The Aspen Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the greatest challenges of our time.
Our Purpose and MissionOur People
Aspen Institute experts are leaders in their fields, bringing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives all aimed at doing the most good for the greatest number of people. They have made it their mission to further the ideals of the Institute.
About the
Aspen Institute
Our Impact
The Aspen Institute has earned a reputation for gathering diverse, nonpartisan thought leaders, creatives, scholars and members of the public to address some of the world's most complex problems. But the goal of these convenings is to have an impact beyond the conference room. They are designed to provoke, further and improve actions taken in the real world.
More on Our Impact-
Leadership In Focus
Aspen Institute In Focus: Leadership
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Business & Society
Examining the critical financial challenges facing America's households, and to shaping policies that enable all Americans to work, save, invest, and own.
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Communications & Culture
Discussing the social impact of the arts, culture, and communications technology.
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Education
Improving education by developing and informing education leaders across policy and practice, with an emphasis on sustainability and equity.
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Energy & Environment
Our programs create impartial venues for informed discussion around energy and environmental challenges and solutions.
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Health & Sport
Exploring critical issues in health policy, public health, health care, and sports and how they affect individual health and that of families, communities, nations, and the world.
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Justice & Civic Identity
We convene leaders to examine how a just society balances fundamental rights with the exigencies of public policy.
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Opportunity & Development
Our programs work to shrink the economic inequality that threatens the future and the well-being of all Americans.
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Dan Porterfield Becomes President and CEO
He brings to the position an intellectual depth, a commitment to inclusivity and diversity, and an ability to lead a complex, mission-driven organization to create impact.
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Aspen In Prague
The Aspen Institute welcomed the addition of its eighth international partner, Aspen Prague.
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60th Anniversary of the Goethe Convocation
This seminal 1949 event gathered intellectuals, artists, and business executives in Aspen and led to the establishment of the Institute.
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Walter Isaacson Becomes President and CEO
Author and journalist Walter Isaacson is appointed president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He was previously CEO of CNN and editor of TIME magazine.
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Aspen Turns 40
President George H. W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Great Britain, deliver addresses at the Institute’s 40th anniversary.
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Aspen Wye River is Born
Corning Glass’ Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. donates the thousand-acre parcel that is now home to the Aspen Wye River campus.
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25 Years of Good
The Aspen Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary.
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A New Direction
President Joseph E. Slater proposes a new programmatic direction focused on “thought leading to action.”
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Robert O. Anderson Becomes President
Robert O. Anderson becomes president of the Aspen Institute and the position of chairman is created and filled by Walter Paepcke.
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The Aspen Institute is Founded
Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke, chairman of the Container Corporation of America, founds the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.
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