Ariel Kalil Selected as 2018 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow

Harris Public Policy Professor Ariel Kalil has been selected, along with 20 other leaders in children and family healthcare and wellbeing from around the country, a member of the 2018 class of Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows. The Ascend Fellowship is an 18-month journey based on the Aspen Institute’s 50-year history of leadership development. With leaders from different disciplines and sectors, Ascend Fellows expand and interrogate their ideas and ultimately strengthen them to fuel a new cycle of opportunity for children and families.

The 2018 Ascend Fellows join the vanguard of a national network to advance opportunity for families with low incomes across the country. This year’s class includes state leaders in human services, Medicaid, and early care and education; national leaders in higher education, philanthropy, faith, and business; and innovative researchers and practitioners.

A professor at Harris, Kalil is the director of the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy and co-director of the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab. A developmental psychologist who studies economic conditions, parenting, and child development, Kalil’s current research examines income-based gaps in parenting behavior and children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Kalil also holds appointments as an adjunct professor in the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, Norway, and in the School of Business Administration at the University of Stavanger, Norway.

“Ascend Fellows are inspirational, visionary leaders able to lead beyond their positions to drive change for children and families,” said Anne Mosle, vice president, Aspen Institute, and executive director, Ascend at the Aspen Institute. “The 2018 class of Ascend Fellows are individually outstanding and collectively lead a powerful set of solutions for the opportunities and challenges facing families today.”

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners.