New York City, NY, November 10, 2009––On Thursday evening, November 5, the Aspen Institute held its 26th Annual Awards Dinner at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The Institute proudly presented Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, with the Aspen Institute Henry Crown Leadership Award, and Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, with the Aspen Institute Public Service Award. Additionally, the Aspen Institute and Anne Welsh McNulty awarded the second annual John P. McNulty Prize to Patrick Awuah of Ghana, founder of the Accra based Ashesi University. Charlie Rose, anchor and executive editor of Charlie Rose, led an engaging discussion with Jeff Bezos and Judith Rodin.

Past recipients of the Henry Crown Leadership Award include William E. Mayer (2008), Condoleezza Rice (2006), William D. Budinger (2005), Michael K. Powell (2004), Patty Stonesifer (2003), and Jimmy Carter (2002). Past recipients of the Public Service Award include Michael Bloomberg (2007), David McCullough (2006), Joseph I. Lieberman and John McCain (2005), Sandra Day O’Connor (2004), and Stephen Breyer (2003).

Patrick Awuah accepted the second annual McNulty prize which celebrates the spirit and memory of Institute trustee John P. McNulty. The $100,000 prize recognizes an extraordinary young leader making creative, effective, and lasting contributions to his or her community. The prize is given annually to an Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) Fellow. The inaugural recipient in 2008 was Jordan Kassalow of VisionSpring, who is a Henry Crown Fellow.

For more information on the Aspen Institute’s 26^th Annual Awards Dinner please visit http://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/2009/11/05/26th-annual-awards-dinner (video will soon be available on this site). Photos from the evening can be found at http://www.patrickmcmullen.com/site/index.aspx. Further information on the McNulty Prize winner and his project can be found at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/2009/11/06/winner-second-annual-john-p-mcnulty-prize-announced.

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC, Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and has an international network of partners.