FCC CHAIRMAN MICHAEL K. POWELL TO JOIN ASPEN INSTITUTE

Washington, DC, March 11, 2005-The Aspen Institute announced today that Michael K. Powell, outgoing chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is to become senior fellow of the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program for a three-month period effective upon his departure from the FCC. Powell, who was honored last year by the Institute with the Henry Crown Leadership Award, is the third consecutive FCC Chairman to join the Aspen Institute following his chairmanship. He will advise the Communications and Society Program on leadership, communications policy, and program activities and operations. Judith Mann will also move from the FCC to the Institute as Powell’s confidential assistant.

“Michael Powell exemplifies the type of leader that the Aspen Institute seeks to attract to our various program and leadership activities,” said Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute in announcing the appointment.  “He will add an important perspective to planning our non-partisan forums in communications and information policy – and beyond.”

Shortly after announcing his departure from the FCC, Powell noted: “The Aspen Institute has been an important part of my life, both in its influential communications policy work and in the Crown leadership program.  I look forward to serving as an adviser to this distinguished organization.  I am also grateful for the opportunity to take some time to think about the future.”

Charles M. Firestone, executive director of the Institute’s Communications and Society Program, welcomed Powell’s appointment: “Michael Powell has been an excellent participant in Aspen Institute forums for many years, both as commissioner and as chairman of the FCC.  We are fortunate to have the benefit of his advice and insights in developing new activities and in reinvigorating our ongoing projects.”

Mr. Powell can be reached through his confidential assistant, Judy Mann at judy.mann@aspeninstitute.org or 202-736-1492.

The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, one of 18 policy programs at the Institute, convenes non-partisan roundtable forums for leaders and experts to address the foremost policy challenges facing societies around the world as a result of the communications and information revolutions. Through its forum activities and reports, it develops new models and options for policies in the telecommunications, new media, and Internet worlds.
It is also a venue where veteran and emerging decision-makers from government, business, media, labor, consumer and the non-profit sectors can explore new concepts, find personal growth and insight, and develop new, diverse networks for the betterment of the policymaking process and society.  The program is based in the Institute’s Washington, DC office.

Ongoing activities of the Communications and Society Program include a CEO-level Forum on Communications and Society, the annual Aspen Conference on Telecommunications Policy, the Roundtable on Spectrum Policy, the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Information Technology, and a number of conferences on journalism and freedom of expression.

The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue.
Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, and New Delhi, and leadership programs in Africa and Central America.