Eric L Motley

Eric L. Motley joined the Aspen Institute in 2007 as a Vice President and the Managing Director of the Henry Crown Fellowship Program—established in 1997, the Henry Crown Fellows Program seeks to develop a new generation of community-spirited leaders. The program honors the memory of Chicago industrialist Henry Crown (1896-1990). In addition to this role Eric currently serves as the Executive Director of the Aspen-Rockefeller Foundation’s Commission to Reform the Federal Appointments Process, which is an independent, nonpartisan effort to evaluate the Federal government’s vetting and clearance procedures. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Eric served as the Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Visitors. As Director he oversaw the International Visitor Leadership Program, a program that is designed to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries. In 2003, he became Special Assistant to President George W. Bush for Presidential Personnel, where he managed the appointment process in the White House for over 1,200 presidentially-appointed advisory board and commission positions. He joined the White House staff as Deputy Associate Director, Office of Presidential Personnel in 2001 at the age of 27 immediately after receiving his Ph.D. He has written and lectured on the intellectual and political contributions of Scottish-born American Founding Father, James Wilson. He is currently engaged in developing a collection on the scholarship of the eminent Greek scholar Sir Kenneth Dover, including copies of all his books, personal papers and various items from his personal catalogue. In October 2006 he published his first volume of poetry Luminaria and is a contributing writer to US Airways Magazine as an essayist. His civic involvement encompasses leadership roles with a wide range of local, state and national organizations, including the Cosmos Club of Washington, DC and Grolier Club of New York City. Eric earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Philosophy from Samford University in 1996. As a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, he earned a Master of Letters in International Relations and a Ph.D. in International Relations as the John Steven Watson Scholar. Eric is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, Class of 2003.