Savilla Pitt Memorial Fellowship
An honor carrying additional policy enrichment opportunities, awarded to one member of each incoming Aspen Tech Policy Hub cohort. In loving memory of Savilla Pitt.
On Saturday, January 16, 2021, beloved Aspen Institute colleague Savilla Pitt passed away from complications due to pancreatic cancer. Savilla was the first employee of the Aspen Tech Policy Hub, and was instrumental to every aspect of our program. She helped review and select each fellow of the first two Aspen Tech Policy Hub classes, served on the selection committee for our COVID-19 Challenge Grant, and made our events (in-person and virtual) run smoothly day in and day out. She is deeply missed and fondly remembered.
The Aspen Tech Policy Hub and Aspen Digital have created the Savilla Pitt Memorial Fellowship as one small way to honor Savilla’s legacy and the causes she championed.
Fellowship Details
The Savilla Pitt Memorial Fellowship is awarded to the incoming member of each Aspen Tech Policy Hub Fellowship or Tech Executive Leadership Initiative cohort who has limited or no prior experience engaging in Washington, DC policy processes and either:
- Best articulates a strong interest in, and prospect of having an impact on, a new priority category for admission, “Tech and the Environment”; OR
- Otherwise best articulates a passion for helping to solve problems in Washington, DC through a values-driven approach.
In addition to regular Hub programming, recipients of the Savilla Pitt Memorial Fellowship have the opportunity to take a paid trip to visit Washington, DC, and meet with high level Aspen Institute and government executives in their area of interest. Each recipient will also receive a physical token (award, trophy, or plaque), and a book about Savilla’s life.
Past Awardees
Past awardees of the Savilla Pitt Memorial Fellowship are:
- Jonathan Gilmour: Science & Technology Policy Fellowship Summer 2024
- Raquel Romano: Tech Executive Leadership Initiative Winter 2024
- Nancy Valentin: Nonprofit and Public Interest Fellowship Summer 2023
- Nannette Cutliff: Tech Executive Leadership Initiative Winter 2023
- Chizobam Nwagwu: Tech Primer Program 2022
- Nancy Mandujano: Tech Primer Program 2022
- Arthine Cossey van Duyne: Climate Cohort 2022
- Hilary Braseth: Fellowship Cohort Fall 2021
- RoRo Romero: Fellowship Cohort Winter 2020
Application
All applicants to the Hub’s Fellowship and Tech Executive Leadership Initiative are automatically considered for the Savilla Pitt Memorial Fellowship; there are no additional materials required.
We are not currently accepting applications for Hub programs. Please join our mailing list here for updates on recruitment and our other programming.
We also ask everyone reading this to take a look at the symptoms of pancreatic cancer outlined here by the Mayo Clinic and keep an eye out for them.