James C. Calaway was a philanthropist-businessman who resided in Carbondale, Colorado. He was the son of poor tenant farmers in Texas and was the first in his family to ever attend college. He served as the Chair of the Aspen Institutes Society of Fellows before he became a trustee in 1997. In 2000 he was selected as an Honorary Trustee, and later appointed to the Council of Honorary Trustees after its creation. Calaway was in the oil and gas exploration business for over 40 years and retired as Chairman of Edge Petroleum in the late 1980s. He partnered with his son in building wind farms in several states to generate renewable energy.