"A seismic shift in the way I understood the world."
In an age that moves fast, and shows no sign of slowing, the experience of the Aspen Executive Seminar is more important than ever.
By creating space to pause, reflect, and connect, the seminar offers participants something increasingly rare: the grounding needed to lead with clarity and purpose. And in a culture that rewards speed and certainty, that may be one of the most valuable leadership lessons of all.
But what is the seminar experience really like? For those who haven’t attended, it can understandably feel a bit mysterious. We asked one participant to reflect on her time in the seminar. Years later, the frameworks she learned, the friendships she formed, and the sense of grounding she discovered remain active touchpoints in her life.
Nothing, Tina says, compared to her week in Aspen in August 2019, when she immersed herself in the distinctive Aspen institute seminar experience—an alchemy of deep reading, searching conversation, and new connections that have since grown into sustaining friendships.
Economic Opportunity Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South February 19, 2026. Virtual
Join us for the first of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South. We’ll examine narrative challenges around work and opportunity, highlight strategies for change, and explore how to amplify approaches rooted in worker dignity, quality jobs, and community wealth-building.
Rising Generation Teens & Screens: Safety, Belonging, and Growing Up Online February 24, 2026. Virtual
Growing up online doesn’t come with a manual. Families, tech leaders, and youth themselves are still debating what safety, agency, and responsibility should look like in a digital-first world. Join Aspen Digital and the Center for Rising Generations for Teens & Screens: Safety, Belonging and Growing Up Online
featuring groundbreaking new data from the Pew Research Center on how young people are using AI chatbots, and discussions with younger generations on how they navigate technology, trust, safety, and autonomy in everyday life.
Leadership Susan and John Klein Book Series featuring Dennis Ross February 26, 2026. Washington D.C.
Join us for an evening discussion with Ambassador Dennis Ross, who will share insights from his book, Statecraft 2.0: What America Needs to Lead in a Multipolar World. In a time when U.S. dominance is no longer assured, Ross argues for a disciplined, goal-driven foreign policy—one that aligns strategic objectives with the full range of diplomatic, military, and economic tools.
Societal Trust Cyber Civic Engagement February 26, 2026. Virtual
Join the Aspen Policy Academy to learn how to communicate your views on cybersecurity infrastructure to stakeholders, including city councils, school boards, and utilities commissions.
Leadership The Transformative Power of Deep Listening, Reflection, and Community: Inside the Seminar Experience
As the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program begins the selection process for its 2026 Fellowship classes,
Deputy Director Eli Malinsky reflects on how the Aspen Seminar experience has proved transformative for Fellows. Nominate a mid-career business leader to become a First Mover or Economic Mobility Fellow
here.
Leadership Fellows On Fellows: Answering the Call to Lead
In the latest episode of Fellows on Fellows
, a dialogue series from the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellows Govindraj Ethiraj and Sameer Walia reflect on how their Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellowship helped turn private-sector success into purpose-driven leadership, bringing them together to grapple with the messy, but rewarding work of driving impact in service of society.
Energy & Climate The Aspen National Water Strategy Initiative
Water security is the backbone of a healthy society, a prosperous economy, and a resilient environment. Produced in collaboration with Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at the Reservoir Center for Water Solutions in Washington, D.C.,
the Aspen National Water Strategy
identifies six interconnected strategies essential to securing water for America’s communities, economies, and ecosystems.
Leadership Leading Voices: Assemblyman Al Barlas
Assemblyman Al Barlas of the New Jersey State Assembly joined us at the inaugural Aspen Ideas: Economy
in Newark to discuss why supporting opportunity youth is critical to the state’s future workforce. In Leading Voices, he also
shared valuable leadership insights from his own journey, including the importance of resisting the pressure to know everything and choosing vulnerability and trust instead.
In the News
Kimberly Adams of Marketplace recently sat down with a panel of experts at the Aspen Forum on Children and Families, hosted by
Ascend at the Aspen Institute, to unpack what current research reveals about what American families care about right now.
Aspen Institute Economic Strategy Group Policy Director Luke Pardue joined NPR’s All Things Considered to explore how recent shifts in U.S. immigration policy could have lasting implications for America’s population trends and economic future.
Founder and Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, Tom Farrey, joins Bloomberg’s Wall St Week to unpack the new economics of youth sports, the explosive growth of travel teams, and how this trend sidelines children from low- and middle-income families.
Associate Director at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program,Jason Ewas, was quoted by CNBC in an article about the Trump account commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.
