Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
Speakers — Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2025
Note: This is a past event, additional resources may be available below.
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, “From Workers to Owners”, will highlight how the experience of ownership changes the reality of work for workers. The forum will highlight companies in a range of business sectors and explore how employee ownership fits their business strategy and approach to business leadership. We will also discuss the particular role employee ownership can play in supporting business success, and we will consider the role institutional investors can play in improving capital access for employee ownership conversions and expansions.
Ashley Bell
Inventory Manager
A Few Cool Hardware Stores
Joseph Blasi
J. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor and Director
Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Rutgers University SMLR
Jim Bonham
President and CEO
The ESOP Association
Margot Brandenburg
Senior Program Officer, Mission Investments Team
The Ford Foundation
Ike Brannon
President
Capital Policy Analytics
Alex Brill
Senior Fellow
American Enterprise Institute
Anne-Claire Broughton
Founder and Board Vice Chair
North Carolina Employee Ownership Center
The Honorable Bill Cassidy
US Senator
State of Louisiana
Kevin Clegg
Founder
Clegg Auto
Maureen Conway
A Vice President
The Aspen Institute
Xavier de Souza Briggs
Senior Fellow
Brookings Metro
Adrian Flores
Project Manager
Accent Landscape Contractors
Gwyneth Galbraith
Vice President, Global Small Business Philanthropy
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Tim Garbinsky
Communications Director
National Center for Employee Ownership
Michael Garvey
Chairman of the Board
M7 Technologies
Emma Goldberg
Reporter
The New York Times
Jessica Gordon-Nembhard
Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Greg Graves
Former President, CEO, and Chairman
Burns & McDonnell
Chris Griswold
Policy Director
American Compass
Matt Helmer
Managing Director, Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute
Rachel Hockenberger
CEO and Director
Parman Holdings Corporation
Melissa Hoover
Senior Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
Rutgers University; Special Projects Director, Democracy at Work Institute
Dion Houchins
CEO and Chairman of the Board
Houchens Industries
Mary Josephs
Founder and CEO Verit Advisors, Contributor at Forbes Magazine
Leslie Kass
CEO and Chairwoman of the Board
Lewis Tree Service
Katrina Kazda
Vice President, Home Care Innovations
The ICA Group, Inc.
Sarah Keh
Vice President of Inclusive Solutions
Prudential Financial
Fidan Kurtulus
Professor of Economics
UMass Amherst
Terry Leahy
CEO
MyPath
Alison Lingane
Founder and CEO
Ownership Capital Lab
Juan Carlos Lopez
Executive Associate
Cooperative Home Care Associates
Christos Makridis
Associate Professor Arizona State University; Previously Served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers
Andrew Mansell
Legislative Assistant Rep. Blake Moore (UT-01)
Ted Margarit
Managing Partner
Paralign
Daniel Massey
Head of Strategy and Communications
Expanding ESOPs
Sean-Tamba Matthew
Shareholder
SES ESOP Strategies
Julian McKinley
Co-Executive Director
Democracy at Work Institute
Christopher Michael
Senior Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing,
Rutgers University
Tammy J. Miller
39th Lt Governor, State of North Dakota;
Retired CEO, Border States
The Honorable Blake Moore
US Congressman, Utah, District 1
Jack Moriarty
Executive Director
Lafayette Square Institute; Associate Director for Policy Analysis Rutgers Institute
Dan Porterfield
President and CEO
The Aspen Institute
Adria Powell
President and CEO
Cooperative Home Care Associates
Michael Quarrey
Vice President Corporate Development Web Industries
Philip Reeves
Founding Partner
Apis & Heritage
Loren Rodgers
Executive Director
National Center for Employee Ownership
Adria Scharf
Associate Director, Institute for Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
Rutgers University
Stephanie Silverman
President and CEO
ESCA
Sarah St.Onge
Inside Sales Engineer
Admix
Catherine Toner
Managing Director of Impact Investing
Gary Community Ventures
Lori Trahan
US Congresswoman
Massachusetts, District 3
Chris Van Hollen
US Senator
State of Maryland
Jesse Walker
Books Editor
Reason
Leslie Wilson
Dean, David W. Wilson College of Business
University of Northern Iowa
Lindsay Zizumbo
Executive Director
Sorenson Impact Fund
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.
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.
For the benefit of workers, businesses, and our society, we need to build workplace heat safety into our culture, policies, and practices if we are to adapt to our warming planet. Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on Wednesday, July 30, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, on Zoom to learn about how the warming climate is affecting workers, and what policymakers, businesses, and labor are doing to keep workers safe. This event is part of EOP’s Opportunity in America conversation series.
“The Future of Equal Opportunity,” will explore the current landscape, emerging challenges, and the strategies needed to protect and strengthen opportunity in the American workplace.
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program will soon release a report, Fixing Work: Lessons from Job Quality Practitioners, based on in-depth interviews with more than 20 leaders across the country about the work they are doing to create good jobs that provide economic security, the opportunity to advance and grow, and a safe, dignified, and equitable workplace.
Hear from CDFIs about their approaches to building job quality advising into their work, and share your questions and comments. We are eager to hear what you think!
In addition to providing an overview of the nomination and application process, we’re pleased to welcome two Job Quality Fellows to this conversation — Neidi Dominguez Zamorano, founding executive director of Organized Power in Numbers, and Bo Delp, executive director of the Texas Climate Jobs Project — who will share their experience as members of the Fellowship.
The Honorable Bill Cassidy
