Six Leaders Elected to Aspen Institute Board of Trustees

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Aspen Institute announced today the election of six new members to its board of trustees. They include: Cesar R. Conde, Thelma Duggin, Michael Klein, Diane L. Morris, Jim Rogers and Laurie M. Tisch. Each member will serve a three-year term that begins immediately.

"We are thrilled to be welcoming such a stellar group of leaders to the Aspen Institute board," said Institute chairman Robert K. Steel. "Given such a diversity and breadth of experience among these new trustees, we shall be eagerly seeking their guidance as they become immersed in the Institute's business and activities."

For a complete listing of the Aspen Institute Board of Trustees, please visit:

http://www.aspeninstitute.org/about/leadership

Newly Elected Aspen Institute Trustees

Cesar R. Conde is president of Univision Communications Inc., the premiere Spanish language media company in the United States. He has also served as both the executive vice president and the chief strategy officer at Univision Communications. Previously, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as a White House fellow assigned to the Office of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Prior to his public service, he was vice president of Business Development at Univision. Mr. Conde started his career in media as vice president of Business Development and was one of the pioneers at StarMedia Network, the first Internet company focused on Spanish and Portuguese speakers globally. Prior to StarMedia, he was  an investment banker at Salomon Smith Barney in the mergers and acquisitions group in New York. Mr. Conde is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also founder of the Futuro Program, a non-profit organization that provides educational workshops to Hispanic high school students. He is a recipient of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation Award and the Cuban-American National Council Young Leader Award. Mr. Conde graduated from Harvard University with a BA in History and earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was elected class president. He is a member of the 2004 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.

Thelma Duggin is president of the AnBryce Foundation, an organization that provides long-term academic and leadership enrichment programs to underserved youth. Prior to joining the AnBryce Foundation, Ms. Duggin was a senior vice president at UnitedHealth Group (UHG).  Before joining UHG, she served as president of Americhoice of New York and Americhoice of New Jersey, Inc. Ms. Duggin previously served as a special assistant to President Reagan and director of the 50 States Project for Women, and as coordinator of Minority Affairs to then-Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole. Ms. Duggin completed the General Management program at Harvard Business School and was a resident fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She holds a BS degree from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and an honorary doctorate from Morris Brown College.

Michael Klein joined the Shakespeare Theatre Company Board of Trustees in 2007. He and his wife, Joan Fabry, have been loyal subscribers and patrons of the Company since the late 1990s. In 2004, they made a major commitment to the Campaign for the Harman Center, providing essential early support needed to give momentum for major fundraising campaigns. The following year, they were the principal underwriters of the Company's tour to Aspen, Colorado, and in 2006, they provided a significant financial guarantee to complete the final phase of financing for the construction of Sidney Harman Hall. Last year, Mr. Klein started the Artistic Leadership Fund and made a challenge grant to jumpstart it; the fund provides annual support for the Company's ambitious programming. Mr. Klein also serves as: chairman of the board of CoStar Group, Inc., a public company that he cofounded; chairman of the board of Zenith Gallery, Inc.; vice chairman of the board of Perini Corporation; lead director of SRA, International; and director and co-owner of Astar Air Cargo, Inc. Mr. Klein co-founded the public interest Sunlight Foundation, and serves as its chairman. He is also director of the American Himalayan Foundation; a trustee of the University of Miami; a member of the Committee on University Resources for Harvard University; and a member of the Dean's Advisory Board at Harvard Law School.  Past positions include president of the PEN Faulkner Foundation and partner with Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering (now Wilmer Hale).

Diane L. Morris is the chairman of Morris Capital Management, an investment management company, and an active philanthropist. Ms. Morris has honed her broad leadership skills as a passionate fundraiser for the arts, education, and conservation. Her board affiliations, to name a few, have included the United Nations Association, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Opera, All Kinds of Minds, the Pacific Presbyterian Hospital Foundation, the Graduate School of Education at the University of California-Berkeley, San Francisco University High School, Marin Country Day School, the San Francisco Day School, and the Advisory Board of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. She recently retired, after serving six years, as chairman of the chairman's council for Conservation International. Ms. Morris is a native of San Francisco and has two children.

Jim Rogers serves as chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy. Mr. Rogers has served as a CEO in the utility industry for more than 23 years. Mr. Rogers became president and CEO of Duke Energy following the merger between Duke Energy and Cinergy in 2006. Before the merger, he served as Cinergy's chairman and CEO for more than 11 years. Prior to the formation of Cinergy, he joined PSI Energy in 1988 as the company's chairman, president and CEO. He has served as deputy general counsel for litigation and enforcement for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); executive vice president of interstate pipelines for the Enron Gas Pipeline Group; and as a partner in the Washington, DC, law office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. In the course of his career, Mr. Rogers has served on the boards of directors of eight Fortune 500 companies, and is currently a director of Cigna Corp. and Applied Materials Inc. In 2010 and 2011, he was named by the National Association of Corporate Directors' Directorship magazine to its annual Directorship 100, recognizing the most influential people in corporate governance. In 2011, Mr. Rogers received the Asia Society of Washington's International Business Leadership Award and the Committee of 100's Business Excellence Award for his efforts to improve business relations between the US and China. He was also recognized by the US-China Policy Foundation with their Global Executive Leadership Award. Later the same year, the Asia Society elected him to serve a four-year term on the organization's board of trustees.

Laurie M. Tisch is president of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, a charitable enterprise that builds on a longstanding commitment to enable more New Yorkers to take advantage of the rich opportunities that the city has to offer. The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund was created to support strong leaders and institutions working to increase access and opportunity. Ms. Tisch's vision for the foundation is characterized by the word illumination, a metaphor for philanthropic investments that will fire imagination, spark opportunity and strengthen community. Ms. Tisch's deep conviction and sense of purpose in her philanthropy come from years of experience building institutions, serving on boards and from a committed, engaged civic life. Ms. Tisch was the founding chair of the Center for Arts Education (CAE), where she led a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign that resulted in an investment of nearly $40 million in arts education programs in New York City schools. Ms. Tisch is also chair emeritus of the Children's Museum of Manhattan. In addition, she sits on the board of trustees and executive committee of the Whitney Museum of American Art; is chair of the development committee and vice chair of the board of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; and is vice chair of the board at Teachers College, Columbia University. Ms. Tisch is also a co-owner and member of the board of directors of the New York Football Giants. In 2010, Ms. Tisch received an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University. Ms. Tisch is the recipient of many awards for her public service. She was honored in 2011 by generationOn for her work on behalf of youth and service. She received the National Child Labor Committee's 2006 Lewis Hine Award for Distinguished Service for her work with children and the arts, and in 2005 was presented with Town Hall's Friends of the Arts Award for her cultural advocacy and support of the arts.

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. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

SOURCE The Aspen Institute