alassane Ouattara, president of the Republic of Ivory Coast;
Laurent Fabius, minister of foreign affairs and international
development; Cristina Duarte, minister of finance of Cape
Verde; Jean-Michel Blanquer, CEO of ESSEC; Axelle Lemaire,
secretary of state for digital; and Olara Otunnu, president of
LBL Foundation for Children and an Aspen Institute Trustee.

A CONVERSATION ON SPAIN

Wisner and Ajit Doval

1980s and a television commentator

on economic and business issues.
Ninan has been president of the
Editors Guild of India and a committee
chairman at the Confederation of
Indian Industry. He is a board member
of the World Editors Forum and a the
recipient of many awards, including
the B.D. Goenka Award for Excellence Ninan
in Journalism.
And on January 9, the Ananta Aspen Centre in New Delhi
organized a public program on President Obamas second
visit to India. On the following day, the Aspen Strategy Group
held its 20th US-India Strategic Dialogue, bringing to India a
delegation that included former Ambassadors to India Robert
Blackwill, Timothy Roemer, and Frank Wisner. The group also
met with Rich Verma, a longtime member of the dialogue who
now serves as ambassador to India.
Delegations from both countries agreed to create a
working group focused on cybersecurity that will offer
recommendations on how India and the United States might
cooperate more closely. Indian and American thought leaders
emphasized that President Obamas decision to accept Prime
Minister Modis invitation for Indias Republic Day presented a
great opportunity to strengthen the relationship. The sky is the
limit in the bilateral relationship, they agreed.

In February, Aspen Espaa held the seminar A Conversation

on Spain: The Current State and the Future of Education,
bringing together 50 national leaders on educationteachers,
regulators, sociologists, and social innovatorsto engage in
a dialogue on the current state and challenges in education
in Spain today and the much-needed change in education
paradigm. Spanish teacher Csar Bona provided the keynote
speech Challenges of a Teacher. Csar is the first Spaniard to
be nominated for the Global Teacher Prize, and in the words
of Jane Goodall, He is opening new horizons for children,
creating future leaders, and empowering them to take actions
that are changing them to change societies.
The seminar, organized in collaboration with Fundacin
Telefonica and Ashoka Spain, is part of the Aspen
Transformations of Spain Program, launched in 2013. The goal
of this program is to provide a forum for Spanish leaders from
different fields to reflect and debate over issues of economic,
political, and social importance and to help create new
initiatives through these networks.

ASPEN ROMANIA LEADERSHIP AWARDS

AND GALA DINNER 2014
The fourthAspen Romania Gala took place in December
2014. This annual gathering of the extended Aspen
Romania community honors the 8thclass of the Young

Courtesy Aspen Romania

ASPEN FRANCE CONNECTING

EUROPE AND AFRICA
Aspen France organized the 11th Aspen EuropeAfrica
convening on December 34, 2014, titled New Connections,
New Partnerships at Allen & Overy in Paris. The summit
focused on how the relationship between Europe and Africa
today is being transformed by technological innovations.
European and African participants took part in the forum,
Adrian Gheorghe, a 2014 Aspen Romania Fellow

100

THE ASPEN IDEA

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We make electricity.

TM

We make it from American sources

in a balanced way.
We invest billions in research and in 21st
century coal, natural gas and new nuclear.
We make it from water, wind, the sun
and things that grow.
We make it reliably, affordably, cleanly.
We make it to make progress.
To make jobs. To make our world smarter.
Brighter. Better.
We are the people of Southern Company.

We make electricity.

Proud sponsor of the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Follow @SouthernCompany on Twitter for updates.
2015 Southern Company

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

101

Leaders Programfor its accomplishments in attempting

to produce a significant impact on societies across
Central and Eastern Europe. The Romanian minister of
health and representatives of other state and private
institutions commended Aspen Romanias work. The
event acknowledged the social contribution, sacrifice,
and generosity of veterans and officers in the Romanian
army as well as others in public service. The 2014 awards
were given toPierre Moscovici, European commissioner
for economic and financial affairs, taxation, and customs
(the Values-Based Leadership Award); Paula Todoran,
long-distance runner (the Sports and Society Leadership
Award);Sergeant Major Florinel Enache(the Service with
Dignity Leadership Award); Rada Mihalcea, associate
professor, University of Michigan (the Innovation and
Technology Leadership Award);Sibiu International
Theatre Festival(the Contribution to Romanian Cultural
Patrimony Leadership Award); and theRomanian
Intelligence Service(the Aspen 2014 Special Award for
Public Service).
Many of the Young Leaders Program Fellows created
projects to address needs in vulnerable communities and
in critical areas of social development. In recognition of
their venture and vision, Aspen Romania introduced a
grant to be given each year to a special project. This year,
theAspen Social Action Prizewas offered to MagiCampa
two-week summer camp for children undergoing cancer
treatment.

ASPEN PRAGUE CELEBRATES

CREATIVE PLACE-MAKING
In November 2014and in cooperation with Pilsen,
the European Capital of Culture 2015Aspen Prague
organized OPEN UP!, a two-day festival promoting the
idea of creative place-making. The event, launched with
a public conference and followed by a cultural evening of
expert sessions, brought together creative place-making
pioneers. Guestsincluding Ann Markusen of the Arts
Economy Institute, Daniel Latorre of the Project for Public
Spaces, Andy Robinson of Futurecity in Cambridge, and
Igor Marko of Marko and Placemakers in Londonshared
their views and experiences shaping urban areas around
arts and culture.

Aspen Prague also presented outcomes of the
yearly project on community financing in Central Europe
Crowdfunding Visegrad. As part of the project, a manual
and a study describing the use, legal environment, and
challenges of crowdfunding was published.

ASPEN GERMANYS SOUTHEAST EUROPE

FOREIGN MINISTERS CONFERENCE
The Aspen Institute Germany in cooperation with the
German Federal Foreign Office and the British Embassy
in Berlin held its sixth Southeast Europe Foreign
Ministers conference in November, under the patronage
of Federal Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Courtesy Aspen Romania

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

Aspen Prague hosts a two-day festival, OPEN UP!, to celebrate creative

place-making and unique public spaces.

and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. The foreign

ministers assembled their colleagues from Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia,
Montenegro, and Serbia, as well as the deputy assistant
secretary for European and Eurasian affairs from the
US State Department. The opening panel discussion
among business representatives from Germany and the
United Kingdom stressed that regional cooperation and
infrastructure enhancement were vital for investments
for economic development in the Western Balkans. The
countries of the region would have to increasingly assume
responsibility for such reforms.

Additionally, Steinmeier and Hammond launched
a joint German-British initiative to revitalize the reform
process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is supposed to
lead the country back on track toward European Union
accession. The initiative was wholeheartedly welcomed
and supported both at the conference and also by the
Western Balkans, the European Union, and the United
States. The following panel discussion focused on the
topic of EU integration and how to sustain progress and
reform in this field. All of the participants agreed that the
Western Balkans were part of Europe and that the EU
membership perspective for the countries of the region
had to be maintained. However, the conditionality of the
accession negotiations would have to be upheld as well.
At the same time, active support by the European Union
and its member states for reform efforts in the region
would be necessary.

CONTACT
OUR INTERNATIONAL

PARTNERS
ASPEN INSTITUTE ESPAA
Madrid, Spain
mail@aspeninstitute.es
aspeninstitute.es
INSTITUT ASPEN FRANCE
Paris, France
contacts@aspenfrance.org
aspenfrance.org
ASPEN INSTITUTE GERMANY
Berlin, Germany
kiesewetter@aspeninstitue.de
aspeninstitute.de

Floral Arts
for Weddings, Events & Everyday

970.920.6838 ~ www.sashae.com

ANANTA ASPEN CENTRE

New Delhi, India
admin@anantacentre.in
anantacentre.in

300 Puppy Smith St. ~ Aspen, CO

Sashae_AspenIdea_sum14.indd 1

John Sarpa my close

connection with the Aspen
Institute began 25 years ago
when I co-chaired a group of
dedicated leaders of various
nonprofit organizations to
successfully rezone the Aspen
Meadows. That was a key step
for the Institute in securing its
long term presence in Aspen.

ASPEN INSTITUTE ITALIA

Milan and Rome, Italy
info@aspeninstitute.it
aspeninstitute.it
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE JAPAN
Tokyo, Japan
aspeninstitute.jp
ASPEN INSTITUTE MXICO
Mxico City and Cancn, Mxico
aim@aspeninstitutemexico.org
aspeninstitutemexico.org

Since then I have been involved

with millions of dollars of Aspen
real estate developments and
home purchases. Please let me
help you make your real estate
investment in the mountains so
that you too may experience
the mind, body and spiritual
joys so unique to Aspen.

ASPEN INSTITUTE PRAGUE

Prague, Czech Republic
office@aspenprague.cz
aspeninstitute.cz
INSTITUTUL ASPEN ROMNIA
Bucharest, Romania
office@aspeninstitute.ro
aspeninstitute.ro

4/27/14 7:28 PM

JOHN SARPA 970.379.2595

John@JohnSarpa.com
THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER

2015

103

FACTS/PROGRAMS

Todd Breyfogle

SEMINARS

Institute seminars offer time

for reflection and conversation
in a bucolic setting.

SEMINARS HELP PARTICIPANTS EXPLORE THE TENSIONS AMONG THE VALUES THAT FORM OUR
CONCEPTION OF A GOOD SOCIETY, WITH THE AIM OF DEEPENING KNOWLEDGE, BROADENING
PERSPECTIVES, AND ENHANCING THE CAPACITY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS LEADERS FACE.
THE ASPEN EXECUTIVE SEMINAR ON LEADERSHIP,
VALUES, AND THE GOOD SOCIETY
The Aspen Executive Seminar challenges leaders in every
field to clarify the values by which they lead and to think
more critically and deeply about their impact on the world
in a moderated, text-based Socratic dialogue.
aspeninstitute.org/aspenseminar

JUNE 612, 2015 | ASPEN, COLORADO

AUGUST 1521, 2015 | ASPEN, COLORADO
SEPTEMBER 1218, 2015 | ASPEN, COLORADO
OCTOBER 1016, 2015 | WYE RIVER, MARYLAND

NATURE, SOCIETY, AND SUSTAINABILITY

Nature, Society, and Sustainability provides both updated
content and a values framework as we balance the
tensions between a vibrant human social and economic
ecology and environmental sustainability.
aspeninstitute.org/natureseminar

AUGUST 19-23, 2015 | COLORADO ROCKIES

ASPEN LIFE REIMAGINED SEMINAR

The Aspen Life Reimagined Seminar helps professionals
of all ages navigate transitions and discover whats next in
work and life, refining their sense of purpose, and honing
the skills of self-leadership to make the best use of their
time, talent, and treasure. This seminar is in partnership
with AARPs Life Reimagined Institute.
aspeninstitute.org/lifereimagined

LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER

Leadership and Character takes up where the Aspen
Executive Seminar leaves off, looking at the internal
context of making leadership decisions and exploring the
competing tensions that form our internal moral compass.
aspeninstitute.org/characterseminar

104

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

ASPEN ESPAA SEMINAR:

Transatlantic Values at a Crossroads:
Contemporary Leadership Challenges
In collaboration with Aspen Institute Espaa, this seminar
probes the European context of modern leadership in
the midst of the uncertainties in democratic capitalism,
nationalism, and culture. aspeninstitute.org/espanaseminar

IN THE NEW WEST, THE GOOD GUYS WEAR THE MASKS.

Meet pioneering fetal

surgeon

Dr.

Timothy

Crombleholme, director
of the Colorado Institute
for Maternal and Fetal
Health on the Anschutz
Medical Campus. Every
day he and his team dare
to imagine extradinary
innovations

that

will

change the future of life

forever. Here, were not
afraid of whats beyond
the horizon.

EXPLORE WITH US.

TheFrontierOfWhatsNext.com

THE ASPEN IDEA

resizing template.indd 1

SUMMER 2015

105

4/22/15 11:58 AM

Dan Bayer

FACTS/PROGRAMS

ASPEN ROMANIA LEADERSHIP SEMINAR

In collaboration with Aspen Institute Romania, this seminar
explores the specific leadership challenges facing business,
government, and civil society in a post-communist
environment. aspeninstitute.org/romaniaseminar

WYE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

In a longstanding collaboration with the Association of
American Colleges and Universities, these seminars engage
faculty, senior academic administrators, and college
presidents in an exchange of ideas about liberal arts
education, citizenship, and the global polity.

JUSTICE & SOCIETY SEMINAR

aspeninstitute.org/wyeseminars

This seminar brings together people from diverse

backgrounds to discuss what we mean by justice and
how a just society ought to structure its legal, judicial,
and political institutions. aspeninstitute.org/jss
Moderators: Dr. Sanford Levinson, professor of law
and government at The University of Texas and visiting
professor of law at Harvard Law School, and Hon. Deanel
Reece Tacha, dean and professor at Pepperdine University
School of Law and former chief judge of the US Court
of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
JULY 612, 2015 | ASPEN, COLORADO
Participation is by invitation only.

Wye Deans' Seminar:

Citizenship in the American and Global Polity
JUNE 711, 2015 | WYE RIVER, MARYLAND

Wye Faculty Seminar:

Citizenship in the American and Global Polity
JULY 1824, 2015 | WYE RIVER, MARYLAND

CUSTOM SEMINARS
Custom Seminars enable organizations and companies
to develop one-day or multiday seminars relevant to their
day-to-day operations.
aspeninstitute.org/customseminar
aspeninstitute.org/socratesseminars

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE

INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS LISTED ABOVE.

106

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

Aspen

You can have

just the way you like it!

PAT MARQUIS

970.925.4200 pat@aspen4sale.com
Real Estate Specialist
Master Certified Negotiation Expert
Certified International Property Specialist

Spacious, Light-filled Core Townhome

3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2,586 sq ft
Vaulted ceilings, 2 south facing balconies
Spacious master suite, with double walk-in
closets, encompasses the entire second level
Spectacular views of Aspen Mountain, Red
Mountain and Smuggler
End townhome located on a peaceful
cul-de-sac
Completely renovated in 2015 using a fresh
pallet of mountain chic, organic textures of stone
and wood, mixed with the finest end finishes
$5,995,000

Starwoods Garden of Eden

4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 6,350 sq ft, 3.83 acres
Starwoods best views from Aspen
Highlands to Mt. Sopris
Cascading waterfall, custom rock hot
tub, blue grotto indoor pool
Formal dining room, study/library,
entertainment area and artists studio/
mother-in-law cottage
Three-car garage and 3-car carport
Starwood offers 960 acres including
Nordic and equestrian trails, tennis
courts and a guarded entry
$4,750,000

AspenSnowmassSIR.com

107
www.Aspen4Sale.com

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

FACTS/PROGRAMS

LEADERSHIP

Africa Leadership Initiative Fellow and

2014 John P. McNulty Prizewinner Rjane
Woodroffe, founder of the Bulungula
Incubator, provides world-class preschool,
health care, and other vital needs.

THE ASPEN GLOBAL LEADERSHIP NETWORK

Each Aspen Global Leadership Network program, inspired by the Henry
Crown Fellowship Program, is developing a new generation of civically
engaged men and women by encouraging them to move from success to
significance and to apply their entrepreneurial talents to addressing the
foremost challenges of their organizations, communities, and countries.
Today, there are more than 2,000 Fellows in 49 countries.
THE HENRY CROWN
FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
The flagship leadership program
aspeninstitute.org/crown

THE ASPEN INSTITUTE-RODEL

FELLOWSHIPS IN PUBLIC
LEADERSHIP
Elected leaders in US government

THE LIBERTY FELLOWSHIP

PROGRAM
South Carolina
aspeninstitute.org/liberty

THE MIDDLE EAST LEADERSHIP

INITIATIVE (MELI)
aspeninstitute.org/meli

PAHARA-ASPEN
EDUCATION FELLOWSHIP
Entrepreneurial leaders
for public education
pahara.org

aspeninstitute.org/rodel

THE AFRICA LEADERSHIP

INITIATIVE (ALI)/EAST AFRICA
Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya

THE CATTO FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Energy and environment leaders

THE ASPEN INSTITUTE HEALTH

INNOVATORS FELLOWSHIP
US health care innovators

aspeninstitute.org/ali

aspeninstitute.org/catto

aspeninstitute.org/hif

THE AFRICA LEADERSHIP

INITIATIVE (ALI)/WEST AFRICA
Ghana and Nigeria

THE CENTRAL AMERICA

LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE (CALI)
Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica,
Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador

aspeninstitute.org/ali

aspeninstitute.org/cali

THE AFRICA LEADERSHIP

INITIATIVE (ALI)/SOUTH AFRICA
aspeninstitute.org/ali

THE CHINA FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/china

THE INDIA LEADERSHIP

INITIATIVE (ILI)
aspeninstitute.org/ili

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THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

CENTER FOR URBAN INNOVATION

The center bridges the gap
between innovators and
underserved neighborhoods,
so that innovators focus more
attention on community
challenges and so neighborhood
residents can bring their own
groundbreaking ideas to life.
aspeninstitute.org/
center-urban-innovation

Micro-Documentaries

THE INSTITUTE CULTIVATES ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS AND ENCOURAGES THEM TO

TACKLE THE GREAT CHALLENGES OF OUR TIMES THROUGH SOCIAL VENTURES. SPANNING
VARIOUS GEOGRAPHIC AND ISSUE AREAS, WE HOST 13 DIFFERENT FELLOWSHIPS.

Advancing Science.

Sharing Knowledge.

At Mayo Clinic we constantly strive to set the standard for quality care for the
benefit of every patient. We pursue medical advancements and develop new
procedures so that each patient gets exactly the care they need. And we freely
share our knowledge for the benefit of everyone.
Visit us in the Murdock Lounge at the Doerr-Hosier Center.

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

109

FACTS/PROGRAMS

Leigh Vogel

THE

SOCRATES
PROGRAM

Socrates Summer Seminar 2014

The Socrates Program provides a forum

for emerging leaders (ages approximately
2845) from a wide range of professions
to explore contemporary issues through
expert-moderated roundtable dialogue.
aspeninstitute.org/socrates

SUMMER SEMINARS
JULY 1013, 2015
THE FUTURE OF WORK & SKILLS
IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Moderator: John Irons

Lasting Impressions

Designer Day, Evening, and

Casual Separates Made for Travel
675 East Cooper Avenue Aspen 970.429.8454
New York, Vail, Chevy Chase, MD, Atlanta, Palm Desert,
San Francisco, Seattle, Nantucket, Birmingham, MI,
Cleveland, Easton & Chestertown, MD
www.ninamclemore.com

110

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

RACE AND CULTURAL IDENTITY

Moderators: Lani Guinier and Susan P. Sturm
THE FUTURE OF PRIVACY AND TRANSPARENCY:
SURVEILLANCE IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Moderator: Jeffrey Rosen
HOW TECHNOLOGY IS AFFECTING OUR LIVES,
THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS, AND ITS POTENTIAL
TO AFFECT SOCIAL CHANGE
Moderator: Sonal Shah
U.S. POLICY AND ISIS: COPING WITH JIHAD 2.0
Moderator: James Traub

PHILADELPHIA, PA

JOHN HILL PHOTO JUDY HILL

SENATE SOCRATES
OCTOBER
1618, 2015

For purple

INTERNATIONAL
SEMINARS
OCTOBER
2224, 2015

mountain
majesties

SINTRA, PORTUGAL

NOVEMBER
57, 2015

Nancy Can Help You Keep Grounded

Nancy DiBiaggio
Owner/Broker

MEXICO

MALD MPA GRI TRC FIABCI

Teen Socrates

970.355.4561
Call melets talk!

With an impressive background in sales, she helps sellers show their

properties in the dazzling light over majestic mountains. She helps buyers
find something bright and wonderful to call home.
A lifetime of global travel and a strong education in international studies
help release her inner pitbull in
negotiations and her slinky
ABSOLUTE
pussycat when staging a home
aspeen
for sale. Her haunts can be your
R
E
A
L
T
Y
haunts. Absolutely!
nancy@AbsoluteAspenRealty.com

July 28 31, 2015 Aspen, Colorado

For over 60 years, the Aspen Institute has convened the worlds
leaders to pause and reflect on the critical issues of our time.

MAJOR FUNDING PROVIDED BY

THE RESNICK FAMILY FOUNDATION

At the third annual Aspen Action Forum, we invite these

leaders to do more than just reflect. We encourage them to
move from thought to action.

ADDITIONAL SPONSORSHIP PROVIDED BY

David M. Rubenstein

Track the progress past participants are making with Action Pledges.
Watch our series of short video updates to learn about how theyre
moving the needle on changes in their communities.

Care.com and WomenUp

Michael Klein and Joany Fabry
Sabrina and Antonio Gracias
The John P. and Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation
Margot and Tom Pritzker
Gillian and Robert Steel

Visit www.AspenActionForum.org.

Accenture
The Skoll Foundation

FACTS/PROGRAMS

UPCOMING

EVENTS

JOIN

112

THE ASPEN IDEA

THE SOCIETY OF FELLOWS

SOF SUMMER OPENING RECEPTION

June 23 | The Doerr-Hosier Center | Aspen
SOF VANGUARD CHAPTER SUMMER RECEPTION
July 15 | Private Home | Aspen
SOF FORUM: CULTURAL DIPLOMACY: WHY ART MATTERS
July 17 | The Doerr-Hosier Center | Aspen
SOF SYMPOSIUM: ISIS
August 912 | Koch Building | Aspen
SOF SUMMER CLOSING RECEPTION
August 13 | Doerr-Hosier Center | Aspen
SOF VANGUARD RECEPTION
September 2015 | San Francisco
SOF DISCUSSION RECEPTION FEATURING GILLIAN TETT
October 26 | San Francisco
*Please visit aspeninstitute.org/sof for a complete list of Society of Fellows events.

SUMMER 2015

The Society of Fellows

is an engaged community
of supporters who actively
participate in the Institutes
programs, act as advocates
and ambassadors, and help
sustain the Institutes mission.
For more information on
joining the Society of
Fellows, please contact
Peter Waanders, director
of the Society of Fellows,
at 970.544.7912 or by
email at peter.waanders@
aspeninstitute.org.

Yassine El Mansouri

PUBLIC

Public conferences and events provide a commons

for people to share ideas.

House of Cards
show-runner
Beau Willimon

ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL

This weeklong, large-scale public
eventco-hosted by The Atlantic
brings some of the worlds brightest
minds and leaders to Aspen every
summer for enlightened dialogue on
the planets most pressing issues.

ASPEN SECURITY FORUM

On the Institutes campus in Aspen,
the Aspen S
ecurity Forum convenes
leaders in government, industry,
media, think tanks, and academia to
explore key homeland security and
counterterrorism issues.

aspenideas.org

aspensecurityforum.org

WASHINGTON IDEAS FORUM

Presented in partnership with
The Atlantic and the Newseum,
this Washington, DCbased event
features leading figures in public
policy discussing the most important
issues of the day.

THE ASPEN CHALLENGE

With the Bezos Family Foundation,
the Aspen Challenge provides a
platform, inspiration, and tools for
young people to design solutions
to some of the most critical and
complicated problems our
society faces.

NEW YORK IDEAS

The Institute and The Atlantic host an
annual event featuring cutting-edge
innovators in discussion on the state
of the global business landscape.

theaspenchallenge.org

ASPEN WORDS
Throughout the year, Aspen Words
encourages writers in their craft
and readers in their appreciation
of literature by hosting festivals,
readings, and other literary
exchanges.
aspenwords.org

THE ASPEN INSTITUTE

ARTS PROGRAM
The Arts Program was established to
support and invigorate the arts in
America and to return the arts to
the Institutes Great Conversation.
It brings together artists, advocates,
educators, managers, foundations, and
government officials to exchange ideas
and develop policies that strengthen the
reciprocal relationship between the arts
and society.
aspeninstitute.org/arts

ONGOING PROGRAMS
IN NEW YORK
The Institute hosts a variety of programs in New York City, from book
talks and benefits to roundtable
discussions, forums, and the Aspen
Leadership Series: Conversations with
Great Leaders in Memory of Preston
Robert Tisch.
aspeninstitute.org/events/newyorkevents

ASPEN COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

The Institute offers residents of
Aspen and the surrounding Roaring
Fork Valley communities a variety
of programs throughout the year,
including speaker series, community
seminars, and film screenings.
aspeninstitute.org/aspenevents

ONGOING PROGRAMS
IN WASHINGTON, DC
From September through June, the
Institutes DC headquarters hosts the
Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book
Series, featuring discussions with
major recent authors. Concurrently,
the Washington Ideas Roundtable
Series focuses on world affairs, arts,
and culture.
aspeninstitute.org/events

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FACTS/PROGRAMS

POLICY

Policy programs and initiatives serve as nonpartisan forums

for analysis, consensus-building, and problem-solving on a
wide variety of issues.

Steve Johnson

US Secretary of Commerce
Penny Pritzker at the Institute

ASCEND, THE FAMILY ECONOMIC

SECURITY PROGRAM

CENTER FOR NATIVE

AMERICAN YOUTH

HEALTH, MEDICINE, AND

SOCIETY PROGRAM

ascend.aspeninstitute.org

cnay.org

aspeninstitute.org/health

ASPEN FORUM FOR

COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS

CITIZENSHIP AND AMERICAN

IDENTITY PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/solutions

ASPEN GLOBAL HEALTH

AND DEVELOPMENT
aspeninstitute.org/ghd

ASPEN INSTITUTE
FRANKLIN PROJECT
aspeninstitute.org/franklin-project

ASPEN INSTITUTE LATINOS

AND SOCIETY PROGRAM
aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/
latinos-society

aspeninstitute.org/citizenship

COLLEGE EXCELLENCE PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/ifs

COMMUNICATIONS AND
SOCIETY PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/justice

COMMUNITY STRATEGIES GROUP

aspeninstitute.org/csg

CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAM
aspeninstitute.org/congressional

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/ande

EDUCATION AND SOCIETY PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/asg

BUSINESS AND SOCIETY PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/bsp

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MIDDLE EAST PROGRAMS

aspeninstitute.org/mideast

PROGRAM ON PHILANTHROPY
AND SOCIAL INNOVATION
aspeninstitute.org/psi

PROGRAM ON THE WORLD

ECONOMY
aspeninstitute.org/pwe

aspeninstitute.org/education

ASPEN STRATEGY GROUP

JUSTICE AND SOCIETY PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/c&s

aspeninstitute.org/eop

aspeninstitute.org/apep

INITIATIVE ON FINANCIAL SECURITY

aspeninstitute.org/college-excellence

ASPEN NETWORK OF
DEVELOPMENT ENTREPRENEURS

ASPEN PLANNING AND

EVALUATION PROGRAM

HOMELAND SECURITY PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/security

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

PROGRAM
aspeninstitute.org/ee

GLOBAL ALLIANCES PROGRAM

aspeninstitute.org/gap

ROUNDTABLE ON COMMUNITY
CHANGE
aspeninstitute.org/rcc

SPORTS AND SOCIETY

sportsandsociety.org

red mountAin modern

Mountain meets modern in this
new Red Mountain residence with
serendipitous results. State of the art
design and attention grabbing details
create a home with all the elements that
one would expect from this special home.
Expansive views from Aspen Mountain to
Mt. Sopris and a sunny southern exposure
gives this home a distinct sense of place.
The home includes 6 bedrooms, 7
bathrooms and 2 powder rooms.
There is a gourmet chefs kitchen, huge
family/game room with bar and wine
cellar, a gym and a sound proof media
room. All of this is easily accessed via
generous stairways and a glass elevator.
Offered for: $16,900,000

Amen WArdys mAsterpiece

Amen Wardy, the creative genius behind
Amen Wardy Home, has been instrumental
in creating an entirely new perspective
in home design and entertaining since
1954. Exclusively located in Woody
Creek, just outside of Aspen, this 15-acre
property and 7,300 square foot home
boasts, spectacular views, water,
and privacy. Tile oors from an 18th
century abbey, 9,000 lb. wood beams
from an Oregon sawmill and Albertini
windows from Italy are among many of
the distinguished characteristics in this
timeless masterpiece.
Price upon request

cHris Flynn
970.618.5267

chrisflynn@aspenbrokers.com

a. scOtt DaviDsOn
970.948.4800
scott@zgaspen.com

tOny Dilucia
970.379.4275

tony@tonydaspen.com

ryan ElstOn
970.379.3072

ryan@aspenlocal.com

970.544.5800
510 East Hyman avEnuE, suitE 21, aspEn

115

FACTS/PROGRAMS

POLICY PROGRAM

FELLOWSHIPS
Born from the myriad policy programs at the Aspen Institute, the Policy Leadership Programs
seek to empower exceptional individuals to lead with innovation in their chosen fields. These
individuals then become more effective change agents who caninfluence the institutions and
fields in which they work (or lead) to create better outcomes for society.
NEW VOICES FELLOWSHIP
Founded by the Institutes Global Health
and Development Program, the New
Voices Fellowship cultivates compelling
experts to speak on development
issues.

THE ASCEND FELLOWSHIP

Founded by the Institutes Ascend
Program, the Ascend Fellowship
targets diverse pioneers paving new
pathways that break the cycle of
intergenerational poverty.

FIRST MOVERS FELLOWSHIP

Founded by the Institutes Business
and Society Program, the First Movers
Fellowship seeks to help the business
community live up to its full potential as
a vehicle for positive social change.

aspeninstitute.org/newvoices

aspeninstitute.org/ascend

aspeninstitute.org/firstmovers

SERIOUS MEETINGS THE NATURAL WAY

With more than 1,000 acres on Maryland's Eastern Shore, privacy abounds on the grounds of
two estates with state-of-the-art conference facilities, 51 distinctive accommodations, farm-to-table
cuisine, striking water views and notable amenities.

FOR SERIOUS MEETINGS THE NATURAL WAY,

VISIT ASPENWYERIVER.COM OR CALL 410.820.0905

116

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Elegant - Timeless - Contemporary

Views of Aspen Mountain, Tiehack, Hunter Creek. Custom nishes include palladium-leafed cabinetry, use of
semiprecious stone, luxe Italian furnishings, rich textures and Minnotti Cucina kitchen. The result is singular,
exemplary. Enjoy the peaceful locale at the base of Tiehack ski area, amongst the rolling green fairways of the world
famous Maroon Creek Club. Walk to the school campus or the Aspen Recreation Center. Includes six bedrooms,
luxe decor, Indoor/ Outdoor living and 10,241 square feet.
$13,950,000. Priced to sell.
For details see susanplummeraspen.com.

Susan Plummer

970.948.6786
susan@masonmorse.com
SusanPlummerAspen.com
Follow me: @SusanPlummerAspen

The Source for Real Estate in Aspen

970.925.7000 | www.masonmorse.com

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

117

FACTS/PROGRAMS

OUR SUPPORTERS
TrusteeJim RogersandMary Anne Rogerspledged $1
million to establish the James E. Rogers Energy Fellow
position as part of the Institutes Energy and Environment
Program. The gift also continues their support of the
Business and Society Program, in particular its efforts to
change the narrative in business and in classrooms about the
corporations purpose. Working with the executive director
and program staff, the James E. Rogers Energy Fellow will
serve as the lead position for research, development, and
delivery of the Energy and Environment Programs major
annual forums. Rogers says that, at the Institute, I observed
many conversations that led to important, nuanced insights
molding the opinions of the participants, many of whom
then worked to shape US policy. It is in these forums where
the Aspen Institutes belief that all knowledge starts with a
conversation comes true.

Courtesy the Rogers family

ALL KNOWLEDGE STARTS

WITH A CONVERSATION

Jim and Mary Anne Rogers

Laurie M. Tisch

TrusteeLaurie M. Tischand
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination
Fundpledged $1 million to establish
the Laurie M. Tisch Endowed
Scholarship Fund to support an array
of programs across the Institute,
including Project Play; Aspen Across
America; the Health, Medicine, and
Society Program; and the Franklin
Project. The Illumination Fund also
continued its generous support
of the Aspen Leadership Series:
Conversations with Great Leaders in
Memory of Preston Robert Tisch,
the Institutes signature New York
City speaker series.

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Patrice Gilbert

ILLUMINATING
THE INSTITUTE

LETS USE THE POWER OF

IDEAS TO CHANGE THE GAME.
A new type of floodlit pitch is having a positive impact on the people of a Brazilian
favela. How its powered could help generate renewable energy elsewhere.
Laurence Kemball-Cook, a winner of Shells LiveWIRE scheme, developed
technology that creates power from a combination of kinetic energy from the
players footsteps and solar power. We believe todays ingenuity could answer
tomorrows energy challenges. Learn more at www.youtube.com/shellletsgo

THE ASPEN IDEA

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FACTS/PROGRAMS

Ricardo Salinas

Courtesy Ricardo Salinas

TheRicardo Salinas Foundationhas pledged $1.5 million to provide core funding for
the Institutes Latinos and Society Program and also to establish the Ricardo Salinas
Foundation Scholarship Fund, which will help increase the number of Latinos and Latin
Americans able to attend the Institutes public events, policy roundtables, leadership
seminars, and other convenings. Ricardo Salinas joined
the Board of Trustees in 2014 and was recognized for his
exceptional gift during a special reception introducing the
Latinos and Society Program to trustees and other close
Institute friends held at the Finnish Embassy in Washington.
And theres more: Society of Fellows memberWoody
Hunt and the Hunt Family Foundationpledged a $600,000
challenge grant to the Latinos and Society Program in order
to inspire other donors to support the programs Annual
Policy Summit and its Awareness and Education Tours, which
will take policymakers, members of the media, and others to
visit some of the communities along Americas borders.

Courtesy the Hunt family

LATINO VOICES AT ASPEN

Ilona Nemeth and Alan Quasha

Courtesy the Bostock family

Roy and Merilee Bostock

Courtesy Ilona Nemeth & Alan Quasha

Woody and Gayle Hunt

NEW YORK SOCIETYOF FELLOWS

With generous underwriting support from Society of Fellows membersMerilee Bostock and Roy Bostock, andIlona Nemeth
andAlan Quasha, the Institute has launched a new series of Society of Fellows (SOF) discussion receptions in New York
City. Hosted in the private homes of SOF members and other Institute friends, these small gatherings will feature moderated
panels and speakers discussing a variety of topics, including issues of particular interest to a New York audience.

LEAVING

A LEGACY
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The Institute continues to work closely with longtime

supporters who are interested in making a planned gift
to help secure the future of the Institute. Donors who
confirm their plans to make a bequest become members
of the Institutes Heritage Society. In the past six months,
the Institute has received such confirmations from
TrusteeWilliam A. NitzeandAnn Nitze, and Society of
Fellows membersJoan LebachandCurt Strand.

LEGACY

A GOOD LIFE DESERVES

A LASTING LEGACY.
WHAT WILL
YOURS BE?
Charitable giving is one very important
way to make a difference, and by
supporting the Aspen Institute you
can help extend your impact on our
programs for generations to come.

Please Join Us August 5th

for a special Heritage Society
Luncheon at Platos Restaurant
on Aspen Meadows.
Please contact Kristin Robinson,
Vice President of Development, at
Kristin.Robinson@aspeninstitute.org or
(202) 736-3852 for information on
options for your family and the benefits
of membership in The Heritage Society.

aspeninstitute.giftplans.org

resizing half page template.indd 1

4/30/15 3:48 PM

2015 SUMMER SEASON

ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR

DANCE FOR KIDS!

DANCEBRAZIL

July 8 | 4:00pm
Generously underwritten by Les Dames dAspen

DANCEBRAZIL
July 8 | 8:00pm

Generously underwritten by Les Dames dAspen

ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET

July 18 & 28 | 8:00pm
Generously underwritten by Carolyn Powers

JUAN SIDDI FLAMENCO SANTA FE

July 23 | 8:00pm
Generously underwritten by Les Dames dAspen

DANCE FOR KIDS!

ZAP - LES BALLETS JAZZ DE MONTRAL

August 8 | 4:00pm
Generously underwritten by Melinda and Norman Payson

LES BALLETS JAZZ DE MONTRAL

August 7 & 8 | 8:00pm
Generously underwritten by Melinda and Norman Payson

ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET

August 22 | 8:00pm
Generously underwritten by Carolyn Powers

PHOTO: GREGORY BATARDON

Tickets and information: www.aspensantafeballet.com

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR

FOUNDATION SPONSORS

OFFICIAL HEALTH CLUB AND SPA

OF ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET

MFF

Morgridge Family Foundation

GOVERNMENT SPONSORS

Les Dames dAspen, Ltd.

PREFERRED HOTEL SPONSOR

MEDIA SPONSORS

FACTS/PROGRAMS

THE NATIONS PREMIER GATHERING

OF LEADERS AT THE INTERSECTION OF
SPORTS, HEALTH, AND YOUTH

350+ thought leaders and athletes | 40+ breakthrough ideas

17 commitments to action | 8 strategies for 8 sectors

1 Powerful Roadmap for Building Healthier Communities through Sports

Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General

Allyson Felix, Olympian, and

Mone Davis, Little League World Series Pitcher

Indi Cowie, Professional Soccer Freestyler

Anthony Robles, Hall of Fame wrestler

Gary Bettman, National Hockey League

Dr. Edwin Moses, Laureus USA and Olympic Legend

Thank you to our partners for helping us reimagine youth sports in America.

122

THE ASPEN IDEA

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Read the Project Play report at www.ProjectPlay.us, follow us @AspenInstSports, and email us at sportsandsociety@aspeninst.org.

FACTS/PROGRAMS

CALENDAR Add some

Add some
horsepower.

Michael Brands

horsepower.

Opera singer Eric Owens entertains the crowd at the 2014 Summer Celebration.

Socrates Annual Dinner

Date: July 11, 2015
Dinner Chairs: Laura and Gary Lauder and
Mona Williams and Scott Sillers
Honoree: Jeffrey Rosen
Speaker: Reid Hoffman in conversation with Walter Isaacson
Location: The Doerr-Hosier Center, Aspen Meadows campus
aspeninstitute.org/socratesdinner

22nd Annual Summer Gala

Date: August 8, 2015
Dinner Chairs: Jessica and John Fullerton
Honorary Co-Chairs: Carol and Ken Adelman
Honoree and Speaker: Ken Burns
Location: The Doerr-Hosier Center, Aspen Meadows campus
aspeninstitute.org/summercelebration

2015 Annual Awards Dinner

Date: November 12, 2015
Dinner Chair: Mercedes T. Bass
Featured Speaker: Ambassador Samantha Power
Honoree: General Stanley McChrystal

Carol Dopkin is a long time

Fellow of the Aspen Institute
Carol created an Idea when she
came to Aspen to introduce

Real Estate with Horse Sense

It has been a successful

competitive edge establishing
relationships with clients looking
for all types of properties from
condos to large ranches

The Realtor With

Horse Sense!
With expertise, Carol has
guided hundreds of clients to
the homes of their dreams
Always One Of
ASPENS TOP PRODUCERS

CAROL DOPKIN

and Ol a Dutch
Warmblood Show Hunter
970.618.0187 cell
Carol@CarolDopkin.com

www.CarolDopkin.com

Location: The Plaza Hotel, New York City

aspeninstitute.org/annualdinner
For more information on any of these events,
call Melanie Levine at 800.410.3463.

Add some

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123

FACTS/PROGRAMS

CONNECT WITH US
ASPEN ACROSS AMERICA
Executive Director of National Programs
Eric L. Motley
202.736.2900
eric.motley@aspeninstitute.org
SOCRATES PROGRAM
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
Vice President, Director
Melissa Ingber
202.736.1077
melissa.ingber@aspeninstitute.org

THE SOCIETY OF FELLOWS

Director
Peter Waanders
970.544.7912
peter.waanders@aspeninstitute.org
aspeninstitute.org/sof

TO CONTACT INSTITUTE LEADERS

SEMINARS
Director
Todd Breyfogle
202.341.7803
todd.breyfogle@aspeninstitute.org
aspeninstitute.org/seminars

HENRY CROWN
FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Managing Director,
Henry Crown Fellowship Program
Tonya Hinch
202.736.3523
tonya.hinch@aspeninstitute.org
aspeninstitute.org/crown

DONATIONS, SPECIAL EVENTS,

AND BENEFITS
Assistant Director, Development
Events and Special Projects
Leah Bitounis 202.736.2289
leah.bitounis@aspeninstitute.org

aspeninstitute.org/community

PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Vice President
Aspen Ideas Festival,
Director
Kitty Boone
970.544.7926
kitty.boone@aspeninstitute.org
aspenideas.org

Vice President, Director

Jamie Miller
202.736.1075
jamie.miller@aspeninstitute.org

Willow Darsie 202.736.3545

willow.darsie@aspeninstitute.org

POLICY PROGRAMS
Director of Administration,
Policy and Public Programs
Donna Horney
202.736.5835
donna.h@aspeninstitute.org

aspeninstitute.org/leadership

aspeninstitute.org/policy-work

ASPEN GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

NETWORK
Dep. Director, Operations & Partnerships

124

ASPEN COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Director
Cristal Logan
970.544.7929
cristal.logan@aspeninstitute.org

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

HERITAGE SOCIETY
To learn more about planned giving
opportunities, please call
Susan Sherwin
202.736.1088
aspeninstitute.org/heritagesociety

MEDIA INQUIRIES
Director of Communications
and Public Affairs
Jennifer Myers
202.736.2906
jennifer.myers@aspeninstitute.org

OFFICES
HEADQUARTERS
Suite 700, One Dupont Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20036-1133
202.736.5800
ASPEN CAMPUS
1000 North Third Street
Aspen, CO 81611
970.925.7010
WYE RIVER CAMPUS
2010 Carmichael Road, P.O. Box 222
Queenstown, MD 21658
410.827.7168
NEW YORK OFFICES
477 Madison Avenue, Suite 730
New York, NY 10022
212.895.8000

Dan Bayer

aspeninstitute.org/socrates
aspeninstitute.org/international

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FACTS/PROGRAMS

FOLLOW US

Join our friends at

facebook.com/AspenInstitute.
To learn how to reach individual policy
programs on Facebook, go to
aspeninstitute.org/socialmedia.

Follow the Aspen Institute with

@aspeninstitute. To follow individual Institute
programs and directors go to
Twitter.com/aspeninstitute/lists/aspen-institute.

THE INSTITUTE ONLINE

E-NEWSLETTER
Sign up for the Aspen Institute
biweekly e-newsletter at

THE ASPEN IDEA MAGAZINE

To find and share this issue online, go
to aspeninstitute.org/aspenideamag.

See the Institutes people, places, and things

on Instagram.com/aspeninstitute.

aspenInstitute.org/newsletter.

MULTIMEDIA CHANNEL
Find videos of many of the
Institutes panels and discussions,
many of which are invitation-only at
aspenInstitute.org/videos.

THE ASPEN IDEA BLOG

Aspen Institute directors, experts,
and guest bloggers offer insight
into the work of the organization at
aspenInstitute.org/blog.

PUBLICATIONS
To find Institute publications, some
of which are available for purchase or
downloadable for free, go to

THE ASPEN JOURNAL OF IDEAS

The Institutes digital collection of
thought-provoking analyses and
opinions on critical issues is at

aspenInstitute.org/publications.

aspen.us.

HOW TO CONNECT WITH THE

ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL
To join the ongoing conversation about the
Aspen Ideas Festival on Twitter, go to:
twitter.com/aspenideas or @aspenideas.

Join our LinkedIn Group to read more

from the Institute at
Linkedin.com/company/the-aspen-institute.

Watch videos of the Institutes events

and panel discussions at
Youtube.com/aspeninstitute.

See what the Institute is pinning at

Pinterest.com/aspeninstitute.

To download the Aspen Ideas App on Google

Play or iTunes, visit as.pn/apps.
To get daily updates, live feeds, videos, blog
content, and more, join us all year long for
todays most innovative ideas at aspenideas.org.

To find the Institutes photos, go to

Flickr.com/aspeninstitute.

Find some of the Institutes longer

publications, including the magazine, at
Scribd.com/aspeninstitute.

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SUMMER 2015

To build a Culture of Health

we must place well-being at the
center of every aspect of life.
RISA LAVIZZO-MOUREY, MD, MBA
President and Chief Executive Officer

Learn more at rwjf.org/2015AnnualMessage

THE ASPEN IDEA

SUMMER 2015

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LAST PAGE

Photos by Christopher Michel

SOUTHERN EXPOSURE

Michel journeyed to Antarctica for Outside magazine in 2014.

"It's my favorite place on Earth," he says. This year, however,
Michel is headed in the other direction: Hell be traveling to
the North Pole on a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker.

The intense experiences and emotions of

military service can unleash creativity in
the people who serve. Flying for the Navy
whet Henry Crown Fellow Christopher
Michels appetite for adventure. But it was
the discipline he learned from serving
that gave him the tools to become an
artist. Now he combines both: Michel
has channeled his love of extreme
environments with the focus required to
become a world-class photographer.
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THE ASPEN IDEA

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Jim & AnitaWest

Bineau
End
Broker Associates

Classic

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Aspens rich architectural history comes alive in this charming Victorian home, built in 1888 and located on a double lot in the hip and
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970.920.7380
christian@masonmorse.com

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Anita & Jim Bineau

970.274.9725 Anita 970.688.0609 Jim

thebineauteam@masonmorse.com

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