Bolivia Foundry Strengthens Networks: Aspire Institute CEO Joins Alumni Events in Santa Cruz and La Paz
When Meena Sonea, CEO of Aspire Institute, recently visited Bolivia, the strength of the alumni network made the deepest impression. She witnessed young leaders actively transforming the principles of the Aspire Leaders Program (ALP) into tangible community impact.
This year, we excitedly launched our Bolivia Foundry through Bolivia 360. During her first visit, Sonea engaged with more than 80 Aspire alumni across La Paz and Santa Cruz. She observed firsthand how the program’s emphasis on confidence-building, communication skills, and community development ripples through Bolivia’s leadership landscape.
Working alongside Bolivia Foundry Director, Bruna Romero, they forged new partnerships with public and private institutions to expand Aspire’s reach.
“My visit to Santa Cruz and La Paz reinforced how powerful the Aspire Bolivia Foundry can be in transforming global access into local opportunity,” Sonea reflected. “Bruna has shown remarkable commitment, building strong connections in a short time.”
What impressed Sonea most was the engagement from alumni volunteers – Community Leaders and Domain Leaders. They continue to organize culturally relevant events that strengthen community bonds.
Santa Cruz: Culture and Connection
The September 5th gathering, organized by Reynero Torrico ALP ‘25, at the Altillo Beni Museum in Santa Cruz brought together alumni and prospective learners. The event opened with “Niña Camba,” an iconic local song that established the cultural foundation of the evening.
Over traditional Santa Cruz cuisine, the community engaged in meaningful conversations about leadership and impact, demonstrating that effective leadership extends beyond individual achievement to encompass authentic connection and shared values.
La Paz: Collaborative Leadership in Action
On September 8th, another group of Aspire alumni gathered at Tinka in La Paz. Jointly organized by Community Leaders from La Paz and El Alto, this gathering showcased the cross-city cooperation emerging from the creation of the Bolivia Foundry.
“Aspire doesn’t just teach you how to lead, it reminds you that leadership begins with everyday impact,” reflected one participant, capturing the essence of the two-hour program.
The format balanced structure with organic interaction. After remarks from Sonea, local Community Leaders framed networking sessions allowing alumni to share their leadership journeys and current projects.
Our alumni witnessed the power of this connectivity.
“Seeing alumni from different cities come together today reminds me that we are not alone,” an alumnus from El Alto expressed. This sentiment captures one of Aspire’s most significant outcomes —creating support networks that transcend geographic boundaries.
Deepening Cultural Understanding
The Bolivia visit included a guided tour of the National Museum of Art. Alumni from La Paz and Santa Cruz explored the Bicentenario de Bolivia art exhibition together. This wasn’t simply a cultural outing, it was a deliberate exploration of national identity and heritage.
By engaging with Bolivia’s artistic and historical narrative, alumni deepened their understanding of the cultural context. This cultural grounding proves essential for leading lasting change that builds upon existing community strengths.
A Network That Grows Itself
The most striking aspect of the Bolivia visit was observing ALP alumni become architects of their own continued development. The La Paz-El Alto collaboration, cross-cohort mentorship in Santa Cruz, and integrated cultural programming emerged from alumni initiative, not institutional directive.
“Being part of Aspire Bolivia means belonging to a community that inspires, motivates, and opens new paths, so that young Bolivians can create positive impact and greater opportunities,” Marcela Feliza Jorges Vilte ALP ‘25 reflected.
This organic growth reflects a fundamental aspect of the Aspire approach. We are not creating dependent relationships, but empowering individuals to become leaders in their own contexts.
As the Aspire network expands across Latin America and beyond, the Bolivia experience offers a compelling template for how alumni communities can become engines of their own continued impact, transforming individual growth into collective advancement.
Aspire Co-Founder Joins Alumni in Türkiye as They Turn Encounters into Incubation Spaces
In September 2025, Aspire Türkiye alumni and supporters gathered at the house of Founding Member of the Aspire Association for Supporting Education Ozlem Denizmen, to welcome Professor Tarun Khanna, co-founder of Aspire Institute and Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School. The event also included notable supporters of the Foundry across fields of business, finance, health, engineering, and academia.
Professor Khanna’s insights on entrepreneurship and cross-cultural leadership resonated deeply across the community. Yet, what followed after the event truly reflected Aspire’s essence: the way ideas, collaborations, and initiatives organically grow when alumni come together.
Since its founding, the Aspire Türkiye Foundry has served as more than a gathering space. It has become an incubation hub where conversations evolve into projects and peer connections turn into long-term impact. This visit was no exception, and it inspired a wave of initiatives that are now taking shape within the community.
Building Digital and Social Impact Pathways
One of the most valuable aspects of such gatherings is witnessing how the Aspire community turns connections into tangible opportunities. Furkan Kaya, founder of İKAN HR, shared that through Aspire he was able to connect with Doğuş Group for a mentorship meeting.
“Thanks to Ms. Ozlem Denizmen, Doğuş Group’s HR managers connected us with an expert and directed us toward incubation programs. We even received a commitment for a pilot test — an important milestone for us,” he said.
As an active member of the community, he shared his work on Digital Revolution Camps; micro-mentoring programs connecting undergraduate students with high schoolers in rural regions, particularly in Southeastern Türkiye. The camps introduce young people to software skills and digital literacy through a culturally sensitive, localized approach. He valuably shared his vision for potentially piloting these camps through Aspire, expanding outreach to local communities, and fostering practical skills development.
Furkan also introduced his prototype for an Aspire Türkiye Culture Map, a digital visualization of alumni across cities. This initiative will help identify the best community–project matches and ensure that every alumnus has the opportunity to contribute to the Foundry’s evolving ecosystem.
Optimizing Engagement Through Innovation
Kadir Karakuş proposed a new event management and engagement system designed to track participation, attendance, and engagement patterns across Aspire-led events. The app, which has already been tested across different organizations, can identify which activities attract consistent participation and which segments of alumni benefit most. Selin Sena Esen immediately joined the project as co-lead, helping adapt the prototype for Aspire Türkiye. The goal is to optimize community engagement, allocate resources more effectively, and ensure opportunities are distributed equitably among members.
Connecting Across Cultures
Beyond systems and data, community building also thrives on storytelling and dialogue. Selin and Merve Nur Tayhan introduced the Speaking Club initiative, a peer-led space connecting alumni in Türkiye with their counterparts abroad. By sharing cultural perspectives and lived experiences, this initiative aims to diversify narratives and amplify the many voices within the Aspire network.
From Ideas to Research
Emerging from these collaborations is the idea of forming a research team dedicated to themes such as first-generation experiences and NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) communities. This group will bring together early-career academics who can translate lived experience into actionable research, producing community-driven publications and reflections.
Continuing the Momentum
The visit may have been brief, but its impact continues through the alumni’s commitment to creating, testing, and scaling new ideas. Every project born at the Foundry, whether a digital tool, a mentorship initiative, or a research concept, contributes to Aspire’s broader purpose: empowering the community to build change within their own contexts.
