Day 1 – April 9, 2025

8:30-10:00 Networking Breakfast

• Royal Sonesta on Dupont Circle, 2121 P St NW, Washington DC

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Day 1 Forum Location: 100 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room SD-G11, Washington, DC

11:30 — Welcome

• Maureen Conway, Vice President at the Aspen Institute
• Joseph Blasi Director of the  Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing.

11:40 — Featured speaker

• Jim Bonham, CEO and President, The ESOP Association

11:50 — Featured Speaker

• Alex Brill, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

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11:30  — The Ownership Advantage 

• Dion Houtchins, Houtchens Industries, CEO and Chairman
• Leslie Kass, CEO, Lewis Tree Service
• Moderator: Mary Josephs, Founder and CEO, Verit Advisors, Contributor at Forbes Magazine

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12.40 Lunch

1:10 — Securing the Future of America’s Critical Industries

• Mike Garvey, Former CEO, M-7 Technologies 
• Greg Graves, Former CEO and President, Burns & McDonnell 
• Chris Griswold, Policy Director, American Compass 
• Fidan Kurtulus, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Jack Moriarty, Executive Director, Lafayette Square Institute

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2:00 — Remarks

• The Honorable Bill Cassidy, US Senator from the State of  Louisiana

2:05 — Owning It: Experiences from the Front Lines of Employee Ownership

• Ashley Bell, Inventory Coordinator, A Few Cool Hardware Stores 
• Adrian Flores, Project Manager, Accent Landscape Contractors 
• Sarah St. Onge, Inside Sales Engineer, Admix 
• Juan Carlos Lopez, Executive Associate, Cooperative Home Care Associates
• Moderator: Tim Garbinsky, Communications Director, National Center for Employee Ownership

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3:05 Break

3:15 — Featured Speaker 

• Danny Massey, Director of Policy and Communications, Expanding ESOPs

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3:35 — The Ownership Agenda: A Conversation with Policymakers

• Richard Phillips, Pensions and Tax Policy Director, US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
• Moderator: Ike Brannon, President, Capitol Policy Analytics, Senior Fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation

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4:15 — Featured Speakers

• Tammy Miller, Former Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota, Former CEO of Border States
• Julian McKinley, Co-Executive Director, Democracy at Work Institute

4:45 — Closing Remarks

Sarah Keh, Vice President of Inclusive Growth, Prudential Financial

5:00 End | Reception at Bistro Cacao, 316 Massachusetts Ave NE

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Day 2 – April 10, 2025

9:00 – Welcome

9:05 — Opening Remarks

• Dan Porterfield, President of the Aspen Institute

9:15 am — Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership

• Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development, Department of Africana Studies, John Jay College, City University of New York 
• Tammy Miller, Former Lieutenant Governor, State of North Dakota
• Phil Reeves, Founding Partner, Apis and Heritage
• Jesse Walker, Book Editor, Reason Magazine
• Leslie Wilson, Dean, Wilson College of Business, University of Northern Iowa

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10:15 — Attendee Breakout Conversations

11:15 – Break

11:30  — The Future of the American Worker

• Xavier De Souza Briggs, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institute 
• Chris Griswold, Policy Director, American Compass 
• Adria Powell, President and CEO, Cooperative Home Care Associates 
• Michael Quarrey, Vice President Corporate Development, Web Industries
• Moderator: Emma Goldberg, Reporter, The New York Times

Closing Reflections: Christos Makridis, Associate Professor, Arizona State University; Previously Served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers

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12:30 – Lunch

1:30 — Remarks

• Margot Brandenburg, Senior Program Officer – Mission Investments, Ford Foundation

1:35 — Bridging the Gap: Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership

• Ted Margarit, Managing Partner, Paralign Capital Partners 
• Catherine Toner, Managing Director of Impact Investing, Gary Community Ventures 
• Lindsey Zizumbo, Executive Director, Sorenson Impact Foundation  
• Moderator: Alison Lingane, Founder, Ownership Capital Labs

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2:30 – Break

2:45 — Strengthening Small Business through Employee Ownership

• Kevin Clegg, CEO, Clegg Auto 
• Rachel Hockenberger, CEO and Director, Parma Holding Companies
• Sean-Tamba Matthew, Shareholder, SES ESOP Strategies
• Moderator: Anne-Claire Broughton, Founder and Board Vice Chair, North Carolina Employee Ownership Center 

Closing Remarks: Loren Rodgers, Executive Director, NCEO

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3:45 — Industry Spotlight: Healthcare 

• Terrell Cannon, Director of Training and Workforce Development, Home Care Associates
• Katrina Kazda, Vice President of Home Care Innovations, The ICA Group
• Terry Leahy, CEO, MyPath Companies
• Moderator: Adria Scharf, Associate Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing

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4:30 — Featured Speaker 

• Stephanie Silverman, President and CEO, Employee Owned S Corporations of America

4:40 — Closing Remarks

• Gwyneth Galbraith, Vice President of Global Small Business, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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Thank you to our colleagues at the Ford Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Prudential Financial for their generous support of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum. Rutgers University also appreciates the support of the Sorenson Impact Foundation for its support of this convening and other events in 2025.