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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September 2, 20261 hr 0 min
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 picture of how effectively a CDFI small business lender is deploying capital, managing risk, serving its target market, and positioning itself for long-term sustainability. In the present moment, navigating the most effective strategies and solutions is more important than ever. This session — hosted by the the Aspen Institute’s Business Ownership Initiative on August 26, 2026 — explores an emerging framework that seeks to move beyond compliance-oriented reporting toward a more integrated view of organizational performance. Participants examine how decisions related to risk, pricing, capitalization, deployment, and operating costs influence both mission outcomes and financial strength and discuss what metrics may better support real-time decision-making for leadership teams, boards, funders, and investors. Our speakers include BOI Senior Director Joyce Klein and Aspen Institute Senior Fellow Brett Simmons, principal at Blue Aster Advising. For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website . For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.
August 25, 202658 min
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 Foundation on August 18, 2026 — offers an exclusive look into how innovative employers are turning this challenge into an opportunity. Drawing on early insights from our forthcoming national landscape analysis, this conversation explores the practical impact of foundational skill gaps and highlights the cutting-edge solutions leading companies are deploying to bridge them. Our speakers include Della Adams (Tyson Foods), Quentin Bradley (Ochsner Health), Joe Dunlap (CJK Group), Georgia Reagan (Lumina Foundation), and moderator Chelsea Miller (UpSkill America). For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website . For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.
August 3, 202659 min
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 clear: millions of Americans are working jobs that do not pay enough, do not offer stability, and do not provide a real path forward. And businesses — in health care, child care, hospitality, food service and other large employment sectors — seek to hire even more people into such jobs. In their new book, “ Help Wanted: How To Find and Keep Talent in a Forever-Tight Labor Market ,” authors Steve Dawson and Jerry Rubin argue that demographic realities, including an aging population, slowing growth, and declining workforce participation, mean the competition for workers is structural and long-term, not a temporary blip. Rather than treating workers as a cost to be minimized, they argue that investing in people is now a competitive necessity, and they introduce readers to business leaders who are redesigning jobs, recruiting differently, and partnering with workforce organizations to attract and retain the talent their businesses depend on. This conversation — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on July 29, 2026 — goes beyond the employer-competitiveness frame to ask harder questions: How can we redesign work to maximize the value of all workers? How can businesses organize and advocate on behalf of their workforces? What barriers keep businesses from changing practice? And what role can policy, philanthropy, and workforce intermediaries play in redesigning work at scale? Our speakers include Dawson, Rubin, and moderator Maureen Conway, a vice president at the Aspen Institute and executive director of the Economic Opportunities Program. For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website . This event is part of our Opportunity in America series. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.
June 29, 202658 min
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 required societally to prioritize worker ownership and economic empowerment. Panelists discuss how a strong internal culture of ownership protects the dignity of work in an automated age and serves as a powerful competitive advantage, while also exploring the changes required to shift our economy towards a new understanding of ownership and profit distribution. Our speakers include Evan Edwards (CEO and President, Project Equity); Melissa Hoover (Director of Ownership Culture, Apis & Heritage); Chris Mackin (Founder, Ownership Associates, Partner, American Working Capital); Anna-Lisa Miller (Executive Director, Ownership Works); and moderator Adria Scharf (Assistant Professor and Senior Associate Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Rutgers University; Director of the Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations). This video comes from 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 additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page . To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go. About this event: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University . The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future. The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership. We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.
June 28, 20268 min
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, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website . For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page . To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go. About this event: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University . The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future. The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership. We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.
June 27, 202650 min
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 take to make employee ownership a mainstream investment strategy — and what a future looks like in which financial institutions are active partners in expanding ownership across the American economy. Our speakers include Regina Carls (Managing Director and Head of ESOP Advisory, JPMorganChase); Jim Sorenson (Founder and CEO, Sorenson Impact Foundation); Chavon Sutton (Managing Director, Sustainable and Impact Investing, Cambridge Associates, LLC); Emily Thomas (Executive Director and the Head of Investing with Impact, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management); and moderator Jack Moriarty (Executive Director, Lafayette Square Institute). This video comes from 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 additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page . To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go. About this event: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University . The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future. The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership. We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.
June 26, 20268 min
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 bios, and additional resources, visit our website . For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page . To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go. About this event: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University . The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future. The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership. We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.
June 25, 202642 min
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 and the Livable Future Impact); and Sean-Tamba Matthew (Shareholder, Stevens & Lee and SES ESOP Strategies). This video comes from 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 additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page . To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go. About this event: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University . The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future. The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership. We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.
June 24, 202614 min
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 transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website . For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page . To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go. About this event: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University . The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future. The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership. We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.
June 23, 20267 min
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 transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website . For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page . To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel . Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go. About this event: The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University . The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future. The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership. We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.
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