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

View Event

Work and the Social Contract in the Age of AI: Where do we go from here?
Economic Opportunity
Gouged — A Book Talk with Lindsay Owens
Economic Opportunity
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

View Event

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

View Event

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

Cashier working at supermarket
Event

Fresh Pathways: Strategies to Improve Job Quality and Equity in Food Retail

When we head to the supermarket, how often do we consider the workers who shape our experience?

Workers of many different occupations standing together
Event

The Aspen Institute Launches New Tool to Create Business Incentives by Measuring Good Jobs

Running a company with job quality in mind is good business.

Employment Law book with legal gavel
Event

The Justice System and Jobs: How Court Decisions Are Shaping Americans’ Work Lives

While employment-related court rulings can seem technical or dry, the impact of these rulings will be felt by virtually everyone with a job.

A group of smiling workers
Event

Having a Stake: The Potential of Employee Share Ownership for Workers and Businesses

Strategies that transform workers into owners can give them a stake in our growing economy and include them in the nation’s prosperity.

Drivers of Opportunity: How Will Latinos Shape the Future of the American Dream?
Event

Drivers of Opportunity: How Will Latinos Shape the Future of the American Dream?

How can we secure economic stability and mobility for Latino workers, families, and communities?

I Am Not a Tractor: A Book Talk and Discussion on Worker-Driven Social Responsibility
Event

I Am Not a Tractor: A Book Talk and Discussion on Worker-Driven Social Responsibility

How can we improve job quality in food production and beyond? Hear the story of the courageous farmworkers who fought fight for better conditions and won.

What’s in Store: The Future of Work in Retail
Event

What’s in Store: The Future of Work in Retail

As the retail industry evolves, what are the opportunities to create new jobs with potentially more productive, meaningful, and rewarding work?

Microloan Portfolio Management with Leslie Hoffman and Barbara Eckblad
Event

Microloan Portfolio Management with Leslie Hoffman and Barbara Eckblad

This webinar explores the best practices for portfolio management in tracking and reporting the risk that is inherent in a lending portfolio.

Race, Work, and Opportunity in America
Event

Race, Work, and Opportunity in America

How do we understand the experience of Black workers in the US, and what does it tell us about working in America today?

The Caring Economy: How to Improve Service and Work in the Long-Term Care Industry
Event

The Caring Economy: How to Improve Service and Work in the Long-Term Care Industry

How can we improve the quality of work and healthcare services in an industry of growing national importance?

Microloan Underwriting with Leslie Hoffman and Barbara Eckblad
Event

Microloan Underwriting with Leslie Hoffman and Barbara Eckblad

This webinar explores the classic “5 Cs” of small business credit analysis through the lens of microlending.

Dream Hoarders: A Book Talk with Richard Reeves
Event

Dream Hoarders: A Book Talk with Richard Reeves

In his new book, Richard Reeves contends that members of America’s upper middle class are becoming more effective at “opportunity hoarding.”

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.

Join Our Mailing List

To receive occasional emails about our work — including new publications, commentary, events, fellowships, and more — join our mailing list.

Connect on Social Media

For news and updates every day, connect with us on the social media platform of your choice.

More from the Economic Opportunities Program

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes
Podcasts Videos

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes

Economic security shouldn’t be a lottery. Yet for millions of working families, stagnant wages and precarious jobs collide with the daily grind of managing money on shaky ground — leaving stability feeling less like a plan and more like a gamble. Fixing that takes more than one lever. It takes structural reform and the tools people need to take control of their financial lives, working together.

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Publications

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

Firms differ in how equity or profit is allocated, how long the ownership structure is intended to last, and how workers participate in governance and the workplace, all of which affect how workers experience ownership.

Employer-Friendly Practices: A Guide for Higher Education
Publications

Employer-Friendly Practices: A Guide for Higher Education

This resource is designed to help colleges and universities become more employer-friendly and build the kind of institutional capacity that sustains and grows partnerships while simultaneously better serving working learners. It offers role-specific guidance for leaders across the institution, a self-assessment spanning five domains of practice, and a process for turning results into action, grounded in the conviction that institution/employer partnerships can become easier without compromising academic missions.

MillerKnoll: Developing Operations Leaders from Within and Beyond — A Case Study in Structured Talent Development
Publications

MillerKnoll: Developing Operations Leaders from Within and Beyond — A Case Study in Structured Talent Development

Bridge, Propel, and Career Academy are built on a practical philosophy: that MillerKnoll has great talent already inside the organization. Finding that talent, developing it, and aligning it to the right opportunities is key to its success. T

A Typology of State-Supported Work-Connected Learning Programs
Publications

A Typology of State-Supported Work-Connected Learning Programs

States invest in work-connected learning through dozens of distinct funding streams, grant programs, and agency initiatives, often developed independently over time by different administrations and agencies pursuing different goals.

Resource Roundup: Data Centers and the Workforce
Blog Posts