Economic Opportunities Program Upcoming Events — March 2026

March 5 — Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy

Thursday, March 5, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, on Zoom

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 create better working conditions and a more equitable economy can fall short for similar reasons. So what does it look like to have workers and their communities at the helm of job quality strategy and advocacy?

Join us for the second in our four-part event series on Fixing Work in the South. Drawing on the work of EOP’s Job Quality Fellows, this conversation — Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy — explores what kind of progress is possible when we lean on the expertise of workers and communities to inform strategy and empower them to shape a labor market that works for everyone.

Moderated by EOP Senior Research Associate Amanda Fins, attendees will hear from Job Quality Fellows Cecilia Behgam (Texas Climate Jobs Project), Kelly Brooks (Civic Works), Maya Ragsdale (Beyond the Bars), and Ben Wilkins (Union of Southern Service Workers). Click here to register.

March 5 — The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability (Livestream Only)

Thursday, March 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. Eastern time, on our website

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 United States. 

Join the Aspen Institute’s Business Ownership Initiative and the Responsible Business Lending Coalition on March 5 for the livestream of this event on the future of the small business economy and access to capital during this time of profound change. This event will feature panels with policymakers, small business owners and advocates, lenders, and technologists on solutions to support responsible innovation and sustainable small business prosperity.

To watch the livestream, visit this page on Thursday, March 5, starting at 1 p.m. ET. Click the “Add to Calendar” link at the top of the page for a calendar invite/reminder.

Members of the press who are interested in attending this event in person should contact Tony Mastria ([email protected]), associate director of communications for the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program.

This second-annual event builds on our discussions at the March 2025 event, “Advancing Innovation and Fairness in Small Business Finance” at the Aspen Institute.

March 18 — Maximizing the Value of Internships for Employers

Wednesday, March 18, from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern time, on Zoom

While the benefits of internships for students are well known, this webinar 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. Based on the forthcoming report, “Maximizing the Value of Internships: Advice from Employers,” we will share insights from 40 diverse organizations on how they leverage internships to solve persistent talent and operational challenges. Our panel of experts will discuss how leading companies define and measure the effectiveness of their programs to ensure a meaningful return on investment. Finally, we will provide actionable strategies for creating the internal conditions necessary to build sustainable, high-impact internship programs that benefit both your organization and the next generation of talent. Click here to register.

April 1 — Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South

Wednesday, April 1, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, on Zoom

For decades, economic and workforce development systems have measured success primarily through job creation and placement — the number of positions filled, businesses recruited, and workers placed. Yet for many workers, especially those in low-wage industries and economically distressed communities, job creation and placement has not translated into economic security or mobility. More economic and workforce development leaders have begun to reckon with this gap, recognizing that traditional approaches are falling short — not for lack of effort, but because the systems were never fully designed with making jobs better as a goal.

In response, a growing number of practitioners are experimenting with strategies that go beyond placement and retention to ask a more fundamental question: what makes a job worth having? Job quality strategies — which address wages, benefits, scheduling, worker voice, and pathways to advancement — are increasingly finding their way into the toolkits of a range of organizations. 

Join us to hear how the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

Our speakers include Job Quality Fellows Kim Eckert (Western Governors University), Colby Hall (Craft Philanthropy), Daniel Marshall (Alabama Center for Employee Ownership / Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.), Laurie Mays (Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Foundation), and moderator Matt Helmer (The Aspen Institute). This event is part of our Fixing Work in the South series, which brings together Job Quality Fellows who are on the frontlines of expanding access to good jobs in communities across the American South. Click here to register.

June 2-3 — Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

Tuesday and Wednesday, June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, hosted in partnership with theRutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, brings together leading policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the media for a robust discussion on how we can grow employee ownership for the shared benefit of American workers and businesses.

Registration will open soon. Visit our website to sign up for information and updates.