Panel Sessions — Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2025
Virtual sessions are now open for this year’s Employee Ownership Ideas Forum. Grab an all-day pass to take part in all discussions on our agenda, or sign up for select individual sessions on Zoom below. (Note: All programming is included with an all-day pass; you do not need to register for individual sessions.)
Day 1 – April 9, 2025
12:00 — Panel — The Ownership Advantage
- Dion Houchins, Houchens Industries, CEO and Chairman
- Leslie Kass, CEO, Lewis Tree Service
- Moderator: Mary Josephs, Founder and CEO, Verit Advisors, Contributor at Forbes Magazine
REGISTER FOR PANEL ON ZOOM
1.10 — Panel — 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; Associate Director for Policy Analysis, Rutgers Institute
Learn more about this Panel
2:10 — Panel — 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
Learn more about this PaneL
3:35 — Panel — The Ownership Agenda: Views From the Hill
- Cassie Brzezinski, Policy Adviser, Office of US Senator Christopher Van Hollen
- Greg Facchiano, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs, The ESOP Association
- Andrew Mansell, Legislative Assistant, Office of Rep. Blake Moore (UT-01)
- 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
Learn more about this Panel
Day 2 – April 10, 2025
9.15 — 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
Learn more about this Panel
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
Learn more about this Panel
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
2:45 Strengthening Small Business Through Employee Ownership
- Kevin Clegg, CEO, Clegg Auto
- Rachel Hockenberger, CEO and Director, Parman 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
Learn more about this panel
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
Learn more about this Panel
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.
For more information about this event, email: eop.program@aspeninstitute.org
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.
Join our mailing list for updates and information.