Values-Based Leadership in Action

What begins as deep personal transformation becomes global change. Through our Fellows’ leadership, AGLN catalyzes impact that addresses humanity’s greatest challenges.

Driving Positive Change

Our Fellows — spanning 62 countries and 30+ sectors — transform their fellowship experiences into action that addresses humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Whether launching groundbreaking ventures, transforming established institutions from within, or catalyzing systems-level change, these leaders demonstrate what becomes possible when moral imagination meets practical action. 

Impact Stories

These stories represent just a glimpse of how Fellows are putting values-based leadership into practice, creating ripple effects that extend far beyond their immediate work. All have been awarded the John P. McNulty Prize for their bold leadership on some of the world’s most intractable problems. 

Manoj Kumar

Addressing Poverty in India Through Market-Based Solutions

Working alongside the Araku Valley community in India, Manoj Kumar (Kamalynayan Bajaj Fellowship) built one of the world’s largest organic coffee cooperatives, lifting 25,000+ farming families out of poverty through sustainable enterprise. Today, 13K+ entrepreneur farmers across 500+ villages supply the company and flagship store in Paris.

Kelsey Wirth

Mobilizing Mothers for Climate Justice 

Kelsey Wirth (Henry Crown Fellowship) co-founded Mothers Out Front, a grassroots movement that transforms climate grief into collective action. By “chunking” the overwhelming challenge of climate change into local wins, she’s built a community of 32K+ supporters who together have halted fossil fuel projects and secured renewable energy increases in dozens of communities across the US. 

Merhdad Baghai

Inoculating Young People Against Hate

Drawing from his childhood experience of religious persecution in Iran, Mehrdad Baghai (Henry Crown Fellowship) co-founded High Resolves to “immunize” young people against prejudice through transformational learning experiences. His citizenship education program has reached 200K+ students across 350+ schools, using simulation-based workshops to challenge existing beliefs and build the core competencies of global citizenship.

Rejane Woodroffe

Championing Community-Led Development

Leaving finance to live in a remote South African village without electricity or water, Réjane Woodroffe co-founded the Bulungula Incubator with a radical philosophy: “Poverty is about people not knowing or owning their choices.” Through deep respect for community leadership, she’s brought running water to every household in four villages while creating holistic education, health, and entrepreneurship programs that preserve cultural traditions.

McNulty Prize Winners
Bulungula Incubator

Impact Archetypes

Fellows create impact through multiple pathways, often moving between roles as their leadership journey evolves. They show up as:

Jessica Rolph

Entrepreneurs

Fellows who launch new ventures, organizations, or social enterprises to address critical needs. They create innovative solutions from the ground up, establishing new models that challenge conventional approaches.

Megan Jones Bell

Intrapreneurs

Fellows who drive change from within existing institutions and organizations. They transform established systems through innovation, policy shifts, and cultural change, leveraging existing resources for maximum impact.

Rodney Williams

Change Agents

Fellows who work across sectors to transform entire systems. Through policy influence, community organizing, movement building, and narrative change, they address root causes and reshape the environments in which challenges exist.

Our Impact Model

A Lifelong Journey of Leadership Transformation

The AGLN’s approach to leadership development isn’t a linear path but a lifelong journey with multiple dimensions that build upon one another. Our model, validated by two decades of measurable outcomes, recognizes that meaningful impact emerges when leaders experience transformation across four interconnected domains:

Personal Transformation

At the heart of our work is the profound inner journey that changes how Fellows see themselves and their capacity to lead. Through seminar dialogues, personal reflection, and community engagement, Fellows develop heightened self-awareness, clearer alignment with personal values, and stronger purpose-driven leadership, fundamentally changing how they approach their leadership roles.


Fellowship Community

The AGLN creates a trusted space where unlikely allies form bonds that transcend differences. This community provides both support and accountability, with Fellows reporting that these relationships become instrumental confidants and advisors in their leadership evolution. These connections often last decades, becoming a crucial resource throughout their leadership journey.


Courageous Leadership

Fellowship experiences catalyze bold approaches to leadership that Fellows acknowledge they would not have attempted otherwise. This increased willingness to take meaningful risks translates directly to how they lead their organizations and communities.


Societal Impact

Fellows translate their personal transformation into tangible change through their ventures, organizations, and spheres of influence. Whether as entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, or systems-level change agents, they address society’s most pressing challenges with both moral imagination and practical action. Moreover, Fellows not only mobilize their own resources toward positive change but also influence broader policies and practices in their communities.

Key Insights Guiding Our Approach

Our work is informed by fundamental observations about effective leadership development:

  • Leadership starts within: Deep personal reflection and introspection are essential foundations for authentic leadership.
  • Community amplifies courage: With the support of trusted peers, Fellows take on challenges they would otherwise avoid.
  • Impact ripples outward: Fellows’ influence extends beyond their direct work to shape systems, policies, and other leaders.
  • Leadership evolves over time: Fellows’ impact journeys include pivots, expansions, and new directions as they respond to emerging needs.

This model has proven effective across cultures, sectors, and challenges—creating a multiplier effect as Fellows apply these principles throughout their lifelong leadership journey.

Annual Reports & Studies

These reports showcase how AGLN Fellows are driving transformational change across sectors and regions, offering insights into the multiplier effect of our global network.

Blog Posts Videos

Cultivating Resilience, Building Joy: Experiences That Move, Heal, and Connect

Gillian Zettler, co-founder of The Drop In, on shaping inclusive wellness spaces, embracing humility in leadership, and building communities that heal through movement and music.

Blog Posts Videos

Weaving Communities of Changemakers

Renata Soto, founder of Mosaic Changemakers, is committed to weaving a better South by connecting leaders of color, embracing questions, and building collective movements for equity, belonging and thriving communities.

Blog Posts Videos

Creating Economic Pathways to Freedom

For over 37 years, Hasina Kharbhih, Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellow, has built systems that protect and empower those most at risk of trafficking and unsafe migration.

Blog Posts Videos

Building Businesses That Put People First

Jessica Rolph, Henry Crown Fellow, is transforming early childhood outcomes through innovative, mission-led businesses. From launching the #1 organic baby food brand in the US to co-founding Lovevery, Jessica’s focus has remained constant: helping families give their children the strongest start possible.

Blog Posts Videos

The Trauma Tax: The Hidden Cost Holding Back the World

As founder of Iftin Global in Somalia, Mohamed Ali Diini has pioneered a model that integrates healing directly into economic programs, delivering unprecedented results.

Blog Posts

Leading with Grit, Guided by Nature

For Dr. Krithi Karanth, CEO of the Centre for Wildlife Studies and Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellow, protecting tigers, elephants, and wild places is more than a job—it’s her calling.

Community Town Hall in Wilkesboro, North Carolina hosted by Civil Society Fellow LB Prevette and Weave Community Liaisons Greg Brady
Blog Posts Videos

Can we truly listen across our differences?

Earlier this year in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellow LB Prevette and Weave Community Liaisons Greg Brady invited neighbors into conversation about what matters to them most, making space for the hard and necessary conversations that weave a community together.

Blog Posts

Leadership That Lasts: Building Movements That Outlive You

John Little believes that building the leaders of tomorrow means meeting them where they are today. He currently serves as a national Leadership Coach at Organizer Zero. His past experiences include serving as the director of community engagement for the Tennessee Charter School Center, working as a strategist on numerous political races throughout the United States, and leading the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet. He is also a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

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