Breaking the Cycle: Solutions for a New Future

Why It Matters

The conversation showcases how targeted early‑stage capital and cross‑sector collaboration can accelerate systemic change, offering a replicable model for tackling entrenched social and environmental challenges.

Key Takeaways

• Aspen Catalyst Fund fuels early-stage social impact ventures at inflection points
• Leaders address water access, farmer markets, youth belonging, democracy, safety nets
• Panel highlights systemic oppression, reimagining systems for inclusive future
• Cross‑regional collaborations showcase climate, agricultural, and civic innovation
• Audience engagement via Zoom/YouTube underscores digital participation challenges

Summary

The Aspen Institute’s "Breaking the Cycle: Solutions for a New Future" event, moderated by civil‑society fellow George McGraw, gathered six Catalyst Fund awardees to explore how entrenched, generational inequities can be dismantled and replaced with inclusive systems. The virtual conversation, streamed on Zoom and YouTube, introduced each leader’s mission—ranging from providing running water to two million underserved Americans, to connecting Black farmers with markets, fostering belonging among young boys, reshaping youth participation in Indian democracy, removing barriers to U.S. safety‑net programs, reforesting Nigeria to bridge poverty and cultural division, and protecting high‑altitude glaciers.

Key insights emerged around the power of early‑stage funding to accelerate ventures at critical inflection points, and the necessity of unlearning legacy patterns that perpetuate oppression. Participants emphasized that true transformation requires both grassroots connection—Seneca invoking his great‑grandfather’s legacy of hardship—and systemic redesign, such as Jordan’s work combating loneliness in boys and Ruchi’s digital tools for democratic engagement.

Notable moments included Seneca’s reflection on inherited oppression, Jordan’s description of building belonging, and Ibrahim Duba’s framing of reforestation as a cultural bridge. These anecdotes illustrated how personal narratives fuel broader social‑impact strategies, reinforcing the Aspen ecosystem’s role in nurturing innovative leaders.

The discussion signals a growing appetite among philanthropists, investors, and policymakers for scalable, cross‑regional solutions that address climate, agriculture, health, and civic participation. By spotlighting concrete examples and the collaborative funding model, the event offers a roadmap for other leaders seeking to break cyclical inequities and build resilient, equitable futures.

Original Description

What does it take to break cycles that have persisted for generations, and build new ones in their place? And what patterns must leaders unlearn, reimagine, or break altogether to create a shared future that serves everyone?

The McNulty Prize Catalyst Fund recognizes promising ventures led by leaders in the Aspen Institute network with strong momentum and at critical junctures— poised to scale, deepen their impact, and fearlessly tackle entrenched inequities and structural barriers facing communities worldwide.

Join us for a Fellows on Fellows style dialogue with the McNulty Prize Catalyst Fund awardees for a candid conversation on leadership and their journey tackling major societal issues. From making the US healthcare system work for all, to restoring glaciers and forests from Colombia to Nigeria, enabling opportunity for India’s youth, uplifting Black farmers in rural America, and promoting healing and community in young boys, all of these leaders are instigating change that will endure for generations to come.

They’ll share the real moments that shaped them as leaders—both breakthroughs and setbacks—and how they're building new cycles of trust, accountability, and justice across communities worldwide. Come curious and leave with new perspectives, real-world insights, and a renewed sense of what’s possible.

Featuring:

Kwamane Liddell, President & CEO, Thrivelink

Dr. Ibraheem Dooba, Founder & Lead Steward, 200Million Trees

Seanicaa Edwards Herron, President & CEO, Freedmen Heirs Foundation

Ruchi Gupta, Founder, YouthPOWER

Jordan Bowman, Executive Director, Journeymen Triangle

Marcela Fernandez Barreneche, Founder & Chairman, Cumbres Blancas (Glacier Nation)

Moderated by George McGraw, Founder and CEO, DigDeep Water, and former Water and Power Commissioner for LA