The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization whose mission is “to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues.”

And this year, two elected officials from Colorado are among 24 Rodel Fellows getting a chance to participate in a public leadership program in February.

State Rep. Crisanta Duran, the majority leader of Colorado’s lower house, and Denver Councilman Albus Brooks are both part of this year’s Rodel Fellows class.

Each Rodel Fellow “has been identified as one of America’s true rising political stars.”

Duran had a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention. Brooks was recently named president of the Denver City Council.

The Aspen Institute is based in Washington, D.C., but it has a conference center in Aspen. The Institute puts on the Aspen Ideas Festival, where smart and/or important people get together in the mountains to talk about smart and/or important ideas.