The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program — Events and Interviews
by The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. This podcast features audio from our events, webinars, interviews, and other conversations. Learn more at aspeninstitute.org/eop
Episodes
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Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes
Economic security shouldn’t be a lottery. Yet for millions of working families, stagnant wages and precarious jobs collide with the daily grind of managing money on shaky ground — leaving stability feeling less like a plan and more like a gamble. Fixing that takes more than one lever. It takes...
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Work and the Social Contract in the Age of AI: How did we get here?
“Social contract” has quickly become one of the most-used, least-defined phrases in the AI policy conversation. This first event in a two-part series will trace the origin and history of the American social contract, examining how work became the anchor of economic security, mobility, and civic...
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Disposable Workers: A Book Talk with MIT Sloan Professor Paul Osterman
For decades, economists and policymakers have debated how to help workers get better jobs. But what if the more fundamental problem is that employers have systematically redesigned work itself to make a third of the workforce expendable? In his forthcoming book, “Disposable Workers: The...
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How Tax Policy Can Help Employers Expand Access to Learning
Many employers want to help workers build new skills, advance into better jobs, and meet evolving business needs, but the systems designed to support employer-provided education benefits can be difficult to navigate. Longstanding tax policies like Section 127 and Section 132 offer employers...
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Metrics that Matter: Improving Financial Analysis of CDFI Small Business Lenders
CDFI boards, leadership teams, investors, and regulators have long relied on a familiar set of financial metrics to assess organizational performance. While measures such as delinquency, loan loss rates, self-sufficiency, and net asset ratios remain important, they often provide an incomplete...
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The Impact of Foundational Skills on Workforce Success
Foundational skills — including literacy, math, digital fluency, and English language proficiency — are critical elements for a thriving workforce. Yet, gaps in these essential skills stall employee growth and corporate goals alike. This conversation — hosted by UpSkill America and Lumina...
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The Necessity of Employee-Centered Strategies: A Book Talk with Steve Dawson and Jerry Rubin
We are living through a moment of profound uncertainty about the future of work. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are raising urgent questions about which jobs will survive, which will be transformed, and which will disappear entirely. Yet amid all the speculation, one thing is already...
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Shifting Culture to Advance Employee Ownership
Culture is an essential cornerstone that determines whether employee ownership translates into strong business outcomes and high quality jobs. This session explores the mindset shift required to move from passive participation to a vibrant culture of ownership, as well as the cultural shift...
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Fmr. NEC Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Bharat Ramamurti — former deputy director of the National Economic Council of the United States — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript…
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Moving Institutional Capital into Employee Ownership
Employee ownership has a compelling track record, but the model has yet to attract capital at the scale required to address the silver tsunami. That is beginning to change. This panel brings together investors and intermediaries from across the institutional landscape to explore what it would…
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Ford Foundation’s Margot Brandenburg Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Margot Brandenburg — senior program officer for mission investments at The Ford Foundation — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker…
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Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership (2026)
Our speakers include Sara Horowitz (Founder, Mutualist Society; Founder, Freelancers Union); Esteban Kelly (Executive Director, The US Federation of Worker Cooperatives); Ginny Vanderslice (Principal Emeritus, Praxis Consulting Group); Felipe Witchger (Executive Director, Francesco Collaborative...
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Prudential Financial’s Paula D’Ambrosa Opens Day Two of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Paula D’Ambrosa — director of inclusive wealth-building at Prudential Financial — delivers opening remarks on day two of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a...
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JPMorganChase’s Gwyneth Galbraith Closes Day One of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Gwyneth Galbraith — vice president and philanthropy program officer at JPMorganChase — delivers closing remarks on day one of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a...
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State Innovations in Employee Ownership
States are emerging as important laboratories for expanding employee ownership. From experimenting with new financing and investment tools to technical assistance and outreach programs, states are increasingly on the frontlines of helping more businesses transition to employee ownership. This...
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How Universal Capitalism Can Provide Economic Fairness: A Fireside Chat with Steven Hill
In this video, Maureen Conway — a vice president of the Aspen Institute and executive director of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program — speaks with Steven Hill — a fellow with the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing and author of the book, “Expand...
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Expanding ESOPs’ Danny Massey Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Danny Massey — head of strategy and communications for Expanding ESOPs — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional...
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Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing in Public Companies
Public companies employ the majority of America's workforce, yet broad-based employee ownership remains and profit sharing the exception rather than the rule. This session explores the current landscape of employee ownership in this sector, examines the opportunities and challenges for broader...
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NCEO’s Loren Rodgers Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Loren Rodgers — executive director of the National Center for Employee Ownership — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and...
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Apis & Heritage’s Phil Reeves Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Phil Reeves — founder and managing partner of Apis & Heritage — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources,...
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Made Here, Owned Here: Employee Ownership in Manufacturing
American manufacturing continues to face an uncertain future, with decades of offshoring and consolidation hollowing out communities and leaving workers behind. This session explores how employee ownership models can help sustain existing manufacturers, support the rebuilding of domestic…
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Sen. Tim Kaine Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, US Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website. For...
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ESOP Association’s Jim Bonham Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, Jim Bonham, president and CEO of The ESOP Association, speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our...
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Sen. Ron Johnson Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this video, US Senator from Wisconsin Ron Johnson speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website. For...
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What Ownership Means: Employee Owners in Their Own Words
Employee ownership looks compelling on paper, but what does it actually mean to have a stake in the place where you work? This session puts employee owners at the center, sharing firsthand accounts of how ownership has changed their relationship to their work, their workplace, and their futures,...
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A Few Cool Hardware Stores’ Gina Schaefer Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Gina Schaefer — founder and co-owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our...
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Maureen Conway and William Castellano Open the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
The Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway and Rutgers University’s William Castellano give opening remarks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online. For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and...
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Ownership During the AI Revolution
Artificial intelligence and automation promise to unleash a wave of productivity and economic growth — but without deliberate action, the gains will flow overwhelmingly to those who already own capital, deepening inequality and further disconnecting society from the value it helps create. This...
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When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households
More than two in five American households struggle to afford basic necessities, like housing, child care, food, and transportation in their communities. In addition to families below the federal poverty level, ALICE® households — those that are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — earn...
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Investing in Job Quality in the South
Improving job quality takes many forms and tactics — as does the funding that supports it. Some businesses need access to capital or technical assistance to build better jobs. Workers and advocates need resources to organize, push for higher standards, and shape the policies that govern work. And...
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Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens
A young person’s first job is a rite of passage in the US — an opportunity to build skills, save for college, support the family business, or support themselves and their loved ones. And after decades of decline, more teens are working today than at any point since 2008. Yet the labor market…
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Leading Change For Skills: Champions Across The Workforce Ecosystem
Finding great employees for any organization can be challenging, and keeping them on board presents its own challenges. In response, many creative leaders are adopting strategies that expand talent pipelines to reach a wider variety of candidates based on skills and competencies. Others are...
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Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy
Workers and communities know very well what good jobs – or bad jobs – look like, because they live this reality every day. Yet our labor market and policies are often designed without the input or leadership of workers or the communities they live in. As a result, even well-intentioned efforts to...
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Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South
For decades, economic and workforce development systems have measured success primarily through job creation — the number of positions filled, the businesses recruited, the unemployment rate reduced. Yet for many workers, especially those in low-wage industries and economically distressed...
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Maximizing the Value of Internships: Advice from Employers
While the benefits of internships for students are well known, this webinar — which took place on March 18, 2026 — dives into a first-of-its-kind study from Strada Education Foundation and UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute to explore how internship programs drive tangible business value.…
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Main Street Challenges and Policy Solutions — The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability
The small business economy, and the capital that fuels it, are changing in dramatic ways. Innovations in financing, new patterns of entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and shifting market and policy dynamics are reshaping what it means to own, operate, and grow a small business in the…
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Innovations Driving Small Business Lending Forward: It’s Not All About AI — The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability
The small business economy, and the capital that fuels it, are changing in dramatic ways. Innovations in financing, new patterns of entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and shifting market and policy dynamics are reshaping what it means to own, operate, and grow a small business in the…
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The Changing Role of Small Business Ownership — The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability
The small business economy, and the capital that fuels it, are changing in dramatic ways. Innovations in financing, new patterns of entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and shifting market and policy dynamics are reshaping what it means to own, operate, and grow a small business in the…
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Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South
Narratives about work in the American South have often centered on attracting business through lower labor costs, restrictions on unionization, and deregulation. The Southern economic development model, as this approach has come to be known, promised broad growth and prosperity. That prosperity…
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How Employer Support Contributes to Credential Completion: Lessons from Ivy Tech Community College
In this conversation, Haley Glover — senior director of UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute — speaks with Molly Dodge and Jennifer Gasiorek — leaders from Ivy Tech Community College — about RAND's recent report on the college's Achieve Your Degree (AYD) program. They discuss the importance of...
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Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules
Since the mid-1900s, the nine-to-five work schedule has often been viewed as the standard. For many workers, this schedule has never worked. Parenting and other caregiving responsibilities, health challenges, the pursuit of education and skills, existing employment, and other factors mean many...
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Back to the Future of Work: Revisiting the Past and Shaping the Future
When contemporary conversations on the “future of work” began a decade ago, most of the technologies that would define that term still resided comfortably in the realm of science fiction, or were only just emerging into public view — self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, and personal...
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Backsliding on Child Protections: The Return of Child Labor in the US
What many believe is a thing of the past is in fact an ever-growing crisis, with life and death consequences for children across the US. In a wave of rollbacks, at least 10 states have passed laws to restrict child labor protections in the last couple of years. Today, children as young as 13 are...
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Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality
With more than 40% of workers in the US employed by businesses with more than 1,000 employees, many look to the outsized influence these employers can have on how we design work and jobs. As a result, engaging and collaborating with these businesses where possible is necessary to improving job...
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Banking on Skills: Cara Collective and BMO Bank Partner for Change
As employers know, finding the right employee for a role can be difficult even during the best of times. Meanwhile, many workers with the right experience are locked out entirely because they lack the prescribed degrees or traditional academic credentials. Skills-based talent development brings...
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The Future of Equal Opportunity
A core shared value in American society, one deeply woven into our national narrative, is the belief in equal opportunity — the idea that everyone should have a fair chance to succeed based on their effort, talent, and ambition, regardless of their background. Equal opportunity in the American...
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Feeling the Heat: Workplace Safety in a Warming World
Each of the last ten years ranks among the hottest on record, with 2024 taking the top spot. As the world heats up, nearly a third of the workforce is at risk, especially workers in groundskeeping, construction, and agriculture. But it isn’t just outdoor workers who face danger. Many of the…
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Fixing Work: Recent Lessons from the Field
Efforts to improve work and working conditions in the US have been underway since our nation’s inception. While labor unions have historically led this work, the growing prevalence of low-wage, precarious jobs has inspired a broader movement. Today, a diverse array of leaders across sectors are...
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Joseph Blasi and Maureen Conway Give Closing Remarks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this clip, the Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway and Rutgers University’s Joseph Blasi provide closing remarks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum. For a transcript and additional resources, visit our website:...
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JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Gwyneth Galbraith Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
In this clip, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Gwyneth Galbraith speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum. For additional resources, visit our website: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/jpmorgan-chase-co-s-gwyneth-galbraith-speaks-at-the-2025-employee-ownership-ideas-forum/ Or subscribe to our...
About this show
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. This podcast features audio from our events, webinars, interviews, and other conversations. Learn more at aspeninstitute.org/eop
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