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The goal of this effort was twofold: to provide emerging leaders in Japanese cities an opportunity to challenge, contemplate, and engage their peers via the time-tested Socrates seminar models; and to provide funding for Japanese leaders to join Socrates seminars all over the world. To date, 100 Japanese leaders have engaged in Socrates seminars organized by the Aspen Institute Japan in Tokyo, Nara, and Otsu, and 24 Kobayashi scholars have joined Socrates in Aspen, Colombia, Ukraine, Spain, France, Romania, and Mexico.

One of the stated goals of the Socrates Program is inclusivity. The Institute always strives to “curate the room” so the seminar participants reflect the incredibly diverse world they live in. Japanese corporate culture, as in every other developed nation, is grappling with gender issues. Socrates seminars, which strive for gender balance, have contributed to gender equity efforts already underway. Moreover, as the Socrates Program has grown and engages its alumni in Japan, a strong and active group of Japanese female leaders has emerged—and those leaders have replicated their Socrates experience and contributed to the global Aspen community.

These four leaders are some of the brightest stars in our global constellation. They exemplify the “why” of the Institute’s work.

Mayumi Ueno

It was March 2018 when a friend of mine, an alum of the Socrates Program, called me. She asked if I was interested in an upcoming seminar, “Unlocking the Potential of Artificial Intelligence,” organized by the Aspen Institute in May 2018. I jumped at her offer, as I had coincidentally just started my own study of AI.

As a practitioner of development work and humanitarian assistance, I am always keen to learn innovative ideas and solutions that can improve the lives and well-being of the world’s most vulnerable populations in the least developed countries. Above all, my passion is to advance gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. Through eight years of field work in Africa, including a deployment to Somalia, my intellectual curiosity was particularly drawn to the potential use of the most advanced technologies to benefit marginalized and isolated populations.

I sensed that the Socrates seminar was an ideal opportunity—and the experience was more than I expected. It was intensive, rich, and eye-opening. Adding to the quality of the seminar was the reading packet, which was mailed to the participants one month ahead of the seminar and though rich in volume still digestible to a full-time employee like me. The moderator of the Socrates seminar was superb as well: Wilson White, the director of public policy and government relations at Google, brought tactful facilitation skills, technical expertise, and candid comments and insights.

In the seminar room and beyond, I sensed the embedded spirit of “no one left behind.” The participants included people from the business sector, NGO professionals, and a member of parliament; we enjoyed hearing different perspectives and insights from our peers. Their comments and perspectives shed light on my blind spots and helped me think outside the box.

That is what makes Socrates so special. We can all get abreast of the latest on the development of AI, or whatever subject, by simply reading papers and books. We can even acquire the knowledge quickly by attending seminars. But what I appreciate most about the Socrates Program is its respect for humanity.

Naho Kobayashi

Have you ever thought about how difficult it is for adults to form friendships without business or a common interest? There are many places and chances to meet new people, such as joining a new project or company, going to a co-working space, or at the bar or gym. When we meet in these spaces, however, it takes a long time for relationships to grow until we trust each other well enough to have discussions that touch on deeper philosophical and ethical issues.

This was the most surprising thing I experienced at the Aspen Socrates Tokyo Seminar in Japan. It gave me a chance to have deep dialogue with 18 strangers with a wide variety of backgrounds, including the CEO of an IT start-up, a politician, a business manager, an independent consultant, and a leader at a nonprofit. In three short days, they became my trusted friends.

We still meet often and continue the discussions we began around the seminar table. Being able to speak freely without the ulterior motives of business or profit and loss allows us to see issues more clearly and get to the heart of the topic. In addition, I often receive inquiries from the Socrates alumni network, the more than 7,000 members who have participated in Socrates programs held around the world. When one alum, an investor researching workstyle reform in Japan, came to Tokyo, I set up an interview for him with activists he wanted to meet. Another alum, who is a faculty member at American University, invited me to pitch for a joint US-Japan art program. It is possible to gain new collaborators and colleagues based on the trust that comes from the shared experience of the Socrates Program.

Noriko Suzuki

The Socrates seminar lasts for only three days, but I will never forget the experience. I truly embraced stepping out of my comfort zone. At the seminar in Nara, Japan, two years ago, I enjoyed in-depth discussions about technology and democracy, moderated by Charlie Firestone. At the table were the brightest minds from Japan’s government and private sectors as well as from overseas. During the seminar, I had an opportunity to analyze and discuss technology’s impact on democratic society and politics. The experience gave me a new perspective on my work, and has made me a better leader helping to serve customers and the community.

Last summer, I attended another Socrates seminar, this time in Aspen, Colorado. How was the Aspen seminar different from Nara? Overwhelmingly American. People were willing to share their experiences and views from the very beginning. One participant spoke about his grandparents’ immigration and their ensuing struggles—a stark contrast to the Nara seminar, where most participants were Japanese and far more reserved. Japanese people rarely ask, “What do you think?” or “What is your opinion?” Society expects us to “read the air,” to try to guess what the collective opinion of the group is and conform to it. The two Socrates seminars provided me with a safe and encouraging environment to have a voice—and also a rare chance to listen to other people’s sincere comments.

Yuko Hirose

When I attended “Unlocking the Potential of Artificial Intelligence” in Tokyo as a Kobayashi scholar, my eyes were opened: simply changing the language to English and using the Socratic method encouraged normally quiet Japanese professionals to share their views and opinions more openly.

I later moved to New York to start working at the United Nations Development Programme’s Crisis Bureau and was fortunate to join a Socrates seminar on “Learning from Lincoln.” This experience enabled me to meet leaders who were creating local change at the city or district level at a time when leadership at the federal level embodied values that were different from theirs. The array of participants was incredibly diverse, as were the viewpoints shared—exposing me to ideas and interpretations I would likely not have discovered in Tokyo. The inspiration of Lincoln’s ability to bring people together even in a “house divided” has been critical to my work supporting countries in crisis, such as Syria and Yemen.

Now, more than ever, we need the Aspen community and its values to come together as the world fights a global pandemic. Working on the Covid-19 response at UNDP, I often think of the inspiring leaders I met through the Socrates Program—whether I am thinking through how to use AI as an early warning system to predict possible Covid outbreaks or brainstorming how I can better craft messaging to ensure migrants, refugees, and other vulnerable populations are included in the government’s response and recovery plans. I look forward to continuing to be part of this vibrant community.

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Since the program began in 2005, a global network of almost 400 Bezos Scholars and educators have launched 164 Local Ideas Festivals. Many create long-term change and continue after the scholars graduate. The program was canceled for the first time in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic; the Bezos Scholars team is currently strengthening its alumni network and looking forward to returning stronger than ever in 2021.

Here, three Bezos Scholars talk about being inspired by global leaders at the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Institute’s far-reaching impact in their leadership journeys back home.

Sara Billups is the communications manager at the Bezos Family Foundation. To learn more about the Bezos Scholars Progr
am, please visit bezosscholars.org.

“You Belong Here”
Yannick Trapman-O’Brien | 2009 Scholar
Festival Focus: Arts and Arts Education

Yannick Trapman-O’Brien carried a building sense of excitement heading into Aspen Ideas Festival, but he had no idea what to expect. The 2009 Bezos Scholar remembers the transformative experience of walking around the festival grounds and being invited into conversations by peers and thought leaders.

He learned that in a place of ideas, all people have a contribution to make. “I think it’s really hard for any young person to be swept from their context into this grander stage and to not have a sense of the world really opening in a broad way,” he says. “And eventually, one settles with the idea that perhaps the world really is open.”

Inspired by his time in Aspen, Trapman-O’Brien launched a Student Artists Festival at St. Augustine High School. The Local Ideas Festival connected students pursuing creative careers with mentors.

Trapman-O’Brien says his formative year as a Bezos Scholar in 2009 continues to influence how he approaches experiences and opportunities. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Theater from New York University–Abu Dhabi and studied at the Experimental Theater Wing in New York. Today, he is an arts professional based in Philadelphia. Trapman-O’Brien is the assistant director of Cirque du Nuit and the studio assistant and engagement strategist at Monument Lab.

“I can draw a line through moments of exceptional academic work I’ve done where I’ve thought: You wouldn’t make those connections or have these thoughts had you not been exposed to this world and grabbed by the shoulders and told, ‘You belong here.’ ”

“A Different Space”
Gift Kiti | 2013 Scholar
Festival Focus: Youth Leadership and Fostering Big Ideas

“It was huge,” says Gift Kiti, recalling how it felt when she was selected as a 2013 Bezos Scholar. Then a student at the African Leadership Academy in South Africa, Kiti was one of five students selected out of several hundred after a series of challenging interviews. She traveled to the United States for the first time to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival and experienced a new natural landscape. “I hadn’t seen snow before,” she says, remembering the mountaintops in Aspen. “It’s really inspiring and feels like a different space.”

Kiti’s year in the program culminated in a South African Ideas Festival, where she and other student team members hosted a successful event in Johannesburg focused on education, technology, health, and the arts. The event caught on: in 2020, the South African Ideas Festival celebrated its eighth year.

The Bezos Scholars Program “is a unique opportunity to be exposed to people who are passionate about their ideas,” Kiti says. Fellow scholars “have this vision to change the world in one way or another,” and the program and Aspen experience show them “how to take an idea one step farther, or how to move from the ideas phase to taking action.”

Kiti received a master’s degree in public health at UC Berkeley this year. Her research focuses on how personcentered maternity care links to continuous labor support in her home country of Kenya. “The program opened my eyes in many ways,” she says. Kiti has launched two new projects in recent years: Zawadi Healthcare Services, a health care clinic in Mombasa, Kenya, and a sustainable spice company with her sister.

“Shoot Your Shot”
Ana Acevedo | 2016 Scholar | Festival Focus: Conversations Around Gender Identity and Expression

Ana Acevedo’s daylong Local Ideas Festival, “Unraveling Gender,” explored gender issues and raised LGBTQ+ awareness in her home community of New Rochelle, New York. Bezos Scholars “was one of the most memorable things that I did in my teenage years,” Acevedo says. “The trust and support the foundation gives to 16-year-old students to create makes you feel really valued and listened to, so you push yourself to do things you never thought you could do before.”

Acevedo remembers what it felt like to be on the ground in Aspen. “It was obvious how much the program cared that we had a good, good experience that week,” she says. “It was really wild to be in that space with all these ideas getting thrown out and incredible people are speaking.” Acevedo says the program modeled how to engage with people “in a way that allows them to be their free creative selves and understand how to be compassionate.”

Now a pre-med and neuroscience major at the University of Pennsylvania, Acevedo identified a need for arts-related groups and outlets for the LGBTQ+ community on campus. This spring, she used the organizing and budgeting skills she learned as a scholar to digitally launch a LGBTQ+ student magazine while completing the semester online. She is planning a print version of the magazine once students are back on campus.

Acevedo encourages all young changemakers to pursue their passions. “Shoot your shot,” she says. “You’re worthy, you’re worthy of it all. You already have good ideas and you already have this impulse and determination. Try and see what happens.”

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The study found that artist-endowed foundations tend to focus on two areas: (1) art stewardship, increasing public access to and knowledge of an artist’s creative works, and (2) cultural philanthropy, advancing nonprofit causes close to an artist’s heart. The foundations make grants to organizations and individual artists, and operate programs like study centers, exhibition collections, artist residencies, and art-education projects. Originally released in 2010, the study’s data are updated every five years. According to the most recent update, more than 40 percent of the 400 foundations identified were created in the past 15 years. What’s more, the field’s aggregate assets more than doubled from 2010 to 2015, rising to $7.7 billion, while charitable expenditures rose 35 percent to $178 million.

Intrigued by the study’s findings, arts leaders expressed a desire to learn more. And so the Institute took what had been a research project and recast it as the Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative, which in 2016 launched the Seminar on Strategy for AEF Leaders—its professional education program. The weeklong, New York City–based course is unique: each day, seminarians come together at a different facility and meet a wide array of experts and seasoned foundation leaders. The Joan Mitchell, Judd, Dedalus, Richard Avedon, Helen Frankenthaler, Nancy Graves, and Gordon Parks Foundations have all hosted the seminar.

Accepted applicants include current or incoming foundation leaders and those close to a living artist who is planning for the future. Participants include nonprofit administrators, artists’ studio managers, museum directors, curatorial advisors, former art dealers, and artists’ families. By the end of 2020, there will be more than 100 seminar alumni. The four reflections below offer a few perspectives from this dynamic community.

aspeninstitute.org/aefi

Christine J. Vincent is the project director for the Institute’s Artist-Endowed Foundations Initiative.

Charles H. Duncan
Executive Director, The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation

In 2014, I became the executive director of the Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation, newly established by the abstract expressionist painter’s family to support the arts and advance an understanding of his contribution to the arts. My prior post at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art concentrated on artists’ archives. But I discovered a challenge facing many AEF leaders: high-value artworks serve as both financial and charitable-use assets, requiring specialized expertise if they are to be deployed in compliance with private foundation rules. I participated in the Seminar on Strategy for AEF Leaders in 2016 in order to learn more.

The seminar addressed a variety of topics integral to success for AEF leaders, including ethical, copyright, stewardship, and regulatory issues. Each day, our gathering visited the facility of a different prominent AEF, affording an inside view of the field’s varied forms. By the end of the week, AEF leaders from across the country had evolved into close and lasting colleagues.

Today, our foundation operates a research center located in Poussette-Dart’s former studio, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Recently, we organized the first United Kingdom exhibition of his work, held at Cambridge University, and guided conservation of his work in the collection of the New York City hospital system. Our grants have supported nonprofit arts publications, K–12 visual-arts education, and a fund to benefit artists affected by Covid-19.

I work in concert with a board that is also new to this
philanthropic form. The knowledge I gained from the seminar and shared with our board enabled our foundation to move forward efficiently and with clarity, developing its mission to reflect the creativity and generosity of the artist. As a teacher, Pousette-Dart stressed that each student must “get on the thread of his or her own being.” Similarly, each AEF forwards its own outlook, but its leader can turn to AEFI for support.

Susan Larsen
Executive Director, The Dorotha and Leo Rabkin Foundation

AEFI’s 2016 Seminar on Strategy for AEF Leaders could not have come at a better time. My lifelong friend and mentor, abstract artist Leo Rabkin, had passed away in his New York studio in February 2015 at the age of 96. He left 2,500 works of art, a real-estate portfolio, and a mission statement asking his foundation to assist individual art journalists in these precarious days for America’s newspapers. As a new executive director, I knew how to handle a large art collection based on my long career as a professor of art history and a museum professional. But the world of charitable tax-exempt private foundations created by visual artists is very new. As our board and staff began defining a formal program, we had many questions.

The very first day of the seminar was life-changing. It drove home the imperative of a public benefit as the central reason for the very existence of AEFs. We were asked, “What is the public benefit? How does stewardship of an artist’s creative legacy redound to that purpose?” The artist’s studio is a solitary place of private privilege where artists strive for public engagement through their work. But an AEF has to do direct tangible good for others in order to fulfill its mission.

As we created our headquarters in Portland, Maine, and built a program of awards for America’s working art journalists, we framed the letter and spirit of our program on the questions asked during the seminar’s five packed days. The ideas and inspiration I gleaned from those hours encouraged generosity in our board’s perspective on the national field of art writers and with our local schoolchildren and citizens who frequent our gallery. At each turning point in the foundation’s evolution, the ethical, legal, and public-benefit frameworks provided by the seminar were vital. Now, with Covid-19, we will need to go even further in our mission and help rebuild our world.

Mary Clare Stevens
Executive Director, Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts

Many artists provide for a foundation in their estate plan, but the LA–based multidisciplinary artist and teacher Mike Kelley created his foundation when he was just 57. Achieving unexpected success, he wanted to help now, not later. He made annual gifts to the foundation, which used his funds to make grants to the arts. As Mike’s longtime studio manager, I managed the foundation alongside his studio and business operations. When Mike died, in 2012, I became consumed with administering his estate and working with a new board on transitioning the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts to a fully endowed foundation holding his artworks, archive, intellectual property, and studio. What had been a distant idea was now shockingly immediate.

Settling an estate can take years. In our case, it took four, in which time unfinished projects had to be completed—a worldtouring retrospective organized by the Stedelijk Museum and his only permanent public sculpture, the Mobile Homestead in Detroit/MOCAD. Finally, in 2015 we were able to plan the MKFA Artists Project Grant, targeted to LA artists and arts organizations. The 2016 Seminar on Strategy for AEF Leaders was the perfect opportunity to pause and think long term.

The course plunged a small group of leaders into the A to Z of AEFs, covering topics vital to financial sustainability, art stewardship, and charitable impact, and offering an inside view of established foundations so we could see the ideas in practice. Conversations with colleagues revealed shared struggles and a variety of approaches. It was inspiring and comforting: We weren’t alone. The generosity and camaraderie of my seminar colleagues, the experts, and the experienced AEF faculty continue to inform my work at the foundation, which just announced the fifth round of its Artists Project Grant alongside emergency grants for artists impacted by Covid-19.

Faith Wallace-Gadsen
Board Member, Anyone Can Fly Foundation

The first day of the Seminar on Strategy for AEF Leaders is like being thrown into an ice bath. I was surrounded by new foundation leaders, artists’ family members, studio managers, and heads of artists’ collections—and we all spent the day with sharp intakes of breath. It was a crash course in how we might unknowingly put a foundation’s tax-exempt status at risk, and how to avoid such danger, that none of us had realized we needed. This abrupt start created an immediate glue that bound us together as we forged through learning the intricacies of AEFs and getting an inside look at renowned foundations across New York City.

I participated in the 2019 seminar as a board member of Faith Ringgold’s Anyone Can Fly Foundation, established by my grandmother in 1999. Named for the inspirational spirit evoked in her award-winning book, Tar Beach, its mission is to expand the received art canon to include artists of the African diaspora, long excluded in teaching, scholarship, and museums. In the past 20 years, the foundation’s programs have honored the achievements of artists like David Driskell, Elizabeth Catlett, and Samella Lewis; promoted awareness of master African American artists through awards to scholars; and funded art education and art making in K–12 public schools.

Looking ahead, the foundation will posthumously preserve and educate the public about the work of Faith Ringgold, now 89, a master artist in her own right. What I learned and passed on to other board members was invaluable in preparing the foundation for its next role. I came from outside the arts community, having spent my career in social enterprise and international development. The seminar not only provided raw knowledge but a wealth of experience from classmates, speakers, and alumni. I look forward to the Anyone Can Fly Foundation’s continued involvement in the seminar community and hope to be able to give back in the future.

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In April 2018, a small group of university students in Nicaragua held a protest in response to President Daniel Ortega’s government reforms to the pension system. The protest was crushed violently by a pro-government group. The footage of this violence went viral, more protests erupted, and the government again responded violently—a vicious cycle that led to a swift fracturing of the country. In response to the violence and violations of human rights, many Nicaraguan citizens called for democratic reforms and sought to hold the Ortega regime accountable. Now, more than a year and a half later, the government’s forces continue to oppress citizen opposition. To date, more than 300 people have been killed, over 2,000 injured, more than 500 unjustly detained, and thousands have fled the country.

Shortly after the conflict erupted, Catholic bishops and civilians from all parts of Nicaraguan society joined the movement to bring stability and democracy back to their country. But progress came to a halt in July 2018. It was not until February 2019 that negotiations began again, this time with a smaller group of six government officials and six opposition members. These dialogues proved successful in securing the release of hundreds of political prisoners—but reached an impasse. While tension remains high, and violations of human rights are still being recorded, there is hope that through dialogue peace can come to the nation.

Moved by this crisis, a group of fellows from the Aspen Global Leadership Network are making peace and justice in Nicaragua their top priority. In July 2018, a number of fellows and leaders, including former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, gathered at the Resnick Aspen Action Forum to discuss potential strategies to stabilize the situation. From these conversations emerged collaborative efforts by fellows designed to aid the country.

TANYA MROCZEK-AMADOR
Central America Leadership Initiative
CEO, Corner of Love

In March 2018, CALI fellow Tanya Mroczek-Amador was leading Corner of Love, a 27-year-old organization in northern Nicaragua dedicated to providing education, health care, and clean water to rural families. When the crisis broke out, her world changed. With rising violence, Mroczek-Amador and her husband made the difficult decision to relocate to Costa Rica and shift their focus toward alleviating the suffering of refugees fleeing the country.

At first their work began organically, with the two greeting groups of five or 10 at the border. But demand required the couple to scale up rapidly, turning their initial outreach into a new international base of operations. Today, Corner of Love–Costa Rica serves as many as 180 migrants per day. Doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and volunteers all work to provide migrants with the basic necessities for life in a new country.

Along the way, Mroczek-Amador enlisted the help of other fellows around the Aspen Global Leadership Network. At a February AGLN seminar, she presented her challenge to fellows from China, Europe, the United States, and South Africa. They provided strategic advice to help move Corner of Love, and the refugees, forward. To date, Mroczek-Amador has reached more than 10,000 refugees and hopes to build a permanent facility near the border and expand her work into the capital of Costa Rica.

In addition to humanitarian aid, Mroczek-Amador is providing the space for the refugee community to come together to share their stories and to feel valued. By honoring their experiences, she is creating the conditions for healing to begin.

JUAN SEBASTIAN CHAMORRO
Central America Leadership Initiative
Executive director, Civic Alliance for Democracy and Justice

Central America Leadership Initiative fellow Juan Sebastian Chamorro is the executive director of the Civic Alliance for Democracy and Justice. As an expert on both the importance of the rule of law and the long-term economic health of Nicaragua, he was approached to be a leading voice for peace after the crisis broke out. He joined the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, a large group of civilians, including many CALI fellows, working in both the private sector and nonprofit community to bring about a radical new approach to restoring order to the country: dialogue.

The goal is twofold: bring democracy back to Nicaragua and seek justice for the human-rights violations committed by the regime. The process has not been easy. The first round of negotiations was suspended after only a month. However, thanks to the pressure imposed on the Nicaraguan government by the international community, the Ortega regime opened itself up to holding further dialogue and formal negotiations. Chamorro was selected in early 2019 as one of six members to sit at the table with government officials and attempt to negotiate peace.

He and the Nicaraguan people recently celebrated a major victory when the regime freed 620 political prisoners. Once these prisoners were freed, Chamorro began working with them to ease their transition back into society. Though the dialogue is currently suspended, he remains poised to return to the negotiation table and will continue to bring relief to those affected in the interim.

EDUARDO ENRIQUEZ
Central America Leadership Initiative
Editor-in-chief, La Prensa

From the onset of the Nicaraguan crisis, journalists have been one of the key targets of the Ortega regime, with more than 50 journalists in exile, three jailed, and others killed in an effort to control the flow of information. Central America Leadership Initiative fellow Eduardo Enriquez is the editor-in-chief of the oldest newspaper in Nicaragua, La Prensa. He knew that it was critical that he continue his work reporting on the government to keep the country informed.

This was no easy task. The Ortega regime controls the flow of resources in and out of Nicaragua, and quickly began limiting La Prensa’s access to ink and printing paper by holding their imports in customs. Advertising revenue, which made up 80 percent of La Prensa’s operating budget, was drastically reduced due to instability in the business sector. These pressures forced Enriquez to cut his staff from 100 journalists to 35 and to reduce the length of the paper from 32 pages to just eight pages of news. Despite the risks and challenges, Enriquez continues to lead La Prensa, now chiefly digital, and to report on the state of the government and the country.

In addition to his role at La Prensa, Enriquez expanded his journalistic impact by creating a new venture, 4tomono.com, an independent website dedicated to explaining the context of the news. The style of reporting is designed to help readers fully comprehend the economic and political situation by covering issues in depth. The organization is small and agile, allowing it to shift to meet the needs of an ever-evolving situation.

MARGARITA HERDOCIA
Henry Crown Fellowship Program
President and CEO, Renaissance Holdings

Costa Rica has a population of 4.5 million, with an estimated 500,000 to 750,000 Nicaraguan migrants—a number that has dramatically increased since the crisis began in April 2018. For over a decade, Henry Crown fellow Margarita Herdocia’s venture, Ticos y Nicas: Somos Hermanos (Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans, We Are Brothers), has promoted friendship and cooperation between Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans, studied migration and its true impacts on both societies and economies, and created a platform for positive influence.

Through Ticos y Nicas, Herdocia also established Las Becas HUG (Humanitarian University Grants), a scholarship fund to help Nicaraguan college students fleeing violence. The protests in Nicaragua were largely student-led, and HUG gives students a new chance to be leaders. Much of the fund, which covers 100 percent of tuition for students to attend the Latin American University of Science and Technology in Costa Rica, has been made possible thanks to the support of Herdocia’s Henry Crown Fellowship class—the Ninth Symphony—as well as many Central America Leadership Initiative fellows in living Costa Rica and
Nicaragua.

HUG scholars attend university full-time and meet one another outside the classroom for AGLN-inspired dialogues, moderated by Herdocia, to help them cope with their experiences. There are currently more than 30 scholars, with new classes selected each quarter. Herdocia has provided not just the opportunity for these students to study. She has given them a place to find support and friendship in an impossibly difficult situation.

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Each year, the Aspen Institute selects a diverse cohort of 20 executives from across the health care ecosystem to embark on a transformative leadership journey. The Health Innovators Fellowship uses the Aspen Global Leadership Network’s model of moderated, text-based dialogue to catalyze self-examination of leadership, values, and the impact fellows want to have in and on the world.

Over the course of two years of attending signature seminars, each fellow launches a leadership venture that tackles a US health care challenge. The bonds formed lead to unique collaborations that broaden and deepen fellows’ impact on US health care. From implementing a new care model that better serves the needs of low-income, rural communities to creating a platform that accelerates the discovery of new drugs and diagnostics, fellows step up to lead in new ways.

“We are just scratching the surface of the impact that fellows can have,” Rima Cohen, the executive director of the fellowship, says. “As we continue to build a critical mass of values-based leaders across US health care—already 100 strong—we expect to see truly transformative work and collaborations that will impact millions of Americans.” Here are three fellows’ stories.

IKENNA OKEZIE, MD, MBA
Co-founder and CEO of Somatus, a value-based kidney care services and technology company
When I became a fellow in the inaugural class, I hadn’t conceived it was possible to effectively reach every person in the United States with kidney disease—37 million—with clinical programs designed to improve kidney health and delay disease progression. And I had just overcome my own fear of starting a company.

Then I had the benefit of seeing a group of otherwise downto-earth high achievers fearlessly plan to launch new companies, spin off enterprises, reprise civil-rights demonstrations, reduce disparities in care, and boldly tackle unmet needs in vulnerable populations. This incredible group encouraged me to take a risk of my own—Kidney Care Analytics, a platform that uses data from claims, medical records, and other sources to predict and identify cost- and quality-improvement opportunities for anyone with or at risk of developing kidney disease.

Today, the platform is known as RenalIQ, and it has helped improve the care and quality of life for countless people with kidney disease—and we’ve only just begun. As we each continue our own personal and professional journeys, I believe it’s important to recognize when we may be afraid and then to choose not to be. As my best friend says, “Fear not.”

ODETTE HARRIS, MD
Professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of the Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center, which promotes state-of-the-science care for service members, veterans, and their families
My first days of the fellowship were overwhelming. We were inspired to think about the long runway of our lives to impart change and take on the challenge of doing something big, something with real and lasting impact. The example put forward to us was Gandhi and his long road of leadership. Needless to say, it was a high bar.

My venture, VITAL, addresses two concurrent problems I have directly witnessed. One is the paucity of educational and professional options for low-income, under-represented minority high-school graduates. The other is the shortage of skilled health care workers at medical centers in high-income areas—especially at the US Veterans Administration, with its limited ability to offer competitive salaries. We give high-school students for whom college might not be an immediate option an academic curriculum and competency-based training that prepare them for a career at a VA health facility, with the ability to pursue college later. VITAL leverages my existing relationships with both the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula to pilot a program that could be used in similar locations across the country.

My Health Innovators community has supported and guided me as I’ve embarked on this journey. They have buoyed me and given me invaluable insights and partnerships that have helped me establish the foundation that will allow me to scale and sustain my venture. There is still much work to do, but now the long runway doesn’t overwhelm me.

GARHENG KONG, MD, PHD, MBA
Co-founder and managing partner of HealthQuest Capital, a venture growth fund investing in innovative health care companies
Having been lucky to find a match when I went through the anxiety-inducing bone-marrow transplant process, I wanted to see if there was a way to improve the odds of others finding a match—especially patients of minority ethnic descent, who have low probabilities of finding the matches they need. Instead of just being grateful after my successful procedure, the fellowship discussions and venture opportunity inspired me to engage directly in taking on the effort to institutionalize the process of increasing the national bone-marrow registry’s donor population and diversity. I continue to actively expand the work of my venture post-graduation. The fellowship allowed me the time and space I would not otherwise have had to create the foundation for this work—which has become a lifetime effort for me.

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