The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated mission is to drive "change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world." The institute is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, as well as in Chesapeake Bay at the Wye River in Maryland.