Inspired by the leadership projects from Aspen Global Network Fellows, Henry Crown Mentor Tom McCloskey has created his own leadership project—to establish an annual National Music Day in the U.S., on June 21st each year, with the kick off in 2013. The day will celebrate music and music makers, and will encourage music making from both amateur as well as professional musicians to break down the barriers between audience and performer. Tom hopes to have free music performances occurring all day throughout America. He’s having a lot of fun with its development and it is being well received in the music community. You can join in the celebration by visiting www.nationalmusicday.org and signing up for an event near you. You can also create an event if you would like to perform. For more information, please contact info@nationalmusicday.org. Stay “tuned”.
Alice Young writes: “I am excited to moderate the Women in Diplomacy panel at the Aspen Global Cultural Diplomacy Summit in Tokyo this October, with a personal hero Aung San Suu Kyii of Myanmar and and Sadako Ogata of Japan as panelists. This past April I traveled to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan for client legal matters and while visiting with my college classmate U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, bumped into Desmond Shum and met his lovely wife and son. I also traveled to Mongolia as a Trustee of The Asia Foundation (Sean Hinton alas was not there) to see first-hand some of the projects we have sponsored on Women’s Empowerment, Microfinance and Anti-Corruption and met with the President, who came to JFK School as a TAF Fellow many years ago. On a personal note, my husband Tom had a heart attack on September 9: thankfully he is ok, but I am now immersed in cardiology terminology.”
Keith Berwick reports: “Sheena and I moved from Santa Barbara to our new digs in Bucks County, PA at the end of June and we’re still unpacking! Nonetheless we’ve had visits from a number of chums and friendlies including Dele Olojede and his daughter Ngozi from South Africa on a visit to college campuses on both coasts. Fellows are invited to visit whenever your travels bring you our way . . . .In July I had the distinct pleasure of co-moderating with Heather Sonn the AGLN Alumni Seminar, Pursuing the Good Life in Antigua, Guatemala, It was the third such seminar we have done over the past five years, and we are planning another in Brazil in 2013. Sheena accompanied me and we were able to sneak in a brief, delicious visit with Sylvia Gereda and her family and friends at Rio Dulce on the Caribbean Coast. . . . As this is written I am heading to Aspen to co-moderate a newly revamped Globalization seminar with Sylvia and David Langstaff, following a great moderators workshop in Berkeley in September. . . . And the beat goes on.”
Ben Dunlap announced in early May that he is stepping down as President of Wofford College next June. He will take a well-deserved sabbatical , which will include a six month sojourn in Greece with his wife Anne, and then return to Wofford in the Fall to teach classes in his role as the Chapman Family Humanities Professor. Ben notes: “It is time to start something new. I have continuing commitments that I want to keep, especially with the Aspen Institute, and I have a lot of writing that I want to do.” We look forward to reading the next chapter!
