The Aspen Institute

Each summer, we come together to recognize exemplars of values-based leadership who have made important contributions to their own fields and society while also raising critical support for the Institute and its programs. While the current global crisis prevents us from gathering physically, we are nonetheless compelled to gather digitally to recognize those who have made a significant impact in a crucial part of our history.

This summer, we ask you to join us virtually for the Aspen Institute’s Citizen Leadership Awards Program on Tuesday, August 11^th at 8:00 p.m. EDT. We are proud to present the Citizen Leadership Award to four individuals who have demonstrated true civic leadership during these uncertain times: Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, for his humanitarian efforts in providing disaster relief; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, for his corporate leadership in leveraging technology to create transformational impact on society and all those affected by the pandemic; Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the Center for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for its commitment to science, research, and development for the public health of our nation and of society at large; and Mellody Hobson, President and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, for her example and leadership in promoting racial diversity at the higher ranks of American business. It is an honor to award these worthy recipients who have truly exemplified the values-based leadership that is the foundation of the Aspen Institute.

Our virtual program will include reflections and interviews with each of our honorees with distinguished moderators, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Kaya Henderson, the former Chancellor of DC Public Schools, James Manyika, chairman of McKinsey Global Institute, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, award-winning journalist Katie Couric, and revered American playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith. The program will also feature additional speakers, performers and special moments that allow us to continue our summer tradition of celebrating those who have made a profound impact on our society.

About the Honorees:

Chef José Andrés
Twice named to Time’s “100 Most Influential People” list and recipient of the 2015 National Humanities Medal, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, New York Times best-selling author, educator, humanitarian, and chef and owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the award-winning collective of nearly thirty restaurants throughout the country and beyond. In 2010, Andrés founded World Central Kitchen, a non-profit specializing in delivering food relief in the wake of natural and humanitarian disasters. Notably, his team served 3.7 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria and has since served more than 20 million meals worldwide. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WCK has partnered with restaurants, small farms, and local partners around the country to combat food insecurity. A naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Spain, Andrés has been a tireless advocate for immigration reform and on July 4, 2014 was named by President Barack Obama as that year’s “Outstanding American by Choice.”

Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Before being named CEO in February 2014, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company.

Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings. Most recently, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. In this role he led the transformation to the cloud infrastructure and services business, which outperformed the market and took share from competition. Previously, Nadella led R&D for the Online Services Division and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems.

Originally from Hyderabad, India, Nadella lives in Bellevue, Washington. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. Nadella serves on the board of trustees to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and his alma mater the University of Chicago, as well as the Starbucks board of directors. He is married and has three children.

Dr. Anthony Fauci
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where he oversees an extensive research portfolio devoted to preventing, diagnosing, and treating infectious and immune-mediated diseases.  Dr. Fauci has been a key advisor to six Presidents and their administrations on global HIV/AIDS issues, and on initiatives to bolster medical and public health preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats such as pandemic influenza and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As an HIV/AIDS researcher he has been involved in the scientific effort since AIDS was recognized in 1981, conducting pivotal studies that underpin the current understanding of the disease and efforts to develop therapies and tools of prevention.  Dr. Fauci was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has helped save millions of lives throughout the developing world.

Dr. Fauci is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the US National Academy of Medicine and many other professional societies.  He is the recipient of numerous awards for his scientific and global health accomplishments, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest honor given to a civilian by the President of the United States), the National Medal of Science, and the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service.  He has been awarded 45 honorary doctoral degrees and is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than 1,300 scientific publications, including several major textbooks.

Mellody Hobson
As Co-CEO, Mellody is responsible for management, strategic planning and growth for all areas of Ariel Investments outside of research and portfolio management. Additionally, she serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ariel Investment Trust—the company’s publicly traded mutual funds. Prior to being named Co-CEO, Mellody spent nearly two decades as the firm’s President. Outside of Ariel, Mellody is a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy. She has conducted extensive research on minority investing patterns and pens a column for Black Enterprise Magazine. Her leadership has also been invaluable to corporate boardrooms across the nation. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Starbucks Corporation; a director of JPMorgan Chase; and a director of Quibi, a short-form video content company. She previously served as Chairman of the Board of DreamWorks Animation until the company’s sale and was also a long-standing board member of the Estée Lauder Companies. Mellody’s community outreach includes her role as Chairman of After School Matters, a Chicago non-profit that provides area teens with high-quality after school and summer programs. Additionally, she is vice chair of World Business Chicago; co-chair of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; and a board member of the George Lucas Education Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. She also serves on the board at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Mellody is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees, and serves on the executive committee of the Investment Company Institute. Mellody earned her AB from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy. In 2019, she was awarded the University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented annually to a Princeton graduate whose career embodies a commitment to national service. She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, St. Mary’s College, and the University of Southern California. In 2015, Time Magazine named her one of the “100 Most Influential People” in the world.

About the Speakers:

Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is currently the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution; and a professor of Political Science at Stanford University. She is also a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC.

From January 2005 to 2009, Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the United States, the second woman and first African American woman to hold the post. Rice also served as President George W. Bush’s Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) from January 2001 to 2005, the first woman to hold the position.

From 1989 through March 1991, Rice served on President George H.W. Bush’s National Security Council staff. She served as Director; Senior Director of Soviet and East European Affairs; and, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1986, while an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, Rice also served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

She has authored and coauthored numerous books, including three bestsellers, Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom (2017); No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington (2011); and Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family (2010). She also wrote Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft (1995) with Philip Zelikow; The Gorbachev Era (1986) with Alexander Dallin; and Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army (1984).

Kaya Henderson
Kaya Henderson leads the Global Learning Lab for Community Impact at Teach For All. There, she seeks to grow the impact of locally rooted, globally informed leaders, all over the world, who are catalyzing community and system-level change to provide children with the education, support, and opportunity to shape a better future.

She is perhaps best known for serving as Chancellor of DC Public Schools from 2010-2016. Her tenure was marked by consecutive years of enrollment growth, an increase in graduation rates, improvements in student satisfaction and teacher retention, increases in AP participation and pass rates, and the greatest growth of any urban district on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) over multiple years.

Kaya’s career began as a middle school Spanish teacher in the South Bronx, through Teach For America. She went on to work as a recruiter, national admissions director, and DC Executive Director for Teach for America. Henderson then served as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at The New Teacher Project (TNTP) until she began her tenure at DCPS as Deputy Chancellor in 2007.

A native of Mt. Vernon, NY, Kaya graduated from Mt. Vernon Public Schools. She received her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and her Master of Arts in Leadership from Georgetown University, as well as honorary doctoral degrees from Georgetown and Trinity University. Her board memberships include The Aspen Institute, Curriculum Associates, Noggin (Nickelodeon), Penn Foster, Robin Hood NYC, and Teach For America.

James Manyika
James Manyika is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, chairman of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), and a member of McKinsey’s board. Based in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, James has worked with the chief executives and founders of many of the world’s leading technology companies. James has led research on the digital economy, the future of work, productivity and the global economy. Earlier, James published a book on AI and robotics and another on global trends.

James was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as vice chair of the Global Development Council at the White House, and by US Commerce Secretaries to the Commerce Department’s Digital Economy board of advisers and the National Innovation Advisory Board. He serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and is involved in research and advisory boards at Oxford, Stanford, MIT and Harvard. He is serves on the boards of the MacArthur Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and Markle Foundations.

A Rhodes Scholar, James received his DPhil, MSc, and MA. from Oxford in AI and robotics, mathematics, and computer science, and his BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Zimbabwe as an Anglo-American Scholar. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a distinguished fellow of Stanford’s AI Institute.

James is a trustee of the Aspen Institute and has been a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution in Economic Studies, a visiting scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Labs, and a faculty exchange fellow at MIT. At Oxford, he was a member of the Programming Research Group, the Robotics Research Lab, and a research fellow of Balliol College.

Secretary Madeleine Albright
Madeleine K. Albright is a professor, author, diplomat and businesswoman who served as the 64th Secretary of State of the United States. In 1997, she was named the first female Secretary of State and became, at that time, the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. From 1993 to 1997, Dr. Albright served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and was a member of the President’s Cabinet. She is a Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Dr. Albright is Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and Chair of Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets. She also chairs the National Democratic Institute, serves as the president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation and is a member of the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Policy Board. In 2012, she was chosen by President Obama to receive the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in recognition of her contributions to international peace and democracy.

Dr. Albright is a seven-time New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book, Hell and Other Destinations was published in April 2020. Her other books include: her autobiography, Madam Secretary: A Memoir (2003); The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (2006); Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership (2008); Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box (2009); Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 (2012), and Fascism: A Warning (2018).

Katie Couric
Katie Couric (@katiecouric) is an award-winning journalist, New York Times best-selling author and a co- founder of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). Since its launch in 2008, Stand Up To Cancer has raised more than $600 million to support cutting-edge collaborative science and its research has contributed to six new FDA approved therapies.

In 2017, she founded Katie Couric Media (KCM), which has developed a number of media projects, including a daily newsletter, a podcast, digital video series and several documentaries. KCM works with purpose driven brands to create premium content that addresses important social issues like gender equality, environmental sustainability and mental health.

Previous documentaries produced by KCM include: America Inside Out with Katie Couric, a six-part series for National Geographic; Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric, for National Geographic; Under the Gun, which aired on EPIX; and Fed Up, available on iTunes, Amazon and YouTube. Couric was also the executive producer of Unbelievable on Netflix and is developing other scripted projects.

Couric was the first woman to solo anchor a network evening newscast, serving as anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News from 2006 to 2011 following 15-years as co-anchor of NBC’s Today show. She also hosted a syndicated show and served as the Yahoo Global News Anchor until 2017.

She has won a duPont-Columbia, a Peabody, two Edward R. Murrows, a Walter Cronkite Award, and multiple Emmys. She was twice named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and was a Glamour Magazine woman of the year three times. She has also received numerous awards for her cancer advocacy work; honored by both the Harvard and Columbia schools of public health, the American Cancer Society and The American Association of Cancer Researchers.

In addition to writing The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives Couric’s memoir will be published in the Spring of 2021.

Anna Deavere Smith
Anna Deavere Smith is an actress, playwright, teacher, and author. Her most recent play and film, Notes from the Field, look at the vulnerability of youth, inequality, the criminal justice system, and contemporary activism. The New York Times named the stage version of Notes from the Field among The Best Theater of 2016 and Time magazine named it one of the Top 10 Plays of the year. HBO premiered the film version in February 2018.

Looking at current events from multiple points of view, Smith’s theater combines the journalistic technique of interviewing her subjects with the art of interpreting their words through performance. Plays include Fires In the Mirror, Twilight: Los Angeles, House Arrest, and Let Me Down Easy. Twilight: Los Angeles was nominated for two Tony Awards. Fires in the Mirror was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize.

Smith co-stars on the new ABC / Shonda Rhimes series, For the People. She also appears on the hit ABC series Black-ish. She previously starred as Gloria Akalitus on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, and the National Security Advisor on NBC’s The West Wing. Films include The American President, Rachel Getting Married, Philadelphia, Dave, Rent, and The Human Stain.

In 2012, President Obama awarded her the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. She was the recipient of the prestigious 2013 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for achievement in the arts. In 2015, she was named the Jefferson Lecturer, the nation’s highest honor in the humanities. She was the 2017 recipient of the Ridenhour Courage Prize. She was the 2017 recipient of the George Polk Career Award in Journalism.

Smith is the founding director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University, where she is also University Professor at Tisch School of the Arts.

We hope you will join us digitally this year. If you have any questions, please contact Dianna Shypailo by email at Dianna.Shypailo@aspeninstitute.org or by phone at 202-736-3503.

 Regarding COVID-19 impact on Aspen Institute events in the US 

We will host our Citizen Leadership Awards Program virtually, as we are unable to safely host our guests in Aspen at this time. The health and safety of our staff and participants is our highest priority. As a non-profit organization, these events provide critical funding across the Aspen Institute. If you are unable to join us for this virtual event, we hope you will strongly consider continuing your support and make a fully tax-deductible gift. We are grateful for the generosity of our valued supporters and look forward to when we can all gather physically in the future.