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DEPARTMENTS
6 | W H AT I S T H E I N S T I T U T E ?
11 | A R O U N D T H E I N S T I T U T E
The Institute prepares for its new headquarters; we head to
Paris for CityLab; Ava DuVernay talks creativity and justice;
leaders ponder artificial intelligence; we look at the fusion of
Dan Bayer
cultures on the border with Mexico; and more.
6
32 | A S H E A R D AT
The Institutes own Eric L. Motley takes us on a tour of
his hometown, Madison Park, Alabama, and we present an
excerpt of his new memoir, Madison Park: A Place of Hope;
Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, discusses
the importance of journalism in a world of fake news; and
economist Richard Reeves explains why the wealth gap in the
United States is getting larger.
42 | I M PA C T
82 | FA C E S
Behind the scenes at Institute events.
86 | FA C T S
Get to know the Institutes programs.
92 | PA R T I N G S H O T
Riccardo Savi
The Aspen Institute celebrates the rites of winter.
32
ON THE COVER
Lana Abu-Hijleh, winner of the 2017 McNulty Prize
(Photo 2017 Robert A. Ripps)
Elsa DSilva
42
FEATURES
50 | THE McNULTY EFFECT
This year, the John P. McNulty Prize, which honors Aspen Global Leadership
Network Fellows with exceptional projects, celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Johnny McNulty and Nina Sawhney look back at the founding of the
prize, the social-impact ventures its laureates have created around the world,
and ahead to plans for growth.
Fish Forever
beneath it, built in the middle of the century amid Cold War fears of a nuclear
attack. Meryl Chertoff explores the underground lair, Arthur Houghtons
53
attention to detail, and what the space means to todays equally perilous world.
74 | MISSED GOALS
72 74
Latino culture has a passion for soccer. And yet in the US, where the Latino
population has exploded, soccer remains an exclusive game for white kids
in the suburbs. Latino children face a number of barriers to the sport:
language, documentation, green space, expenses. Imagine, Jon Solomon
asks, if we could harness all that untapped talent.
76
78 | EMPOWERMENT, NOT FEAR
Many in the working class feel left out of the current world order. As a
result, the West is seeing a surge in nationalism and populism. Many think
technology is to blame: it strips laborers of jobs and then foments their anger
Illustrations by Kissane Viola Design
Dan Bayer
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.
WALTER ISAACSON
President and Chief Executive Officer
ELLIOT F. GERSON
Executive Vice President, Policy and Public Programs; International Partners
NAMITA KHASAT
Executive Vice President, Finance and Administrative Services;
Riccardo Savi
Chief Financial Officer; Corporate Treasurer
I
PETER REILING
Executive Vice President, Leadership and Seminar Programs;
n a season of change at the Institute, some things remain constants. Executive Director, Henry Crown Fellowship Program
One is the quality and range of leaders who pass through our
RAJIV VINNAKOTA
doorsdoors that span the globe. In a recent presentation, Executive Vice President, Youth & Engagement Programs
Maureen Conway, the vice president for policy programs at the CINDY BUNISKI
Institute, created an interactive map to show the places where the more Vice President, Administration; Executive Director, Aspen Wye Campus
than 30 policy programs at the Institute operate, meet, and touch and JAMES M. SPIEGELMAN
improve peoples lives. It had many, many more dots in unexpected Vice President, Chief External Affairs Officer; Deputy to the President
towns deep in rural as well as urban areas than the audienceInstitute
friends allexpected. Then Conway showed the group a map of the EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND PUBLISHER CORBY KUMMER
EXECUTIVE EDITOR SACHA ZIMMERMAN
world, and their surprise only grew. The maps will soon appear on
MANAGING EDITORS NICOLE COREA, ALISON DECKER
aspeninstitute.org, and my wager is that theyll surprise you, too. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER DOUGLAS FARRAR
Few groups personify the intense focus and help that Institute-trained SENIOR EDITORS JEAN MORRA, JAMES M. SPIEGELMAN
leaders apply than the ones recognized every year by the McNulty Prize, DESIGN DIRECTOR KATIE KISSANE-VIOLA
who apply business skills and bootstrapping enterprise to ideas that CREATIVE DIRECTOR PAUL VIOLA
change lives. As our cover story shows, laureates go where conventional DESIGNER MICHAEL STOUT
EDITOR EMERITUS JAMIE MILLER
nonprofits cant, whether that be distributing eyeglass kits that allow rural
MANAGING DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS PHERABE KOLB
women to make and sell glasses or guaranteeing a market for smallholder ADVERTISING CYNTHIA CAMERON, 970.948.8177, adsales@aspeninstitute.org
farmers in Uganda. The winners are but a few of the years particularly CONTACT EDITORIAL ideas.magazine@aspeninstitute.org
noteworthy fellows from the Aspen Global Leadership Network, whose GENERAL The Aspen Institute,
well of dauntingly active leaders startle me at any gathering I happen One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036
upon with the sheer electricity they emit. 202.736.5800, www.aspeninstitute.org
Corby Kummer Albert H. Small, Andrew L. Stern, Paul A. Volcker, Leslie H. Wexner, Frederick B. Whittemore, Alice Young
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AROUND THE INSTITUTE
TAX AND FACTS Tax policy can dramatically impact low- and moderate-income workers. Certain
tax creditssuch as the Earned Income Tax Creditare targeted to working families to supplement income and encourage
employment. But taxes also influence corporate behavior, like where to locate businesses, how many and what kind of jobs to
create, and what benefits and compensation to offer. With tax reform on the agenda in Washington, the Economic Opportunities
Programs Working in America series explored the ways that taxes affect low- and moderate-income Americans.
aspeninstitute.org/eop
IN 2015: 6.5 MILLION PEOPLE OUT THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT LIFTED
OF POVERTY, INCLUDING
3.3 MILLION CHILDREN.
21%
21% OF ELIGIBLE
TAXPAYERS DID
NOT CLAIM THE
EARNED INCOME
27 MILLION TAXPAYERS
{ 18%
TAX CREDIT.
OF THOSE WHO
FILED TAXES
RECEIVED THE EARNED
INCOME TAX CREDIT.
54.5% OF FAMILIES
MAKING LESS THAN
On October 5, the Conversations with Great Leaders in Memory 13th, her recent documentary that takes an in-depth look at the 13th
of Preston Robert Tisch series featured award-winning film Amendment, which abolished slavery. She argues that racial injustice
and television director Ava DuVernay, a 2017 Institute artist-in- perpetuates slavery through mass incarceration. Woetzel noted that
residence. DuVernay spoke with Arts Program Director Damian the film inspired the Ford Foundation and Agnes Gunds new Art for
Woetzel about the impact of her films, including Selma, the Golden Justice Fund to support criminal-justice reform. 13th has shown me
Globenominated movie about the civil-rights movementthe first the power of documentary film as a weapon, DuVernay said. And
such nomination for a black female director. DuVernay said it is her that is powerful. DuVernays latest directing project, coming in
mission to create opportunities for black filmmakers, particularly March, is A Wrinkle in Time, based on the novel by Madeleine LEngle.
women, through her film collective, ARRAY. DuVernay also discussed aspeninstitute.org/arts
A LEGACY OF VALUES
Institute founder Walter Paepcke once said that seminars help a who have made a commitment to support the Institute beyond
leader gain access to his or her own humanity by becoming more their lifetimes to celebrate the values at the core of its mission.
self-aware, more self-correcting, and more self-fulfilling. This The Heritage Society is composed of longstanding trustees and
summer, Aspen Institute Heritage Society members participated Society of Fellows members who have made a bequest or other
in a custom seminar, Values in the Crucible, modeled after the planned gift. It also includes supporters who have forged a
classic Executive Seminar. The discussion tackled two topics: The meaningful connection to a specific Institute initiative and want
Republic of Conscience and Of Hope and History. Participants to ensure that its impact continues to grow. Their generosity will
explored their individual legacy and their role in creating a better be felt throughout the Institute for generations. aspeninstitute.
future for generations to come. The seminar allowed individuals org/heritage-society
IDEAS WINTER 2017/18 13
AROUND THE INSTITUTE
Smith
BRAIN SCIENCE:
REWIRING FAMILY POLICIES
Becoming a parent rewires the brainyet policymakers often overlook the
power of this transformation. In September, Ascend at the Aspen Institute
hosted a Brain Science and Positive Parenting roundtable to connect the latest
research to programs and policies. In partnership with the Ford Foundation,
Ascend invited leaders from across science, parenting, and policy to explore new
neurological research. Scientists have learned so much about parenting in the
past decadebut very little of that information reaches the families who need it
most. The challenges of becoming a parent are often compounded by poverty,
making parenting a sport played on a very uneven playing field, said Ascend
fellow Sarah Watamura, a psychology professor at the University of Denver.
Watamura and Ascend Network Partner Megan Smith of the New Haven
Mental Health Outreach for Mothers Partnership shared the latest research
on brain science and applied programs for parenting. Then federal, state, and
community leaders shared pragmatic insights into how this
research can be woven into family programs and services.
From executive function to economic-return research,
Anne Mosle, the executive director of Ascend, said, we
have a great opportunity to leverage the lessons from
Lori Severens
brain science to support families in need.
aspeninstitute.org/ascend
csreports.aspeninstitute.org.
2017 Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence participants
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Whitney Peterson
Carlos Martinez-Vela, Regina Bernal, Guillermo Mejia, and Ricardo Mora
EUROPE:
THE NEXT GENERATION
The European Union has encountered great change
since its 1957 founding. Now, 60 years after the
Treaty of Rome, the European Union faces new
challenges: Brexit, a wave of nationalist populism,
and even a vote for independence by Catalonia.
Will the EU experiment survive? If so, what values
will define it? In September, the Aspen Initiative for
Europe, Aspen Institute Italia, and Aspen Institute
Espaa gathered 25 young leaders for a seminar
in Spoleto, Italy, to explore these questions and to
examine the meaning of citizenship, the effects of
welfare systems, and the nature of war and peace.
Participants, who hailed from a range of professional
backgrounds and nationalities, wrestled with these
topics over three days. The seminar offered these
young leaders a space to debate European values
in a changing and interconnected world. The Aspen
Initiative for Europe developed the Young European
Marcelo Lago
Leaders group to engage emerging leaders under 35.
Inaugural Young European Leaders of the Aspen Initiative for Europe aspenforeurope.org/young-european-leaders
across the United States, including California State Senator Ben Allen, New Mexico
State Representative Sarah Maestas Barnes, Minneapolis City Councilwoman Lisa
Bender, and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. Members of earlier Rodel classes
have become governors, members of Congress, and federal cabinet secretaries.
aspeninstitute.org/rodel Elorza
Laurence Genon
Manfred and writer Terry McDermott
GOOD SPORTS
According to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred,
the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL commissioners all agree that
the best athlete is one who plays several sports. Multiple sports
give body parts rest, Manfred told more than 400 people at the
Institutes 2017 Project Play Summit in Washington. Some of you
crazy parents are making these kids go nuts, playing one sport,
former MLB player Harold Reynolds said. I want you playing all
kinds of different sports. To that end, the Institutes Sports &
Society Program announced its new Project Play 2020 initiative,
which marks the first time industry and nonprofit organizations
have come together to increase youth participation in sports. It
is absolutely amazing how fast this formidable group got Project
Play 2020 off the ground so quickly, said Craig Robinson, a
Ogwumike
New York Knicks executive (and Michelle Obamas brother), who
made an appeal at last years summit for just such an initiative. star Angela Ruggiero, WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike, ex-
The summit sold out for the third straight year, and #ProjectPlay NFL player Chris Kluwe, and former US Surgeon General David
trended nationally on Twitter. Speakers included Olympic hockey Satcher. aspeninstitute.org/sports-society
22 IDEAS WINTER 2017/18
Participants in the Socrates Wilderness seminar
Laurence Genon
WILD THINGS
On the top of Mount Yeckel, 11,700 feet up in the Colorado counsel from William Cronon, one of the country's leading
wilderness, it was hard for the Socrates Program participants environmental historians, the Socrates Wilderness Seminar
to miss the darkening sky and gathering clouds a few miles in includes texts from Henry David Thoreau, Charles Darwin, Rachel
the distance. The mountains are mercurial, Paul Andersen, Carson, Peter Singer, Emma Maris, and E.O. Wilson. Along
the seminar co-moderator and trip leader, had noted as the 15 with Andersenan author and the founder of Huts for Vets, a
scholars set out on the inaugural Socrates Wilderness, Nature, wilderness-therapy program for veteransGerson and David
and Society seminar. The diminishing sunshine and dropping Monsma, the executive director of the Institutes Energy and
temperature proved Andersen right. As the group gathered on the Environment Program, served as seminar co-moderators. Over the
mountaintop, Stephen Ambroses account of Lewis and Clarks course of three days of hiking, discussing classic and contemporary
journey west, Undaunted Courage, began to find purchase as more texts, and camping, Socrates participants delved into perceptions
than a historical text read earlier that day. The mountain range of the wild and discussed current environmental issues. They
really did stretch west as far as the eye could see, the steep ascent hailed from around the world, from California to Amsterdam, with
Franklin Carrero-Martinez
required the greatest exertion, and despite the approaching backgrounds in government, nonprofits, the private sector, and
snow, there was nothing for it but to proceed. academia. The group comprised backcountry experts and camping
Based on a seminar developed by Elliot Gerson, the Institutes first-timers, each contributing to a meeting of the minds in the
executive vice president for public and policy programs, with wilderness above Aspen. aspeninstitute.org/socrates
Laurence Genon
ARE YOU BEING SERVED?
Americans have more than $25 trillion in retirement savings. That workers without access to workplace plans; (2) the financial instability
impressive figure masks a troubling reality: 27 percent of near- of those struggling in retirement, who likely struggled during their
retirement households have no retirement savings at all. In April, the working lifea growing segment of the population; (3) the longevity
Financial Security Programs Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement of workers who have longer lifespans and thus longer retirements; (4)
Savings brought together experts to explore bold solutions to this an evolving social contract that sees the workplace shifting away from
coming crisis. In September, the program released a report that steady hours and stable incomes, with individuals shouldering ever-
identifies five reasons the US retirement system serves some better greater levels of risk; and (5) a lack of political will. Retirement policy is
than others: (1) a coverage gap that leaves roughly 50 percent of complexand complex doesnt always excite politicians. as.pn/rsi
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The Aspen Institute, along with partners Bloomberg refugee populations, autonomous vehicles, urban identity, and
Philanthropies and The Atlantic, hosted the fifth annual CityLab: even loneliness.
Urban Solutions to Global Challenges on October 22 to 24. CityLab kicked off with a special evening session featuring
Each year, the event highlights the innovative urban strategies night czars from Amsterdam and London. Night czars are
and leadership that make cities more effective, responsive, responsible for making their cities nighttime hours more
and inclusive. CityLab has previously been held in New York, culturally and economically vibrant for local businesses, residents,
Los Angeles, London, and Miami. This year, an international and tourists. Participants explored Paris by boat to learn about
group of 37 mayors and more than 500 participants from the citys historic architecture along the Seine, and heard how
over 135 different cities gathered in Paris for the two-day current policies reduce carbon emissions by closing off parts of the
summit. The program emphasized the themes facing todays riverbanks to traffic. Attendees also visited Station F, the worlds
city leaders, such as climate change, terrorism, citizen protests, largest startup campus, housed inside an old freight depot in the
26 IDEAS WINTER 2017/18
Mayors directly confront
the impact of climate change
and the impact of the refugee
crisis we know today. We
dont have a planet B.
the impact of the refugee crisis we know today in Europe, Paris
Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who chairs the climate leadership group
C40 and who oversaw the creation of the refugee center, said.
She argued that mayors should act for both their cities and the
world. We dont have a planet B, she said.
The Good Chance Theatre co-founders Joe Murphy and Joe
Robertson returned to the CityLab stage this year. Good Chance,
a British nonprofit, built its first theater at a refugee camp in Calais
in the north of France in 2015 as a place for people to express
themselves and to escape or confront the situations they were in.
This year, artist Majid Adin, a refugee who participated in Good
Chance during his time in Calais, joined Murphy and Robertson.
When I came as a refugee, I was just looking for a distribution
center for food and clothes, Adin said. But since taking part in the
Good Chance Theatre, he has won a competition to create a music
video for Elton Johns Rocket Man. Adins work focuses on his
experience leaving his country and starting a new life. Robertson
said that art can be a first step toward refugee integration. It is
really compromise, understanding, empathy, he said of addressing
the refugee plight. It is harder than any of us admit.
Award-winning writers Ta-Nehisi Coates and Chimamanda
Photos: Melanie Leigh Wilbur
SPACE ODYSSEY
By the time you read this, the Institute will have moved to its new 90,000-square-foot Washington, DC, headquarters at 2300 N
Street NW. After being divided across multiple floors in two buildings for many years, the staff can at last come together. Built by Davis
Construction, the workspace was designed by OTJ Architects in a modernist Bauhaus style evocative of the Aspen Meadows campus in
Colorado. A need to accommodate the Institutes growth and offer a more collaborative work environment drove the decision to move.
The mostly open workspaces will feature a Creative Ideas Lab, a caf, and larger, enhanced event spaces. Our new home symbolizes the
Institutes mission, said outgoing CEO Walter Isaacson, which has always relied on the power of place and the beauty of architecture
to foster conversation and connections.
OTJ Architects
A LEGACY OF GROWTH AND DYNAMISM
The Institute is a touchstone for people around the world. So evolve over the years. Strand remembers Executive Seminar
it is no surprise that many have spent decades contributing participants celebrating at the summit of Ajax Mountain when
their voices to the Institutes Society of Fellows and Heritage they got word of President Richard Nixons resignation in 1974.
Society. In fact, some members of the Institute community He also remembers getting a call 14 years ago from one Walter
have been attending events and engaging in weighty debates Isaacson. I was one of the people Walter called for input on
since the 1960s. The Aspen Institute has been a springboard for whether or not he should take the job as CEO and president of
impact, Juliane Heyman, the first female Peace Corps training the Institute, Strand says. Walter has since become one of my
officer, says. It has been a platform for people who go on to do heroes. He leaves an incredible legacy of growth and dynamism
great thingsand even greater things after their experience at for the Institute. So do all of our friends at the Society of
the Institute. Curt Strand agrees. The former CEO of Hilton Fellows and Heritage Society.
International (now Hilton Worldwide) has watched the Institute aspeninstitute.org/sof | aspeninstitute.org/heritage-society
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AROUND THE INSTITUTE
In the age of not only fake news but fake everything else, we
need literary writing more than ever, because thats the kind of
writing that by definition is trying to depict the human condition
as accurately as possible with all the layers of complexity,
ambiguity, confusion, and uncertainty that go into human
experience.
Ben Fountain, Summer Words 2017 faculty and author of
Billy Lynns Long Halftime Walk
Riccardo Savi
Motley
PROMISED LAND
ERIC L. MOTLEYS NEW MEMOIR IS A DISTINCTLY AMERICAN JOURNEY
OF HOPE AND FAITHFROM RECONSTRUCTION TO THE PRESENT.
W
hen Institute Executive Vice President but more importantly, he reveals how the community taught
Eric L. Motley published his new memoir, him everything he needed to know about love, faith, and
Madison Park: A Place of Hope, this year, negotiating the world in front of him. Before Motley earned
the world was introduced to a remarkable his doctorate, before he worked in the Oval Office as a special
town near Montgomery, Alabamaand to assistant to President George W. Bush, and before he became
the remarkable man who was raised there. Madison Park, a a force at the Institute, he was a bookish African American
small community founded by freed slaves in 1880, is a place boy being raised by his grandparents in the Deep South. He
where lessons in self-determination, hope, and an unwavering sat down with Aspen Words Executive Director Adrienne
belief in the American dream are nurtured. Motley, a native Brodeur to talk about this extraordinary book and why it is so
son, reveals his own stories of racial injustice and segregation, resonant at this moment in time.
they are intimately interwoven. AB: How often do you get back to exercise of learning. But writing this
Madison Park? Do you still think of it as book of course required a level of
AB: As a boy, you came face to face home? concentration and focus that extended
with Governor George Wallace in the beyond my miscellanies. For me, this
Montgomery Public Library. You were ELM: I no longer physically have a was an intellectual, emotional, and
generous in your musings of what he home in Madison Park, but, spiritually spiritual exercise in recollection. Instead
might be thinking: Perhaps he saw in speaking, Madison Park will always of starting off with a publisher or an
me, nameless black boy lost in wonder be my home. The land that my family agent, I decided that I would go the route
at the library, the embodiment of a time farmed is still the place of my childhood of writing, and writing, and rewriting.
that was no more. Maybe he thought of home, many of my childhood friends The end goal was not to produce a book
me as the futures promise. Maybe he was and neighbors continue to live in the that could be sold; the motivation was
pondering poet John Greenleaf Whittiers same houses on the same streets, and my telling my story and the story of my
lines, Of all sad words of tongue or grandparents and ancestors all rest in people without constraint and telling it
pen, the saddest are these: it might have the community cemetery. I return twice to myself first. Also, the very nature of
been. What gave you such an optimistic a year, every autumn and spring. It is a a memoir requires a type of honesty and
outlook on the inner thoughts of the most centering rhythm that I always hope to forthrightness that is not always easily
notorious segregationist in history? maintain. achieved. There were a lot of emotional
and psychological boxes I had long sealed
ELM: I was taught to believe that there AB: We never get all of the thank-yous and put away in the attic of my mind and
is goodness in everyone and that, or goodbyes properly said, which leaves heart. I would put the manuscript in a
whether or not we realize it, the God us, each one, living with a burden of drawer for extended periods, until I was
in each of us yearns to shine outwardly. gratitude. Could you tell us a bit more ready to go where I knew I needed to go
My grandparents were pragmatists about what you meant by this? to reveal a more honest me.
Eric and his grandfather pick peaches. Erics Madison Park Head Start class, 1979
MADISON PARK:
M
money changing hands and no one adison Park elders feared
keeping score. You always planted forced integration would
A PLACE OF HOPE a bit more in your vegetable garden destroy their model of
than you needed. community-based education, which
BY ERIC L. MOTLEY But my arrival had a price tag assured that every student was taught
W
that neighborly generosity couldnt by someone who knew his or her
hether you were rich or close. Anticipating the extra expense background, parents, and family
poor, sharing came as of raising a child, Mama and Daddy situation. Given that blacks and whites
naturally as sunrise to the sold the bit of extra land they owned. in the South lived separately, integration
people of Madison Park, Alabama. During my mothers last years in high required transporting students to schools
Youd see tractors, plows, and other school, theyd scaled back the number outside their neighborhoods. While
implements that belonged to one of days and hours they worked. But elsewhere busing might have helped
family parked in someone elses when I came along Daddy took extra achieve greater diversity, Madison
backyard for weeks. Daddys close carpentry jobs, and Mama, a maid Parks citizens had felt insulated from
friend Ray never felt compelled to buy who kept house for white families in the abuse of segregation common
a lawn mower, and Daddy implored the Old Cloverdale neighborhood in beyond their boundaries. Thus, they
him not to, because his yard was so Montgomerya section of beautiful feared that the stability theyd achieved,
small and our mower was available. If homes with carpet-pressed lawns and while not perfect, might be better than
someones roof leaked, half a dozen sculpted hedges where Zelda and F. the unknown. Aunt Shine once told me,
men would descend on the house Scott Fitzgerald once livedstepped No one cared for our poor students
one Saturday and re-roof it, with no up her schedule. like we did.
Shell change
the world
without asking
permission.
O
In the preBrown v. Board of logs. Over time, my monthly calendar ne day after cleaning out
Education days, and long before schools expanded to include picking up litter, her parlor, Mrs. Peabody,
offered free breakfast and lunch, picking pecans, peeling pears and the woman my grandmother
the teachers often fed their hungry peaches, weeding vegetable gardens, worked for in Montgomery, asked
students. When boys and girls came watering flower beds, cleaning barns, Mama: Mamie, do yall have a
without winter coats, they bought organizing storage sheds, piling bricks, record player? If you do, take these
them clothes. When kids didnt come and painting garages. I realized even records home to give your little boy
to school, the teachers went out then that my employers could easily something to listen to.
looking for them. They were in and out have done the work themselves, but Mama lugged her ten records
of students homes and ran into them they hired me so I could put cash in home in a wooden vegetable crate,
at church, ball games, and at Mr.June my college fund. some still unopened. It was summer,
Jacksons grocery store. Fearing this I would just as soon have been and I took my time uncrating my
spirit of community would be lost, given the money outright, but Mama present. I examined each record one
they also feared the children would be insisted that I earn my way. She by one until I found two or three
failed by a system based on statistics believed I would feel better about whose covers I really liked. Daddy, as
instead of relationships. But the law myself if the rewards were a product curious as I, brought the record player
was the law. I was bused to a school in of my sweat. Looking back, those out to the back porch and plugged it
Montgomery, 20 minutes away. folks knew exactly what they were in. What are you going to play, son?
When I was just seven, neighbors doingthe back-breaking jobs I he asked, reminding me how much he
began to hire me for odd jobs so I could endured built in me a powerful desire also liked music. I turned the volume
save up to pay for my education. I to find a better way to make a living up as high as it would go, and the
mowed lawns, trimmed shrubs, picked and ratcheted even tighter my resolve three of us waited.
blackberries, and stacked fireplace to get a university education. I didnt know that what I had
INSPIRING SURROUNDINGS
WHILE ELSEWHERE BUSING MIGHT HAVE HELPED EXCEPTIONAL MEETINGS
ACHIEVE GREATER DIVERSITY, MADISON PARKS An ideal retreat setting with
CITIZENS HAD FELT INSULATED FROM THE ABUSE more than 1,000 acres on
Marylands Eastern Shore.
OF SEGREGATION BEYOND THEIR BOUNDARIES.
Privacy abounds on the
grounds of two estates with
decided to play would forever back, turn curves, and climb so high? I state-of-the-art conference
change my life. Out came the most played that record at full volume every facilities, 51 distinctive
transcendent and wondrously strange day for the whole summer, and no one accommodations, farm-to-table
sound. It was the voice of the soprano complained. cuisine, striking water views
Jessye Norman singing Richard Eventually, I played all of and notable amenities.
Strausss Four Last Songs. Mrs. Peabodys records, but the
Id never heard such a voiceit Norman album touched me most. It
enveloped me. The dogs and chickens wasnt until years later that I learned
seemed to hush, and the clanking that she was black, grew up in Augusta,
of tractors plowing faded into the Georgia, and got her start singing in
background. Even my normally the church choir. After many years
voluble grandmother said nothing. The of listening to that album, I truly
look on my face must have stopped appreciate what enormous range she
her. I was transfixed. Normans voice possessed, what impeccable control
was so refreshingly different and new and phrasing she exercised in her
to our surroundings that in minutes singing. But sitting on the back porch
Bimp, Boo-Boo, and Rod raced across with my grandparents, I never could
the yard, landing with a thump on the have imagined that one day Id receive
porch. What you listening to, Bugs? an invitation to dine with Ms.Norman FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
What is it? in Aspen, Colorado, and tell her the
WYERIVERCONFERENCECENTER.COM
They werent ridiculing me or story of how I came to love opera.
OR CALL 410.827.7400
scoffing at the music but expressing
wonder. How could the human voice Copyright 2017 by Eric L. Motley. Used
create such a sound? How could it sway by permission.
Kris Tripplaar
Baron
SHINING A LIGHT IN
DARK CORNERS
THE WASHINGTON POST S EXECUTIVE EDITOR MARTIN BARON TALKS
ABOUT JOURNALISMS FOUNDATIONAL ROLE IN A DEMOCRACY.
I
n September, the Institute, in partnership with The Atlantic, Adam Neumann, author Tim OBrien, General (ret.) David
held the annual Washington Ideas Forum in the heart of Petraeus, the National Portrait Gallerys Kim Sajet, artist Sheldon
the nations capital. The event gathered leaders in politics, Scott, and the Broad Institutes Feng Zhang all tackled the most
business, health, science, technology, arts, culture, and consequential issues facing the country and the world. Below,
journalism for three days of cant-miss conversation. In Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, sat down
the center of US political power, leaders like Treasury Secretary with Martin Baron, the executive editor of The Washington Post, at
Steven Mnuchin, Senator Chris Coons, Senator Jeff Flake, Sidney Harman Hall to discuss journalism in the age of Donald
VotoLatinos Maria Teresa Kumar, Chef Tim Ma, WeWorks Trump. washingtonideas.com
MB: Watergate is probably the best as part of the resistance. The day after share those stories. Even the president
analogue to whats happening today. the inauguration, the president went to has shared our stories on Twitter
Richard Nixon was very hostile CIA headquarters and he said that he when he happens to like the story,
toward the press, so we were under was at war with the media. Well, were and then in the next tweet he says
constant attack. The presss standing not at war. Were at work. Were doing were fake news. So theres an internal
with the American public was very the job thats provided for in the First inconsistency there.
low at that time. People perceived the Amendment of the Constitution. That Look, quality is really important.
investigation of the president, and the phrase, Democracy Dies in Darkness, I participate in every hiring decision,
whole Watergate investigation, as being is something that our owner, Jeff Bezos, because I think every person we hire
highly politically motivated. And then, wanted to do well before Trump was can make a huge difference for the
ultimately, Nixon had to resign, and the elected president. He wanted to capture betteror for the worse. One reporter
standing of the press actually went up our mission and synthesize it in a few can make a huge difference in our
after that. Our approval ratings reached words. And our mission is to shine light success, but they could also cause us
probably the highest point in memory. in dark corners, to hold government a huge problem. One copy editor can
They were probably as high as theyre accountable. catch a serious mistake and prevent a
ever going to get. They were in the mid- disaster for us. So we try to be rigorous
50s. Were always going to have people JG: Let me ask you about the upside of in the hiring process to make the right
upset with us. the Trump era vis--vis the press. Your decisions. Its also important that we
newspaper just crossed a line: a million hire good editors to make sure they
JG: Theres a disagreement among digital subscribers. The press seems to act as a quality-control mechanism
several editors about the use of the be benefiting from this fight, which the in our news organization and that we
word lie to describe things that the president initiated but which also seems emphasize editing as much as we do
president has said. to be helping our business. reporting as we continue to grow.
Reeves
Laurence Genon
THE GLASS FLOOR
ECONOMIST RICHARD REEVES EXPLAINS HOW THE TOP 20 PERCENT
ARE HOARDING THE AMERICAN DREAM.
I
s it still possible for low- and moderate-income workers MAUREEN CONWAY: What did your research show you about
and their families to achieve the economic stability class divides in the United States?
necessary to pursue the American Dream? Brookings
Institution Fellow Richard Reeves recently joined RICHARD REEVES: Class is a malleable concept. Its not just
Maureen Conway, the Institutes vice president for policy about economicsits about education, its about family, its
programs and the executive director of the Institutes Economic about all kinds of things. But focusing on income for a moment,
Opportunities Program, to discuss his new book, Dream Hoarders: in the United States, most people define themselves as middle
How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the class, which makes this a harder concept to grasp. Thats why I
Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It. As part of define upper-middle class as the top 20 percent. Income looks
the Economic Opportunities Programs Working in America broadly similar today for the bottom 80 percent as it did 30 or
event series, Reeves argued that the gap between the upper- 40 years ago. In contrast, from 1980 onward, the income of the
middle class and the rest of American society is widening top 20 percent pulled awayperhaps not as much as the top 1
because advantages are concentrated among the upper percent, but the line between the people who have been doing
classes. For more information and to watch the full video, visit progressively better is much broader than the 1 percent.
as.pn/dreamhoarders.
PROUDLY BUILDING
WITH THE INSTITUTE
FOR MORE THAN
20 YEARS
At the time, I was working for one of Indias leading airlines with more than 400,000 people, municipal authorities, and
as vice president of network planning. While the work was police in Delhi, Mumbai, and Goa as well as transportation
challenging, I was looking for my purpose in the world. The authorities in India and Nepal.
incident in Delhi caused me to think about relevant incidents in Being an Aspen New Voices fellow helped me crystallize my
my life, and I began to talk to other women about similar ones vision and use my voice to amplify this vital issue. I have written
in their lives. I was so moved by what I heard that I decided to over 100 op-eds, blog posts, and articles for international and
quit my job and use my skills to end violence against women national news outlets on a range of issues affecting womens
and girls. rights. I have presented at the technical meeting for the UN
Although I had no experience working on womens rights and Womens initiative Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces, UN
no background in the development sector, I took the plunge and Habitat 3, the Aspen Ideas Festival, CityLab London, and
co-founded Safecity in December 2012. The aim is to encourage TEDx. I have far more requests to speak and write than I can
people through crowdsourcing to anonymously share their stories keep up with.
of sexual violence in public spaces. The stories we receive range The fellowship has taught me that I have a responsibility
from leering and verbal harassment to stalking and other physical to use every opportunity to further my cause. After all, having
harassment. We collate and aggregate the stories as location- equal access to safe public spaces is critical to a girls receiving an
based trends, or hot spots, on an online map. We use the online education and to a womans taking up employment, advancing
data that women and girls share to identify factors that may lead in her career, and achieving financial independence.
to sexual violence and to help us think through strategies to find
solutions. We partner with other NGOs, citizen organizations, Aspen New Voices fellow Elsa DSilva is the founder and CEO of
and student groups that work in local communities to create the Red Dot Foundation (Safecity), a platform that documents sexual
awareness and collect information on sexual violence through harassment and abuse in public spaces.
IDEAS WINTER 2017/18 43
IMPACT: NEW VOICES
Chris Paul
local TV and radio stations. I have
Leticia Amavih
been asked to speak in over 15
Soronko participants in Accra, Ghana countries. With this new visibility,
I have received so much support.
A single donor gave 45 laptops to
I had just quit my job at a bank in Ghana to begin a social the Tech Needs Girls Project after reading an article about us.
enterprise teaching science, technology, engineering, and Another donated a vehicle that helped us expand into other
mathematics skills to children in rural communities. I started regions in Ghana. And we are still looking forward. We have
with a lot of passion, but I didnt know how to communicate my started Soronko Academy, the first coding and human-centered
work. Through teaching, I became even more convinced that design school in West Africa. Now, we have introduced coding
what the African continent needed to transform itself was a new as part of the curriculum in a school in Ghanathe first time it
generation of innovators and critical thinkers. With my visits has been taught systematically here. We plan to scale this to all
to rural areas, I saw that many young girls were not allowed public schools in Ghana to change the way STEM is taught and
to reach their full potential. Most girls had been taught that to develop Africas future innovators.
science and technology were too difficult, and not for them.
I remember the sexism and discrimination I personally faced Aspen New Voices fellow Regina Agyare is the CEO of Soronko Solutions.
as a female in a male-dominated field. I wanted to change that
for the next generation of womento bridge the gender gap
in technology. New technologies were sorely missing a female
perspective. In 2013, the same year I became an Aspen New
Voices fellow, I started the Tech Needs Girls Project.
Through the fellowship, I learned how powerful my voice
could be if used effectively: how to communicate my mission
statement, the elevator pitch, body language during an
interview, which communication channels are most effective.
After our initial meeting, I was even more determined to change
the single dominant narrative of Africa. I went home with a
renewed passionand started a movement. I was able to bring
together community leaders and volunteers to help young girls
use technology to reach their full potential and break the cycle
of poverty. I have now trained more than 3,500 girls in eight
regions in Ghana and expanded our impact to Burkina Faso.
With the help of the fellowship trainings, I started to write
articles and op-eds, and I became the face for the women and
In Ghana, girls are learning STEM skills.
girls in technology in my country.
Participant at a Finance
Forward event in St. Louis
W
e need to be talking about issues like income original consumer research, surveyed experts, and gathered
volatility now more than ever, Tishaura O. dozens of leaders to exchange views and come up with solutions.
Jones, the treasurer of the city of St. Louis, We knew that income volatility and economic shocks
says. Too many people feel trapped by a contribute to food insecurity, says Erica Greeley, the vice
system that punishes them for being poor president of programs at Feeding America, an organization that
and unbanked or under-banked. We as a community can and addresses hunger through a nationwide network of member
need to have conversations about issues like income volatility food banks. But as Feeding America develops strategies
if we want St. Louis to be a great place to live and raise a to strengthen pathways out of hunger for working families,
family. Shes right: more and more low- and middle-income EPICs work has informed our decision to focus not only on a
American households are experiencing households net income but also on the
high levels of financial uncertainty and destabilizing implications of volatility.
income volatility. Of course, connecting the dots between
So what does that mean? Well, hunger and the core financial-security
for many families, it means coping issues that lead to it can be overwhelming.
with significant income swings: four Thats why EPIC developed Finance
in ten households say their earnings Forward, a multicity event series that
fluctuate 30 percent per month on brings together local governments,
average. That kind of unpredictability businesses, community advocates,
makes planning for the future nearly and nonprofit leaders to come up
impossible. At the same time, 60 with innovative solutions to income
percent of households experienced a volatility. So far, Finance Forward
financial shock within the past year has held events in Columbia, South
and whether its a housing emergency, Carolina; East Lansing, Michigan; and
health care crisis, or job crunch, for St. Louis, Missouri. Jones, the St. Louis
families that dont have nest eggs, its St. Louis attendee city treasurer, was already working to
a disaster. Whats more, the volatility improve the financial resiliency of her
of month-to-month expenses is even citys residents when she learned about
more widespread than income volatility. All of which makes it EPICs initiatives. She had pioneered a program to encourage
untenable for millions of American households to make ends young people to start saving early, but she also understood that
meet, plan for the future, or save money. she needed new insights for her community. So she partnered
The sheer scale of this financial challenge prompted EPIC, with EPIC and brought Finance Forward to St. Louis. Now,
the Financial Security Programs Expanding Prosperity Impact Jones says, the city is engaging a different group of leaders to talk
Collaborative, to take on income volatility for its first deep about financial security and spending more time considering
investigation. Over the past two years, EPIC has conducted the role government plays in financial empowerment.
Inspiring Surroundings
Exceptional Meetings
Our thoughtfully designed,
40 acre campus, is the perfect place
for your organization to connect
stimulating ideas with a!ainable actions.
Credit
THE M c NULTY
EFFECT 6
11 12
7 8
9 10
Since 2008, the John P. McNulty Prize has celebrated and elevated the work of individuals who are
using their exceptional leadership abilities, entrepreneurial spirit, and private-sector talents to change
the world, a movement being led by the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Each year, at the Resnick
Aspen Action Forum and the Institutes Annual Gala in New York, the McNulty Prize honors individuals
who are addressing the planets foremost social, economic, and environmental challenges.
These are human stories of struggle and determination and ultimately success,
as much as they are studies in what leadership demands in the social space.
Anne Welsh McNulty
The prize, founded by Anne Welsh McNulty in honor from private-sector and nonprofit careers to find innovative
of her late husband, is a primary initiative of the McNulty solutions to everything from pollution to poverty, politics to
Foundation awarded in partnership with the Institutes food security, and education to finance. Always, however, the
Aspen Global Leadership Network. Prize nominees are all solution emerges from the very people they seek to help.
AGLN fellows with exceptional leadership venturesthe When the first prizewinner, Jordan Kassalow, realized that
projects fellows embark on to tackle the societal problems charity was not enough to deliver eyeglasses to those who need
they see around them. The winner receives $100,000 to it, he helped develop a business-in-a-bag model that allowed
further his or her venture, and each of the other laureates women in rural areas of Bangladesh to become one-person
receives $25,000. The winner is selected by a jury of world- eyeglass shopsable to evaluate most basic kinds of vision
recognized leaders: currently, they are former Secretary impairment and prescribe the correct glasses. Not only did this
of State Madeleine Albright, Ford Foundation President create thousands of entrepreneurs who could make a profit and
Darren Walker, international statesman Olara Otunnu, and increase the distribution of badly needed eyewear, the people
development expert Brizio Biondi-Morra. Previous juries who bought them were often middle-aged artisans who gained
have included former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, another 20 years of productive income because they now had
Bill Gates Sr., and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson. the sight to work. The ripple effect is potent: both the new
Since the establishment of the prize, the McNulty income from women selling glasses and the avoided burden of
Foundation has recognized more than 40 laureates for their losing work in their 40s means that artisans children can stay
high-impact ventures addressing many of the worlds most in school, investments can be made to start new businesses, and
intractable problems. The laureates use their experience the cycle of poverty has a chance of ending.
We have positively
influenced thousands
of young people who
now know they are
relevant. They are
respected, they have
gained skills, and
they can be whatever
they want to be.
Lana Abu-Hijleh
Abu-Hijleh
After working with the United Nations and major nongovernmental Now, in over 45 communities across the West Bank,
organizations in development for years, Lana Abu-Hijleh saw the more than 25,000 youth participate in the programand
need for a grassroots movement from Palestines youth, who 92 percent of them say that the YLC has improved their
make up more than half of the regions population. So in 2008 understanding of democracy. As Palestines youth come of
she founded the Youth Local Councils to let young Palestinians age, YLC alums are taking up formal leadership positions, both
take ownership ofand gain experience inself-government. in civil society and as elected city councilmembers, deputy
These voluntary electoral bodies mirror the positions and mayors, and more.
structure of local municipal councils, and anyone aged 15 to Their example has also attracted noticed abroad: the YLC
22 can vote or run for two-year terms. Participating youth model has been replicated in Honduras and will soon spread
receive hundreds of hours of training and take on real projects to Ukraine. Anywhere young people need to be engaged and
in their communities, ranging from making municipal buildings where faith in self-government needs to be shored up, the
accessible to people with disabilities, to building parks for YLC model can be adapted to show people of all ages and
families and communities, to launching collaborative political nationalities that democracy and self-government are still
campaigns that influence national policy. the best ways to build a better future.
Robertson
BRUCE ROBERTSON
TRAIL | Uganda
The annual John P. McNulty Prize recognizes the spirit of entrepreneurship and excellence in fellows of the Aspen Global
Leadership Network who have turned thought into action. The winner is selected by a jurychaired by former Secretary of State
and Institute Trustee Madeleine Albrightand is awarded $100,000. Each laureate receives $25,000.
Learn more: mcnultyprize.org | @McNultyPrize | agln.aspeninstitute.org | @AspenAGLN
The new Youth & Engagement Programs division is training young leaders to make
Riccardo Savi
Tre Maxie, the division director of Youth & Engagement Y&E, the Institute dares young people to be bold and to be
Programs, says. We look for young people who are willing to real agents of change in their communities and beyond.
grow and try new things, who have some type of concern or Youth & Engagements rapid expansion since 2015 is
interest in the community. Someone seeking something larger setting the stage for years of future impact. Embedded in
than his or her current circumstance. everything we do, in our very operating culture, is piloting and
Youth & Engagement Programs arent just reaching measurement of impact before scaling, John P. Dugan, the
younger audiences for the Institutetheyre reaching new Youth & Engagement director of program quality, design, and
BY ELYSE BONNER
I had no idea what the Aspen Young Leaders Fellowship was when I
first applied. One of my teachers recommended it to me. It was really
intimidating at first! Everyone is so intelligent. I was talking with a lot of
smart people doing big things in St. Louis. Luckily, they paired us with a
lot of like-minded people, and it was inspiring to find that I was just as
intelligent as everyone else in the room.
Ive learned that being a leader isnt just about yourself. Its about the
community youre trying to change. Right now, my fellowship group is
focused on being flexible as leaders. In the last session, we talked about
Lego bricks and how we can pair them in so many different ways to add up
to something. Were also talking a lot more about how to unify the diverse
sets of people involved in the issues that we are passionate about.
Most of the young people in the fellowship are from St. Louis. They
paired us well. Everyone understands different peoples backgrounds. One
of our themes is to argue joyfully. At first, it made me uncomfortable to
think that people didnt think just like me. I always assumed other people
were wrong if they didnt think like me. But there are so many perspectives.
I always knew I was interested in leadership. But I had never thought
Young Adult Forum about how I could be a leader in my day-to-day life. The fellowship inspires
me to be more active in my school community. I always thought that
This fellowship has given me the making a change was for someone else. I never imagined myself being
the change.
chance, and the hope, of actually Aspen Young Leaders Fellow Elyse Bonner is in her first year at Tuskegee
has the capacity to work with young people across the globe on
values-based leadership development. The Aspen fellowship was
life changing for me as an adult, and Im excited to see the work
being extended to young people.
It also means forming partnerships with The Bridge, the
Riccardo Savi
Dan Bayer
A TASTE OF THE IMPACT WE CAN ALL HAVE BY NICK DAVIS
HOW ASPEN CHALLENGE CHANGED ONE PARTICIPANTS COMMUNITYAND LIFE.
This past summer, I was invited to the Aspen Ideas Festival to moderate with a liquor store on every corner to a place with Pom juice stands on
a panel of young leaders from winning Aspen Challenge teams. One every corner. I felt over my head on a campus where folks like Ta-Nehisi
morning, on my way to one of the breakfast buffets, I was asked to Coates, Tony Fadell, and Arianna Huffington could be found enjoying
contribute my six words for Michele Norriss Race Card Project, which Wonderful pistachios and chicken jerky.
had a booth set up nearby. It wasnt until we had to present our solution that I finally felt like I
Let me eat first, I told her. Trust me. belonged in Aspen. People wanted to believe in me, connect with me,
I know what Im capable of when Im hangry. Being hangry involves and invest in me because of the impact the team had on our community
being just the right mix of tired, hungry, and irritable, something many and the problem-solving potential we possessed. As I went to more talks
humans experience when we arent adequately fed. and panels, I was exposed to some of the greatest thinkers and doers on
Being hangry isnt anything new to communities like my hometown of the planet. I would engage speakers between sessions, collecting advice,
Inglewood, California. Inglewood is a food desert, meaning we dont have names, and business cards. Slowly I began to envision myself in their
regular access to fresh, healthy, and affordable produce. And everyone shoes, thinking of business ideas, policies, designs, and solutions.
feels the pangs. After landing back at LAX, I saw the greenhouse through different
I first learned about food deserts four years ago as a senior at eyes. I saw an urban-farming revolution, a rallying cry for a community,
Westchester High School and a member of one of the inaugural Aspen and a beacon of inspiration for young people ready to do something.
Challenge teams in Los Angeles. In high school, I saw kids selling Hot There was a lot of work to be done.
Cheetos, sour worms, and even burritos out of their lockers. To the Four years after we built it and four years after my visit to Aspen, the
administration, this was an incredibly aggravating issue, but our Aspen greenhouse remains an invaluable part of the community and an educational
Challenge team saw industrious and creative youth who were making the asset, and Im incredibly grateful to have had the privilege of being involved in
best of what they had to work with. its development. What really excites me, though, is that thousands of youth
Considering the pervasiveness of the issue and the impact our team across the United States are now picking up their shovels, laptops, and pens,
felt we could have on our community, our Aspen Challenge team decided and confronting the toughest issues in their communities head-on.
to tackle the challenge issued by Kristin Groos Richmond: use food to Aspen Challenge doesnt just bring awareness to issues or teach young
bring peers together and create a healthier community. people how to think critically. It inspires entire communities to put their heads
Our solution included building an aquaponic greenhouse in an empty together and answer the challenge. It forces politicians, media, and business
lot on our high schools campus, then we set up a curriculum and farmers leaders to recognize and respect youth voices. It opens the eyes of young
market around it. In the eight weeks between the start of the challenge people so we look at problems differently, and it sets up a framework for us
and our presentation, we developed a lesson plan, built the foundation and to address whatever challenges we set our eyes on. But most importantly,
framework of the greenhouse, compiled a cookbook, and raised several it gives us a taste of the impact we can have on our surroundings, and the
thousand dollars in funds from community organizations. We involved agency to empower ourselves and our peers to make it happen.
local businesses, urban-farming experts, and parents; we even got the I went back to Micheles booth and wrote my six words: Feed the
LA City Council to pass an initiative supporting our work. We won the world, were all hangry.
challenge and the trip to the 2013 Aspen Ideas Festival.
But soon after landing in Aspen, the team realized we werent in
Inglewood anymore. It was a bit of a culture shock, coming from a place Nick Davis is a 2013 alumnus of the inaugural Aspen Challenge: Los Angeles.
Riccardo Savi
ASPENX
AspenX is a high-touch two-day program for high-school students that works to connect virtual learning with in-person moderated
dialogue in the style of the traditional Aspen Institute seminar. AspenX provides a unique opportunity for students to explore difficult
topics through conversations with peers who have different perspectives and backgrounds but come from the same hometown.
aspeninstitute.org/aspenx
TEEN SOCRATES
Teen Socrates is a three-day seminar modeled after the Institutes Executive Seminar that takes place each year over Presidents Day
weekend in Aspen, Colorado. Teens between the ages of 15 and 17 from the Roaring Fork Valley and across the country take part in
lively, intensive roundtable discussions led by skilled moderators. Registration for the Teen Socrates seminar is open to the public, and
a strong recruitment effort is made to reach local and diverse students. The seminar is dedicated to enhancing leadership, problem
solving, and critical thinking skills for high-school students. aspeninstitute.org/teensocrates
Aspen Challenge
BY JACOB URBINA
I remember the moment of pure exhilaration when I was chosen to become a Bezos Scholar. In my small
East Texas town, I had never heard of an opportunity of this magnitude. Remarkable students from
across the United States and Africa would join together to listen to speakers sharing their passions with
the world. We as students were to become the next wave of leaders, thinkers, and innovators changing
the way we see our world.
And why was I a part of that?
I asked myself this so many times. I havent done anything too special. I havent done anything that
would mark me as different as a person. I only have a couple of good grades, one or two examples of
leadership, and an ability to write a few essays. Out of all the juniors who applied, there was a 0.0003
percent chance of my name being chosen (give or take!).
The Hurst Great Ideas Student Seminars
The Bezos Scholars Program and the Aspen Institute showed me who I am.
In collaboration with the wonderful educators and leadership mentors, I was able to listen to my
passions, like STEM education in elementary schools. Along with my educator scholar and the generous
assistance from the Bezos Scholars Program, we created a Local Ideas Festival where participants built
hovercrafts for younger students to ride and discussed the laws of rocketry. I personally was able to
showcase how different salts make different flame colors, and another volunteer taught basic circuitry
and computer-programming skills. Science was never a huge part of schoolwork in my little neck of the
woods. But after our Local Ideas Festival, teachers were excited and wanted to make it an annual event.
Two weeks before I left for the Aspen Ideas Festival, I was in an accident while volunteering that
resulted in the amputation of a finger. After I had undergone surgery, I felt as though I had lost what
made me me. I didnt think I could play instruments anymore or even use my hand correctly. But the
Bezos Scholars Program still welcomed me with open arms. Through the process of our Local Ideas
Festival, I realized that to change the world, we must keep moving forward. I am currently enrolled at
the University of Texas, Austin, studying honors biomedical engineering to develop better prostheses for
amputees. Ive already designed one for myself and am in the process of designing the next one.
The Bezos Scholars Program helped me find what Im passionate about. It equipped me with the skills
I needed to make a difference and to inspire others to make a difference. Stay curious.
Young Adult Forum at the Aspen Ideas Festival Jacob Urbina is a 2016 alumnus of the Bezos Scholar Program.
distantalthough tensions between the United States and Ill give you one more chance to get that beam going
the Soviet Union remained high well into the Reagan years. or Ill kill you and the girl and Ill rule the moon with this
Horstman remembers the shelter as a great place for his gunOne
teenage parties, and a curiosity that stimulated cocktail- Save Yourself Jerry!
party banter among visitorsexcursions to view it were Two
common after a few drinks on the patio. Princess Anne and No!
Mark Phillips were among the dignitaries who toured it as Three
houseguests of the Houghtons. By the time the Wye River In a recent article in Wired, my Institute colleague
property was donated to the Institute in 1979, the fallout Garrett Graff notes that at one time, the Federal Emergency
shelter had fallen into disuse. A recent visit revealed rows Management Agency inventoried properties that could be
of files from Institute programs in place of the canned- used to shelter public officials in an emergency. Perhaps it is
goods inventory, and rooms of teleprompters and recording time to dust off the Wye fallout shelter and put it back on the
equipmentrelics of a period when several rooms were used list. We can hope not.
to store items from the collection of the former Museum of
Broadcasting, now the Paley Center for Media in New York Meryl Chertoff, the executive director of the Institutes Justice and Society
City. One script on roller paper in enormous early computer Program, worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency from
script reads: 2003 to 2005.
74 MISSED GOALS
Latino culture has a passion for soccer. And yet, in the US,
where the Latino population has exploded, soccer remains
an exclusive game for white kids in the suburbs. Latino
children face a number of barriers to the sport: language,
documentation, green space, expenses. Jon Solomon asks:
Imagine if we could harness all of that untapped talent.
Great Britain, the United States, and Germany are currently and Twitter to YouTube and Weibo. This is understandable, but it
enjoying some of the best economic conditions in years. And yet all is also about taking control rather than empowering others.
three nations seem to be upending the democratic institutions that What if society saw opportunity in new technology instead
brought them there. Brits are taking the drastic measure of leaving of danger? People now have direct access to the political sphere.
the European Union. Americans voted for an amateur politician They can react in real time to political statements and decisions,
and entertainer mired in scandal and controversy. And Germans and can even communicate directly with leaders around the
gave radical anti-establishment rightist and leftist parties 20 percent world. We need to tap into this astonishing energy and turn it into
of the popular vote in the parliamentary election. positive policy.
Many have blamed this state of affairs on unscrupulous For example, through data analysis of personal earnings and
populists, hate-filled commentary, and Russian hackers. And public-services usage, governments will soon be able to target
though all of these factors are no doubt part of the problem, taxation in a more responsive way. Googles Eric Schmidt sees
they obscure the very real anxieties in Great Britain, the United global connectivity and technology like this as a way to make
States, and Germany, and they strip the West of responsibility for politics more transparent and responsible. It will allow citizens to
addressing those anxieties. There is something genuine happening better assess their government officialsand technology leaders
in these countriesa visceral anger. like Schmidt. Right now, innovators dont always consider the
For many, the future seems so technologically and culturally greater social impacts of their products. CEOs are understandably
different from what they have always known that they feel preoccupied with shareholders, and so they let a mentality of
vulnerable. People around the world are watching uncomfortably efficiency prevail. Thats why the rest of the world cannot rely on
as the skills they have honed for the past 30 years are surpassed tech pioneers alone to pave the way for better political climates.
by systems designed by 20-somethings. Governments have tried to Technology can process unprecedented scales of information
retrain workers and improve job-market competitiveness. But those in ways that a single human brain cannot. However, to harness this
who have worked hard for decades feel they have done their part; power, its critical to establish a dialogue between technology and
now it is time for the government to work hard for them. Instead, humanity. The cross-fertilization of social, ethical, and normative
to bolster the economy, governments rely more and more on new science and advanced technologies is vital.
technologies and less and less on traditional labor. As a result, Recently, I had a telling conversation with a computer scholar
workers see their leadersas being incapable of facing predatory at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics.
economic globalization, demographic shifts, and corruption. We were discussing a project on global affairs, and we started
And in fact there is little room for deliberative and slow-moving talking about values. After a few minutes, I realized that while
institutions like government to catch up, given the pace of economic the scholar was talking about values as numbers entered into
and social development. All of which means that the boiling social a database, I was talking about the fundamentals of human
discontent across the West might well explode. experience. With a little patience, we found common ground and
Isolationists like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Jaroslaw became amazed at the power of computing to address political
Kaczynski may slow down socioeconomic global development strife. For example, while it is easy to catch a politician in a flat-out
in their countries, but that isnt the answerand it will not lead lie, there are other ways that political speech can deceivelike
to better prospects for their citizens. Nor will it last. The future is through a false-dilemma fallacy, which is when two alternatives
rushing toward us, rendering conventional institutions irrelevant are held out to be the only possible choices, while in reality there
and dragging large parts of the world into a social and political are many possibilities. Through machine learning, many fallacies
atomization, not dissimilar to the transformative eras of the Thirty and inconsistencies like this can be fact-checked on a complex,
Years War or the French Revolution. Foreign Policys David Rothkopf global scale. This would not rule out political lies or manipulation,
wrote that the current moment is the day before the Renaissance. but it could contribute to a more honest and civil dialogue.
But what is exciting for some arouses dread in others. There is a far-reaching transformation just ahead, and the
Governments need to turn innovation to their advantage and world will likely be greatly surprised by it. But if we lookand
empower people to navigate a globalized and high-tech environment. actcarefully, we can ensure the surprise is a pleasant one.
Take social media. Many see social media as a cheap and fertile
outlet for all the hate, bullying, and racism that have taken root in
society. And so in reaction, Great Britain, the United States, and Michael Koran is the deputy executive director of Aspen Institute
Germany have attempted to control whats onlinefrom Facebook Central Europe.
, Hope Bynum
Amma Ogan, Dele Olojede
Daniel Crown,
Paula Crown, Jim Crow
n, Lester Crown,
Andrew Crown
Andy Cunningha Bill Mayer, Peggy Culver
m, Francis Hoffman
ot Pritzker
Madeleine Albright, Tom and Marg
Courtney Collins
Clint Spaulding
Alan Quasha
Roy Bostock, David Leonhardt
Johnny McNulty
Amjad Tadros
Ranji Nagaswami, Am
it Bhatia
Carolina Freire
Richard Jopson
y Rick Luftglass
Laurie Tisch, Ava DuVerna
Richard Jopson
Dan Bayer
SEMINARS LEADERSHIP
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SEMINARS THE ASPEN GLOBAL LEADERSHIP NETWORK
Executive leadership seminars explore the tensions among values The Institute cultivates entrepreneurial leaders and encourages them
that form our conception of a Good Society and effective leadership. to tackle the great challenges of our time through social ventures.
Using moderated, text-based dialogue, groups of 18-20 hold Each Aspen Global Leadership Network program encourages a
interactive roundtable discussions to identify and explore their new generation to move from success to significance by addressing
professional values and leadership styles. Themed and custom the foremost challenges of their organizations, communities, and
seminars are also available. countries. Today, there are 14 different Fellowships with over 2,500
aspeninstitute.org/seminars Fellows in more than 50 countries.
aspeninstitute.org/agln
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FACTS
Dan Bayer
POLICY PUBLIC
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