Aspen Institute CEO salary and executive pay
Aspen Institute paid its CEO, Daniel R Porterfield, $911,570 for the fiscal year ending December 2024. That is up $68,127 (8.1%) from the fiscal year ending December 2023. Total revenue on that return was $443,841,184, up 91.2% from $232,109,335 for the fiscal year ending December 2023. Aspen Institute ranks 14th of 15 research institutes on this site by CEO pay. Aspen Institute has 3 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2024.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 84-0399006, Washington, DC.
CEO, fiscal year ending December 2024
$911,570
Also listed with a chief executive title on this filing: James Spiegelman (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), $482,310; Stephen Patrick (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), $481,539; Anne Mosle (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), $481,306; David Langstaff Evp (UNTIL 11/24, SEN. ADV. TO PRES/CEO), $559,194.
- Total revenue
- $443,841,184
- CEO pay vs. peers
- Higher than 19%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending December 2024, IRS object ID 202503019349301850.View the filing
Peers: the 207 other organizations on this site with revenue of $50 million to $500 million. Ranked 168th of 208 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.21% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 4 people were paid more than $500,000, none of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Daniel R Porterfield CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $911,570 |
| Elliot GersonEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | $585,353 |
| David Langstaff EvpUNTIL 11/24, SEN. ADV. TO PRES/CEO | $559,194 |
| Andrew AxelrodEVP FINANCE & EBD, TREASURER | $529,219 |
| James SpiegelmanEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | $482,310 |
Also paid on the latest return: Stephen Patrick (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), $481,539; Anne Mosle (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), $481,306; Vivian Schiller (VP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), $478,523; Suzanne Berger (VP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR), $440,982; Maria Acebal (EVP STRATEGY & CORP SECRETARY), $411,680; James Pickup (GENERAL COUNSEL), $373,264; Kayatanya Henderson (EVP, ED CENTER FOR RISING GENERATIONS), $151,681.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Margot L Pritzker (CHAIR), Katharine Albright (TRUSTEE), Jeffrey S Aronin (TRUSTEE), Alex M Azar II (TRUSTEE), Donna Barksdale (TRUSTEE), Mercedes Bass (TRUSTEE), Miguel Mike Bezos (TRUSTEE), Lawrence D Bobo (TRUSTEE), Beth Brooke (TRUSTEE), William D Budinger (TRUSTEE), William Bynum (TRUSTEE), Troy Carter (TRUSTEE), Cesar R Conde (TRUSTEE), Phyllis Coulter (TRUSTEE), Katie Couric (TRUSTEE), Lester Crown (TRUSTEE), Paula Crown (TRUSTEE), Andrea Cunningham (TRUSTEE), Kenneth L Davis MD (TRUSTEE), L John Doerr (TRUSTEE - UNTIL 04/24), Thelma Duggin (TRUSTEE), Arne Duncan (TRUSTEE), Michael D Eisner (TRUSTEE), L Brooks Entwistle (TRUSTEE), Roger W Ferguson Jr (TRUSTEE), and 44 more.
CEO pay by year
Each row is the CEO on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | Daniel R Porterfield CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $911,570 | $443,841,184 | Filing |
| Dec 2023 | Daniel Porterfield CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $843,443 | $232,109,335 | Filing |
| Dec 2022 | Daniel Porterfield CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $904,160 | $189,761,926 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending December 2024.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending December 2024, IRS object ID 202503019349301850.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Daniel R PorterfieldPRESIDENT & CEO | $802,875 | $108,695 | $797,994 | $0 | $4,881 | $52,213 | $56,482 | $911,570 |
| Elliot GersonEXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT | $498,051 | $87,302 | $486,000 | $0 | $12,051 | $40,879 | $46,423 | $585,353 |
| David Langstaff EvpUNTIL 11/24, SEN. ADV. TO PRES/CEO | $460,588 | $98,606 | $447,517 | $0 | $13,071 | $52,183 | $46,423 | $559,194 |
| Andrew AxelrodEVP FINANCE & EBD, TREASURER | $463,970 | $65,249 | $462,072 | $0 | $1,898 | $34,953 | $30,296 | $529,219 |
| James SpiegelmanEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | $378,027 | $104,283 | $349,830 | $0 | $28,197 | $51,143 | $53,140 | $482,310 |
These figures come from Aspen Institute's Form 990 returns, as the IRS publishes them. The methodology page explains how they're chosen. To report an error, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
How Aspen Institute compares
Ranked 14th of 15 research institutes by CEO pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 13th, American Chemical Society, $1,113,221
- Next in this ranking: 15th, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, $667,437
Closest in revenue among organizations in the same revenue band:
Environmental Defense Fund$1,233,884 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
Road Scholar$1,386,517 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Action for Boston Community Development$403,788 (CEO), fiscal year ending Aug 2025
ASPCA$1,226,402 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Legal Aid Society$374,850 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Common questions
Daniel R Porterfield (PRESIDENT & CEO) was paid $911,570 for the fiscal year ending December 2024: $802,875 from Aspen Institute and $108,695 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The CEO, Daniel R Porterfield, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $911,570.
Aspen Institute paid its CEO, Daniel R Porterfield, $911,570 for the fiscal year ending December 2024. That is up $68,127 (8.1%) from the fiscal year ending December 2023. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending December 2022, when the CEO was Daniel Porterfield, paid $904,160. By fiscal year end: December 2022, $904,160 (Daniel Porterfield); December 2023, $843,443; December 2024, $911,570.
Aspen Institute's return for the fiscal year ending December 2024 reports total expenses of $234,264,178 and total revenue of $443,841,184 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so revenue exceeded expenses by $209,577,006. Expenses were $225,738,675 for the fiscal year ending December 2023, so they rose 3.8%. The CEO's pay of $911,570 equals 0.39% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 3 Form 990 returns Aspen Institute filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2024. The latest full-year return was filed on October 28, 2025. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending December 2024 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.