Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — September 2025

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

We are pleased to present a selection of our work from the past month.

If a colleague shared this newsletter with you, consider subscribing to our mailing list or connecting on social media. To learn more about our work, visit aspeninstitute.org/eop.

Publications

• Bridging Small Business Support & Employment Law Compliance: A Toolkit for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) by Cynthia Ward, Hana Shepherd, Andrew Wolf, and Zuhur Ahmed
• The Role of Competency-Based Education in Strengthening Trust Between Employers and Higher Education by Haley Glover (UpSkill America) and Amber Garrison-Duncan (C-BEN)
• DREAM Charter Schools’ Approach to AI for Employees by Chelsea Miller and Chris Huyck Trou, UpSkill America
• Investing in People Is an Investment in the Business: Talent Development Leads to Strong Business Outcomes by Chelsea Miller, UpSkill Miller
• Building Bridges: Lessons from the ECCP Initiative by Haley Glover, UpSkill America
• Employer-Friendly Practices: Bridging Higher Ed Practices and Employer Realities by Haley Glover, UpSkill America

Click here to view more publications.

Commentary

• When adults can’t make ends meet, kids pay the price by Matt Helmer, in The Hill
• Worker Power in the Age of AI Monopolies: Why We Need Structural Solutions Now by Elizabeth Wilkins, for our series, “Back to the Future of Work”
• Building Better Jobs: How Small Businesses Can Lead the Way to Economic Opportunity by Lauren Starks and Maureen Conway
• Early Findings: Employer Perspectives on Skills Validation and Trust by Haley Glover, UpSkill America
• Reflections on the Future of Work from Aspen Ideas Festival 2025 by Liba Wenig Rubenstein, Future of Work Initiative

Click here to view more commentary.

Videos

The Future of Equal Opportunity, featuring Stacey Abrams, Kalpana Kotagal (EEOC), Dr. Manuel Pastor (USC), and moderator Natalie Foster (Economic Security Project)

• 10 Warning Signs Democracy Is at Risk and What We Can Do About It — Stacey Abrams
• 60 Years of Civil Rights Progress: Lessons from the EEOC — Kolpana Kotagal
• Tribes vs Mutuality: Why Equity Is the Key to Shared Prosperity — Manuel Pastor
• Equal Opportunity’s Promise and Challenges — Natalie Foster

The Future of the American Worker, from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, hosted in partnership with the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing

• Strengthening Care Work and Infrastructure Through Ownership – Adria Powell, Cooperative Home Care Associates
• Employee Ownership Builds More Resilient Companies – Michael Quarrey, Web Industries
• Why Employee Ownership Is the Right Model for This Moment – Xavier de Souza Briggs, Brookings Institution
• Building Bridges Through Employee Ownership – Chris Griswold, American Compass

Banking on Skills: Cara Collective and BMO Bank Partner for Change, featuring Liana Bran (Cara Plus), LaKeita Burns (BMO Bank), Paris Roney (BMO Bank), and Dee Wallace ( Aspen Institute)

Power At Work Blogcast #107: Artificial Intelligence Training for Union Teachers (and Others), featuring Roy Bahat, chair of the Aspen Business Roundtable on Organized Labor, in conversation with AFT President Randi Weingarten and Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris

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Podcasts

The Future of Equal Opportunity, featuring Stacey Abrams, Kalpana Kotagal (EEOC), Dr. Manuel Pastor (USC), and moderator Natalie Foster (Economic Security Project)

Banking on Skills: Cara Collective and BMO Bank Partner for Change, featuring Liana Bran (Cara Plus), LaKeita Burns (BMO Bank), Paris Roney (BMO Bank), and Dee Wallace ( Aspen Institute)

Power At Work Blogcast #107: Artificial Intelligence Training for Union Teachers (and Others), featuring Roy Bahat, chair of the Aspen Business Roundtable on Organized Labor, in conversation with AFT President Randi Weingarten and Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris

Click here to view more podcasts. Click here to subscribe.

Newsletters

• Job Quality Newsletter – Reflections Beyond Labor Day by Matt Helmer
• From the Forum — The Future of the American Worker by Frances Almodovar
• Resource Roundup — Worker Power in a Changing Economy by Maxwell Johnson
• Upcoming Events — September & October 2025
• Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — August 2025

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Upcoming Events

• October 9 — Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality (online).
• October 20-21 — Aspen Ideas: Economy (Newark, New Jersey).

Click here to view more events.