McNulty Prize Winners Spotlight Democracy at the Aspen Institute’s 39th Annual Dinner

On November 2, 2023, the Aspen Institute hosted its 39th annual dinner to celebrate its 75-year history. President Dan Porterfield welcomed guests and warmly recounted the institute’s history. With roots in the Colorado mountains, the Aspen Institute was founded by a group of civil society and business leaders who gathered to discuss the future of humanity and proposed an institution with the bold purpose of igniting human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Ever since, the Institute has aspired to build a better world through new inventions, new partnerships, new arts, and solutions through innovative programs and initiatives.

Chris Howards, Henry Crown Fellow (1998 Millenium Class) and Executive Vice President and COO of Arizona University, hosted the presentation of the Henry Crown Leadership Award to honoree Li Liu. The award honors an outstanding leader whose achievements reflect the high standard of honor, integrity, industry, and philanthropy that characterized the life of Henry Crown. Li Liu is the founder and chairman of Himalaya Capital, a value investing firm where he has been managing its principal fund since 1997. Among his various philanthropic pursuits, he co-founded and is a board chair of the Asian American Foundation (TAAF), serving the 23 million-strong Asian American and Pacific Islander community in their pursuit of belonging and prosperity.

McNulty Prize Winners participated in a panel spotlighting democracy and their venture work, with a particular focus on the importance of community-building and knowledge sharing. Dixon Chibanda, Founder and CEO of Friendship Bench, an organization training “grandmothers” in Zimbabwe as community mental health providers, noted, “We have to create space in our communities for people to share their stories, their pain, their journeys. These moments of connection and vulnerability not only heal individuals, but give us the capacity to solve our collective problems and repair the fabric of society.”

Aimée Eubanks Davis, the founder and CEO of Braven, a nonprofit that works to ensure underrepresented college students develop the skills, confidence, experience, and networks to get strong first jobs after graduation, echoed Dixon’s statements, but emphasized the necessity for values-based work with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

Breakthrough leadership is hard work, requiring deep and intentional partnerships, moral courage, and bold vision. Working to combat the plastic pollution crisis, Mirei Endara de Heras, Founder and President of Marea Verde, understands the lasting conviction that it takes to enact social change. She encouraged audience members to follow their dreams to impact communities.