Aspen Security Forum Closes With Recognition of Partners and Staff
Niamh King closed the 2024 Aspen Security Forum by crediting the partners, attendees, speakers, public officials, media, Aspen Institute leadership and staff behind four days of programming. She singled out Anja Manuel for her discussion of American trade with Jamieson Greer, thanked the organizing team for its work, and recognized the forum’s corporate and foundation partners. King reserved her final acknowledgment for Aspen’s “big fat bears and terrifying moose,” which she said brought a “frisson” to the conference.
The forum’s closing credit roll ran from partners to the people in the room
Niamh King closed the 2024 Aspen Security Forum by thanking the organizations and people behind its four days of programming. She asked the audience to hold applause until the end while she named partners, patron-pass holders, 2024 rising leaders and alumni, speakers, ambassadors and embassy officials, moderators, and the press.
King also thanked the AV and Meadows staff, Aspen Institute leaders Maria Asebal and Danielle Bosson, and colleagues including Dulcie, Morgan, Jordan, John Purvis, Jenna, Zoe, Ari, and Crystal. Referring to Condoleezza Rice and Nick Burns, she thanked them for their leadership. She called for special applause for Anja Manuel and praised Manuel’s 45-minute discussion with Jamieson Greer on American trade as “masterful.”
The organizing team received a direct acknowledgment from the stage. King asked team members to stand, named Deb, Alana, and Leah, and said they had been working tirelessly. She also recognized Chris and Emily, former employees who had returned to help.
A slide shown during the acknowledgments listed the forum’s partners.
| Category | Organizations listed on screen |
|---|---|
| Partners | Amazon; Anduril; Dow Jones; William + Flora Hewlett Foundation; Intel; Microsoft; The Rockefeller Foundation; Vantor; AIR; American Airlines; Anthropic; Citi; Financial Times; Google; MITRE |
King did not specify the role of each organization. The slide grouped them together as partners alongside her spoken thanks to the event’s attendees, contributors, staff, and organizers.
The final thanks went to bears and moose
King ended with what she called the forum’s “real unsung heroes”: the wildlife around Aspen.
And then the real unsung heroes of the Aspen Security Forum: the big fat bears and the terrifying moose.
She said they added “a frisson to a national security conference” before closing with thanks to the audience and an invitation to return next year.