Latinos and Society Program
The Aspen Institute founded the Latinos and Society Program (AILAS) in 2015. AILAS is deeply committed to increasing Latino access to opportunity and inclusion in the economy, and believes that a prosperous future for all Americans rests on Latino American economic advancement.
AILAS organizes its strategy, programming, and objectives around the following guiding principles:
Mission: To identify, promote, and catalyze ideas and solutions that foster greater opportunity for American Latinos, enabling a more prosperous and inclusive America for all.
Values: Inclusion, shared learning, cross-sector collaboration, diversity of perspectives, co-creation.
We do this by:
- Convening emerging and established thought leaders of all backgrounds and subject matter expertise to engage in thoughtful conversations about the realities of diverse communities in the U.S. and developing practical solutions to economic, social, and civic challenges Latinos face;
- Elevating dialogue involving policy topics that are essential components of Latino success in American society- with economic advancement as our chief focus area, and civic engagement and educational attainment as components connected to economic advancement.
- Building a pipeline of American Latino thought leaders throughout the Aspen Institute through the Ricardo Salinas Scholarship and Woody and Gayle Hunt Aspen Institute Fellowship; and
- Influencing a positive narrative change of American Latinos, so that the media, policymakers and decision-makers understand and appreciate the vast contributions Latinos make to the economy and society.
We believe that the transformed perceptions of those with the power to do something, along with a better understanding of concrete things they can do about it, will incentivize them to make better-informed decisions and catalyze concrete actions to include and improve the circumstances of Latinos at all levels of society.
