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.

We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity.

We collaborate with national and local leaders across the United States — nonprofit leaders, policymakers, labor leaders, business leaders, educators, academics, and more — and we actively seek input and ideas from individuals and communities affected by proposed approaches to address economic opportunity challenges. Through our leadership and fellowship programs, applied research and evaluation, data and analysis, and dialogue with diverse stakeholders, we work at both local and national levels to build understanding and galvanize action to address the challenge of economic opportunity in America.

Events

Economic Opportunity employee ownership

Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2026

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Publications

Shared Success Evaluation Results
Publications

Shared Success Evaluation Results

This endline evaluation of the Shared Success demonstration aims to understand the impact of the work of the 11 community lenders who integrated job quality programming into their small business support services.

Close-up photo of hands typing on a laptop keyboard
Publications

Upskilling Playbook: AI, Skill Development, and the Workforce

Leaders must view AI adoption as a development opportunity to redefine how capability is built, focusing on outcomes and consciously reinvesting capacity freed by automation to ensure growth and resilience for both the business and its people.

Integrating a Job Quality Practice in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): A Q&A
Publications

Integrating a Job Quality Practice in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): A Q&A

This Q&A provides insights and lessons from the work of 11 CDFIs that participated in Shared Success, a job quality demonstration led by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP).

Decorative photo of a row of people seated in a room, taking notes on paper
Publications

Job Quality Insights from Small Business Employees

Findings from this survey reinforce the importance of job quality for employee satisfaction.

The Case for Validated Skills: What Employers Want and Need
Publications
Durable Skills, Strong Starts: What Employers Really Want from Early- Career Talent
Publications

Durable Skills, Strong Starts: What Employers Really Want from Early- Career Talent

This piece is the first in a series. We will release additional briefs over the coming months that dive deeper into findings.

Blog Posts

To Help Small Businesses Recover From the L.A. Fires, Invest in Community Lenders
Blog Posts

To Help Small Businesses Recover From the L.A. Fires, Invest in Community Lenders

Nonprofit lenders often deploy funds faster than the government but need more capital to meet demand.

Resource Roundup: Life Beyond Work
Blog Posts

Resource Roundup: Life Beyond Work

The Power to Shape What Comes Next: Writing the Future of Work Together
Blog Posts

The Power to Shape What Comes Next: Writing the Future of Work Together

We get it right when we focus on fundamentals: recognize that job quality matters more than job quantity; center care work as essential to economic function; build coalitions across labor, technology policy, and civil society; understand that flexibility without security is precarity; remember that workers are also caregivers, creatives, and civic leaders.

A Clear Path Forward: Catalyzing Success for Working Learners in Texas Nursing Programs
Blog Posts

A Clear Path Forward: Catalyzing Success for Working Learners in Texas Nursing Programs

Forty-five dedicated leaders—representing nursing programs, critical hospital partners, regional workforce boards, and vital funder partners—convened in Austin.

UpSkill America & Guild Announce Third Cohort of Education and Career Mobility Fellowship
Blog Posts

UpSkill America & Guild Announce Third Cohort of Education and Career Mobility Fellowship

“We are delighted to welcome this new class of Fellows,” said UpSkill America Senior Director Haley Glover. “Supporting these leaders, who are joining a thriving community of alumni, to advance in their work and careers creating real value for their organizations and opportunities for their workforces is so rewarding. This is an incredibly impressive group.”

National Job Quality Practitioner Survey
Blog Posts Of Interest

National Job Quality Practitioner Survey

We’re in the last month of our #JobQuality survey. If your org is improving #JobQuality, add your voice to this survey from The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program by December 31st.

Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership
Blog Posts

Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership

Videos

Back to the Future of Work: Revisiting the Past and Shaping the Future
Podcasts Videos

Back to the Future of Work: Revisiting the Past and Shaping the Future

For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

Backsliding on Child Protections: The Return of Child Labor in the US
Podcasts Videos

Backsliding on Child Protections: The Return of Child Labor in the US

For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality
Podcasts Videos

Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality

This event is part of our Job Quality in Practice webinar series. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

Banking on Skills: Cara Collective and BMO Bank Partner for Change
Podcasts Videos

Banking on Skills: Cara Collective and BMO Bank Partner for Change

BMO Bank partnered with Cara Collective, a comprehensive workforce development nonprofit, to get qualified talent through the door and on the path to economic mobility.

The Future of Equal Opportunity
Videos

The Future of Equal Opportunity

A core shared value in American society, one deeply woven into our national narrative, is the belief in equal opportunity — the idea that everyone should have a fair chance to succeed based on their effort, talent, and ambition, regardless of their background.

Feeling the Heat: Workplace Safety in a Warming World
Videos

Feeling the Heat: Workplace Safety in a Warming World

In this event — hosted by the Economic Opportunities Program on July 30, 2025 — we learn how the warming climate is affecting workers, and what policymakers, businesses, and labor are doing to keep workers safe.

Fixing Work: Recent Lessons from the Field
Videos

Fixing Work: Recent Lessons from the Field

This webinar, which EOP hosted on July 22, 2025, offers fresh insights, practical lessons, and inspiration to advance job quality in your own work. It features opening remarks from the Aspen Institute’s Matt Helmer, followed by a panel discussion.

Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality: Lessons From CDFIS
Podcasts Videos

Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality: Lessons From CDFIS

This webinar, which EOP hosted on June 26, 2025, features highlights from the guide, as well as insights from CDFI leaders about their approaches to building job quality advising into their work. It features opening remarks from the Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway and Bryn Morgan, followed by a panel discussion with Amanda Blondeau (Northern Initiatives), Cynthia Murphy (Coastal Enterprises, Inc.), and Delphine Ntegeye (African Development Center).

Our team


Maureen Conway

Vice President; Executive Director

Matt Helmer

Director of Job Quality and Worker Well-Being

Joyce Klein

Senior Director

Haley Glover

Senior Director

Colleen Cunningham

Director of Grants Management and Publications

Merrit Stüven

Associate Director

Chelsea Miller

Associate Director

Tony Mastria

Associate Director of Communications

Natalie Foster

Senior Fellow

Louis Caditz-Peck

Senior Fellow

Dee Wallace

Senior Fellow

Leila Brown

Senior Project Manager

Bryn Morgan

Senior Research Associate

Amanda Fins

Senior Research Associate

Frances Almodovar

Communications Associate

Nora Heffernan

Digital Communications Associate

Maxwell Johnson

Senior Research Associate

Maya Smith

Research Associate

Chris Huyck Trout

Senior Advisor and Consultant

Sinin Young

Grants Management Associate

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