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: 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

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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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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

Driving the Economy: The Essential and Undervalued Work of Truckers
Event

Driving the Economy: The Essential and Undervalued Work of Truckers

As a key pillar of our economy and supply chain, and one of the largest occupations in the US, the job quality of workers in the trucking sector has far-reaching implications. Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on March 19 to explore the challenges truckers face and ideas for improving the returns for the essential work they do.

Re-Entry and Good Jobs: Building the Second Chances We All Believe In
Event

Re-Entry and Good Jobs: Building the Second Chances We All Believe In

Many returning citizens, who worked for little or no pay while incarcerated, will struggle to find quality jobs after release. Join us on Wednesday February 26, 2025 from 2:00pm – 3:30pm EST to explore the opportunities and challenges accessing good jobs for people after incarceration.

A New Year’s Resolution to Reject Over Work — A Book Talk with Brigid Schulte
Event

A New Year’s Resolution to Reject Over Work — A Book Talk with Brigid Schulte

By confronting the glorification of overwork and advancing practical, people-centered policies, “Over Work” offers a roadmap toward a balanced and better life for all.

Workplace Democracy: Sharing Power and Decision Making at Work
Event

Workplace Democracy: Sharing Power and Decision Making at Work

A panel of experts and practitioners will share insights on how different democratic structures and strategies can create better workplaces and businesses.

Community Benefits Agreements: A Tool for Creating Good Jobs
Event

Community Benefits Agreements: A Tool for Creating Good Jobs

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), binding agreements created between community groups and organizations like real estate developers or large employers, are a powerful alternative that ensure people have a real say in shaping the outcomes these new investments will create for their communities.

A Hidden Workforce: Prison Labor, Human Rights, and the Legacy of Slavery
Event

A Hidden Workforce: Prison Labor, Human Rights, and the Legacy of Slavery

The majority of incarcerated workers in the US, who are disproportionately Black and people of color, are often required to work or face retaliation such as solitary confinement, denial of opportunities to reduce their sentence, and loss of family visitation.

Seizing the Moment on Worker Rights: A Toolkit for Organizers and Practitioners
Event

Seizing the Moment on Worker Rights: A Toolkit for Organizers and Practitioners

How to demystify and democratize the policy-making process and bridge the gap between grassroots movements and government.

Tapping into Worker Voice to Improve Job Quality: Lessons from the Talent Pipeline Management Network
Event

Tapping into Worker Voice to Improve Job Quality: Lessons from the Talent Pipeline Management Network

This event is part of the Economic Opportunities Program’s Job Quality in Practice series.

The Workers Behind Our Groceries: A Book Talk with Benjamin Lorr
Event

The Workers Behind Our Groceries: A Book Talk with Benjamin Lorr

In “The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket,” author Benjamin Lorr traces the history and evolution of the modern-day supermarket, exposes the grocery supply chain, and reveals the often exploited and underpaid labor that goes into making sure shelves are stocked.

The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America’s Next Economy
Event

The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America’s Next Economy

Join us online May 15 to imagine a new economic framework that that builds economic security and well-being from the bottom up.

The Future of Equity Compensation
Event

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

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