Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
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Leila Brown

Senior Project Manager, Economic Opportunities Program

playing a critical role in the new Women in the Workplace Innovation Challenge and supporting the evolution of the Shared Success demonstration project.

Leila Brown is a senior project manager with the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen Institute, playing a critical role in the new Women in the Workplace Innovation Challenge and supporting the evolution of the Shared Success demonstration project.As a first-generation Afghan American, Leila brings a deep personal commitment to equity, community voice, and the power of lived experience to shape better systems. She is always searching for how to tell the right story — one that not only informs but also inspires, creating clarity and connection in service of impact.Most recently, Leila served as a managing associate at a small, mission-driven consulting firm focused on early childhood and equity. There, she led strategic planning processes and inclusive engagement strategies, managing multi-partner initiatives that drove measurable impact in state and local early childhood systems. Her work has contributed to refreshed statewide early childhood frameworks and strategic plans, always grounded in community voice.Previously, she supported state education agency staff at the Council of Chief State School Officers, managing national peer learning networks across 11 states and collaborating with early childhood experts on a variety of issues such as high-quality pre-K expansion, family engagement, and workforce development, resulting in the strengthened capacity of early childhood leaders across the nation.Leila began her career at Ascend at the Aspen Institute, where she helped expand the Ascend Network by building partnerships, designing convenings, and amplifying the voices of parent leaders in shaping anti-poverty solutions.She holds a Master of Science in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Delaware. A native Delawarean, Leila lives in Washington DC with her husband and their West Highland Terrier, Pigpen. In her free time, she enjoys strength training, trying new recipes, getting lost in a good novel, and unwinding with reruns of “Veep” or “Seinfeld.”