Employee Ownership Ideas Forum – 2024: Agenda
The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum brings together members of Congress and their staff, government officials, practitioners, researchers, think tanks, philanthropy, investors, and the leaders of employee-owned companies to learn about and discuss the latest in policy, research, finance, and practice. This year’s forum, “Employee Ownership on the Ground,” brought innovative employee share ownership initiatives and speakers from around the country to DC to highlight how this bipartisan approach to improving jobs, wealth creation, and business performance is helping create more equitable economies in states, cities, and rural communities. Click to view our videos, photos, briefs, speakers, and agenda.
Day 1 – April 9, 2024
10:00 am – Welcoming Remarks
- Maureen Conway, Vice President, The Aspen Institute, Executive director, Economic Opportunities Program
- Dan Porterfield, President, The Aspen Institute
- Adrienne Eaton, Dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University
- Jonathan Holloway, President, Rutgers University
10:20 am – Remarks from the Honorable Larry Bucshon, Congressman for the State of Indiana, 8th District
10:25 am – Innovations in State Employee Ownership Policy
- Mike Padden, State Senator, Washington
- Naquetta Ricks, State Representative, District 40, Colorado House of Representatives
- Kerry Siggins, CEO, StoneAge, Chair of Colorado Employee Ownership Commission
- Paul Kinghorn, Director, Center for Business and Innovation Growth/Advance Iowa, University of Northern Iowa
- Zach Warmbrodt, Financial Services Editor (moderator)
11:40 am – Break
12:00 pm – Hometown Ownership: The Impact of Employee Ownership in Rural Communities
- Daniel Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer, Go ESOP LLC, Executive Fellow, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
- Molly Hemstreet, Founder and Co-Executive Director, The Industrial Commons, Executive Fellow, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
- Jenny Levy, Executive Vice President, People, Community & Environment Hypertherm
- Michael Williams, CFO, Black & Veatch
- Jeff Guo, Co-host and Reporter for Planet Money, NPR (moderator)
1:15 pm – Lunch
2:00 pm – Employee Ownership, Strategic Sectors, and Supply Chain Resilience
- Mowa Haile, CEO, Underground, President, Sky Blue Builders
- Mariann Fuller, CFO, Columbia Chemical
- Joey Nestegard, CFO, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
- Rick Plympton, CEO, Optimax Systems Inc
- Adria Scharf, Associate Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Rutgers School (moderator)
3:00 pm – Remarks from Senator Chris Van Hollen, State of Maryland
3:05 pm – Break
3:15 pm – Federal Policy Update
- Jim Bonham, President and CEO, The ESOP Association
3:25 pm – Remarks from Senator Bernie Sanders, State of Vermont
3:30 pm – Federal Agencies Supporting Employee Ownership
- Lisa Gomez, Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Administration, US Department of Labor
- Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy, National Economic Council, The White House
- David Brown, Director of Policy, Office of the Administrator, US Small Business Administration
- Leroy Garcia, Chief of Staff, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, US Department of Agriculture
- Maureen Conway, Vice President, The Aspen Institute; Executive Director, Economic Opportunities Program (moderator)
4:45 pm – Closing Remarks
- Sarah Keh, Vice President, Inclusive Solutions, Prudential Financial
5:00 pm – Day 1 Conclusion
Day 2 – April 10, 2024
The Aspen Institute, Smith Room
9:00 am – Welcoming Remarks
- Maureen Conway – Vice President, the Aspen Institute; Executive director, the Economic Opportunities Program
- Margot Brandenburg – Senior Program Officer, The Ford Foundation
9:10 am – Innovations and Evolutions in Employee Ownership
- Christine Adee, Co-Chief Executive Officer, OwnersEdge, Inc.
- Chris Cooper, Director, Ohio Employee Ownership Center
- Corey Rosen, Founder and Senior Staff Member, National Center for Employee Ownership, Faculty Fellow and Member, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
- Aquilina Soriano Versoza, Executive Director, Pilipino Workers Center, Executive Fellow, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
- Mary Josephs, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Verit Advisors, Contributor, Forbes (moderator)
10:10 am – Break
10:20 am – New Frontiers in Employee Ownership Finance
- Amy Brakeman, Co-Founder, Unlock Ownership Fund
- Phil Reeves, Founding Partner, Apis & Heritage Capital Partners
- Zoe Schlag, Cofounder and Managing Partner, Common Trust, Executive Fellow, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
- Jim Sorenson, Founder, Sorenson Impact Group
- Melissa Hoover, Senior Fellow, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Special Projects Director, Democracy at Work Institute (moderator)
11:30 am – Lunch and Table Discussions (in-person)
1:00 pm – The Future of Equity Compensation
- Robert Patricelli, Senior Advisor, InTandem Capital Partners
- Anna-Lisa Miller, Founding Executive Director, Ownership Works
- Anthony Cimino, Vice President and Head of Policy, Carta
- Barbara Baksa, Executive Director, National Association of Stock Plan Professionals
- Adria Scharf, Associate Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Rutgers School (moderator)
2:30 pm – In-person Breakout Conversations
4:15 pm – Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership
- Christine Curella, Former Senior Policy Adviser to Deputy Mayor of New York City, Economic Development Consultant
- Evan Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, Project Equity
- Chris Griswold, Policy Director, American Compass
- Wilma Liebman, Former National Labor Relations Board Chair, Senior Fellow, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
- Jason Wiener, Member, Colorado Employee Ownership Commission, Executive Fellow, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
4:45 pm – Closing Remarks
Gwyneth Galbraith, Vice President, Global Small Business Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase
5.30 pm – Reception
Day 3 – April 11, 2024
8:00 am – 5:00 pm – Purpose Trust Ownership Convening (Invitation Only)
Project Equity, EO+WD, and Purpose Owned are hosting a one-day convening on strengthening and expanding the field of purpose trust ownership. By invitation only.
Event information
Date
Tue Apr 9, 2024 - Wed Apr 10, 2024
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