Events and Webinars

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program hosts a variety of discussions to advance strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

Join our mailing list and follow us on social media to learn about upcoming events and webinars.


Upcoming and Recent Events

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Economic Opportunity

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

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Work and the Social Contract in the Age of AI: How did we get here?
Economic Opportunity
Disposable Workers: A Book Talk with MIT Sloan Professor Paul Osterman
Economic Opportunity
The Impact of Foundational Skills on Workforce Success
Economic Opportunity
Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2026: Owning America’s Future
Economic Opportunity
Ownership During the AI Revolution
Economic Opportunity

Ownership During the AI Revolution

| Washington, DC

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When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households
Economic Opportunity
Investing in Job Quality in the South
Economic Opportunity

Investing in Job Quality in the South

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Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens
Economic Opportunity

Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens

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Current Series

Opportunity in America

2019—Present

Opportunity in America considers the changing landscape of economic opportunity in the US and implications for individuals, families, and communities across the country. The series highlights the ways in which issues of race, gender, and place exacerbate our economic divides, and ideas and innovations with potential to address these challenges and broaden access to quality opportunity.

Job Quality in Practice

2019—Present

Job Quality in Practice webinars provide actionable tools and guidance to support leaders across geographies and fields — including workforce development, economic development, capital deployment, policy, worker advocacy, business, and higher education — to engage in practical action to improve jobs in their local communities and connect to a growing national conversation.

Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

2023—Present

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum — hosted in partnership with the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University — convenes policymakers, practitioners, researchers, philanthropists, investors, and leaders of employee-owned companies to learn about and discuss the latest in policy, research, finance, and practice.


Previous Series

Event Archive

All Past Events from the Economic Opportunities Program

Work and the Social Contract in the Age of AI: How did we get here?
Event

Work and the Social Contract in the Age of AI: How did we get here?

This session explores how reimagining ownership—from broad-based worker equity to public-interest frameworks—can ensure that the AI-powered economy generates a true “social dividend” rather than a private windfall. This event is part of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, happening June 2-3 in Washington DC and online.

Disposable Workers: A Book Talk with MIT Sloan Professor Paul Osterman
Event

Disposable Workers: A Book Talk with MIT Sloan Professor Paul Osterman

For decades, economists and policymakers have debated how to help workers get better jobs. But what if the more fundamental problem is that employers have systematically redesigned work itself to make a third of the workforce expendable? In his forthcoming book, “Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment,” MIT Sloan Professor Emeritus Paul Osterman examines this idea and what it would take to reverse it.

Metrics that Matter: Improving Financial Analysis of CDFI Small Business Lenders
Event

Metrics that Matter: Improving Financial Analysis of CDFI Small Business Lenders

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program’s Business Ownership Initiative on August 26, 2026 from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Eastern for a conversation: “Metrics that Matter: Improving Financial Analysis of CDFI Small Business Lenders”.

The Impact of Foundational Skills on Workforce Success
Event

The Impact of Foundational Skills on Workforce Success

Join UpSkill America and the Lumina Foundation for an exclusive look into how innovative employers are turning this challenge into an opportunity.

Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2026: Owning America’s Future
Event

Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2026: Owning America’s Future

The 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum will bring together leading policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the media for a robust discussion on how we can grow employee ownership for the shared benefit of American workers and businesses. 

Ownership During the AI Revolution
Event

Ownership During the AI Revolution

This session explores how reimagining ownership—from broad-based worker equity to public-interest frameworks—can ensure that the AI-powered economy generates a true “social dividend” rather than a private windfall. This event is part of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, happening June 2-3 in Washington DC and online.

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households
Event

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and UNITED for ALICE on May 19, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern for this next discussion in our Job Quality in Practice series as  examine the current data on ALICE households and what we’re learning about ALICE at WORK, an innovative approach to working with businesses to improve job quality.

Investing in Job Quality in the South
Event

Investing in Job Quality in the South

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:15 Eastern for “Investing in Job Quality in the South” This is the final of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens
Event

Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 21, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern for “Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens”.

Leading Change for Skills: Champions Across the Workforce Ecosystem
Event

Leading Change for Skills: Champions Across the Workforce Ecosystem

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 1, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:15 Eastern for “Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South” Join us for the third of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South
Event

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 1, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:15 Eastern for “Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South” Join us for the third of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

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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More from the Economic Opportunities Program

Resource Roundup: Data Centers and the Workforce
Blog Posts
Work and the Social Contract in the Age of AI: How did we get here?
Podcasts Videos

Work and the Social Contract in the Age of AI: How did we get here?

“Social contract” has quickly become one of the most-used, least-defined phrases in the AI policy conversation. This first event in a two-part series will trace the origin and history of the American social contract, examining how work became the anchor of economic security, mobility, and civic identity in the United States.

Disposable Workers: A Book Talk with MIT Sloan Professor Paul Osterman
Podcasts Videos

Disposable Workers: A Book Talk with MIT Sloan Professor Paul Osterman

For decades, economists and policymakers have debated how to help workers get better jobs. But what if the more fundamental problem is that employers have systematically redesigned work itself to make a third of the workforce expendable? In his forthcoming book, “Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment,” MIT Sloan Professor Emeritus Paul Osterman examines this idea and what it would take to reverse it.

The Workforce of the Future Starts with Adult Basic Education
Blog Posts

The Workforce of the Future Starts with Adult Basic Education

To create a future-ready workforce system, we must move beyond outdated credentials and analog processes to one that is skills-first, transparent, data-driven, and aligned with the evolving needs of workers, educators, and employers.

Foundational Skills: Early Insights from Employers and Providers
Publications

Foundational Skills: Early Insights from Employers and Providers

This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.

How Tax Policy Can Help Employers Expand Access to Learning
Podcasts Videos

How Tax Policy Can Help Employers Expand Access to Learning

In this interview, Chelsea Miller of Upskill America speaks with Nick Greif of InStride about how employers can design education benefits that are more accessible, strategic, and aligned with workforce goals.