The Ascend Fellowship is run by Ascend at the Aspen Institute. It brings together leaders from government, nonprofits, business, health and academia who are reshaping the systems that affect children and families.
Over 18 months, each cohort meets in person for four week-long Fellows Forums, and each Fellow carries out an action plan. Recent cohorts have had 20–22 Fellows, all drawn from across the United States.
Benefits & funding
- Four week-long in-person Fellows Forums over 18 months.
- Coaching, peer-group leadership sessions and check-in calls between Forums.
- Each class may apply to the Ascend Fellowship Impact Fund for flexible project grants. The nine awards to the 2023 class totalled more than US$370,000.
- The pages do not say whether travel or lodging for the Forums is covered.
Eligibility
- Nomination only: Ascend reviews nominations and invites some nominees to apply.
- Candidates should be at a leadership inflection point, with a bold idea for policies, systems or practices affecting young children and their families.
- Every published cohort is US-based, though the pages state no citizenship rule.
Can you apply?
Check who can apply
No nationality, residency, education, experience, gender or age limit is listed. The other conditions are under Eligibility.
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Someone nominates you; the site publishes no public nomination form or deadline.
- 2Invited nominees submit an application.
- 3Finalists are interviewed, and the cohort is announced in September or October.
Program timeline
2024 class announced; its first Forum was held that September.
Sep 4, 2024
2025 class (20 Fellows) announced.
Sep 10, 2025
No 2026 class or nomination window had been published as of October 2026.