What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Date
2:00pm – 3:15pm EDT
Location
Contact
Hosts
Employee ownership has deep roots in the United States, from profit sharing in the cod fishing industry during the nation’s founding era to the early cooperatives formed by formerly enslaved people to the creation of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in 1974. Today, ESOPs, cooperatives, employee ownership trusts (EOTs), and new forms of ownership and profit sharing continue to expand what employee ownership can look like as we pursue a fairer economy where workers can share in the wealth and value they create.
Employee owners themselves bring a critical perspective to building effective employee-owned companies and expanding the model. Workers know best which elements of ownership matter most, so their voices are important in designing ownership plans, putting them into practice, and evaluating outcomes. Understanding those perspectives can help companies develop workplace practices that let employee ownership thrive and help policymakers craft policies that support its growth.
The Economic Opportunities Program’s forthcoming report, What Employee Ownership Means to Workers, shares the perspectives and experiences of workers at companies with different forms of employee ownership: ESOPs, EOTs, worker cooperatives, and broad-based equity compensation plans.
Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program for What Employee Ownership Means to Workers virtually on October 29, 2026, from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. ET. Hear findings from the report and a panel conversation featuring four employee-owners who participated in the research, as part of our celebration of Employee Ownership Month.
Speakers
Randy Gallo
Eastern Region Vice President, Threaded Fasteners
Bio
coming soon
Paulette LaDouceur
General Manager, Capital Homecare Cooperative
Bio
coming soon
Craig Moss
VP of Wholesale Transportation, Integrated Specialty Coverages
Bio
coming soon
Mary Wilder
Previous Worker Owner and Board Director at Shine Nurture Center Cooperative
Bio
coming soon
Katiuska Yanez
People Lead, Ocaquatics Swim School
Bio
coming soon
Moderator
Matt Helmer
Director of Job Quality and Worker Well-being, Economic Opportunities Program
Bio
Matt Helmer is director of job quality and worker well-being at the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and joined the program in April 2022. Matt’s work focuses on developing conversations, tools, and research that advance job quality, equity, and economic security for workers with low and moderate incomes. He worked for the Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative (WSI) from 2009 to 2014. With WSI, Matt researched community college and nonprofit partnerships and construction pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, facilitated the Sector Skills Academy, and supported the Reinventing Low-Wage Work and Working in America discussion series.
Matt has a background in workforce development, affordable housing, and adult education. Before rejoining the Institute in 2022, Matt worked for the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA), where he led a team of analysts and project managers charged with advancing the agency’s strategic priorities. Matt helped lead the development and implementation of workforce development and asset building programs, eviction prevention strategies, and trauma-informed customer service. Before joining SHA, Matt was a senior policy analyst at the Seattle Jobs Initiative, where he evaluated workforce development programs and conducted research on job quality and economic development issues in the Seattle region. Prior to coming to the Institute in 2009, Matt worked for a local nonprofit in Seattle supporting immigrants and refugees, served in Damascus as a senior English language fellow for the US State Department, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tonga. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in teaching English to speakers of other languages from Southern Illinois University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington. Matt lives outside Seattle with his wife and two sons and enjoys spending time with them exploring the beaches, mountains, and forests of the Pacific Northwest.
About Opportunity in America
Opportunity in America, an event series hosted by the Economic Opportunities Program, considers the changing landscape of economic opportunity in the US and implications for individuals, families, and communities across the country.
About the Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.
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