Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum brings 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.

It is hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing.

Blog Posts

Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership
Blog Posts

Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership

Securing The Future of America’s Critical Industries
Blog Posts

Securing The Future of America’s Critical Industries

Graphic image featuring headshots of four speakers: Adria Powell, Michael Quarrey, Xavier de Souza Briggs, Chris Griswold
Blog Posts

The Future of the American Worker

Graphic image featuring headshots of four speakers: Sarah St.Onge, Adrian Flores, Ashley Bell, and Juan Carlos Lopez.
Blog Posts
Graphic image featuring headshots of three speakers: Rachel Hockenberger, Sean-Tamba Matthew, and Kevin Clegg.
Blog Posts

Small Business, Community, and Local Ownership

Publications

Policy Brief on the Study, “Employee Share Ownership, Management Practices, and Labor Productivity: An Analysis Using Establishment Level Micro-Data from the US Census”
Publications

Policy Brief on the Study, “Employee Share Ownership, Management Practices, and Labor Productivity: An Analysis Using Establishment Level Micro-Data from the US Census”

  • Fidan Ana Kurtulus
  • Eric Hoyt
  • Paige Ouimet
  • Joseph Blasi
  • Douglas Kruse
  • Richard Freeman
  • William Castellano
Employee Ownership and ESOPs: What We Know from Recent Research (2026)
Publications

Employee Ownership and ESOPs: What We Know from Recent Research (2026)

  • Joseph Blasi
  • Douglas Kruse
Employee Ownership and ESOPs – What We Know from Recent Research
Publications

Employee Ownership and ESOPs – What We Know from Recent Research

  • Joseph Blasi
  • Douglas Kruse
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Publications

How Many Firms Are Good Candidates for Employee Ownership?

  • Matt Mazewski, Ph.D.
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Publications

Ownership With a Purpose

This profile of Clegg Auto illustrates the company’s experience becoming employee-owned, the innovative holding company model it pursued, and its employees’ perspective on the transition and what ownership means to them.

ATTACHMENT DETAILS Cover-ESOPs-in-the-Manufacturing-Industry
Publications

ESOPs in the Manufacturing Industry

ESOPs in Rural Areas
Publications

ESOPs in Rural Areas

  • Douglas Kruse
  • Joseph Blasi
  • Jack Moriarty

Events

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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Industry Spotlight: Healthcare

Industry Spotlight: Healthcare

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The Future of the American Worker

The Future of the American Worker

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Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership

Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership

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Video Archive

Videos from the Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

ASU’s Dr. Christos Makridis Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

ASU’s Dr. Christos Makridis Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

In this clip, ASU’s Dr. Christos Makridis speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

Bridging the Gap: Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership
Videos

Bridging the Gap: Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership

Employee ownership has gained increasing recognition and support from investors in recent years. However, attracting scaled institutional capital remains a challenge for the field.

Joseph Blasi and Maureen Conway Give Closing Remarks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

Joseph Blasi and Maureen Conway Give Closing Remarks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

In this clip, the Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway and Rutgers University’s Joseph Blasi provide closing remarks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

Utah Congressman Blake Moore Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

Utah Congressman Blake Moore Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

In this clip, Utah Congressman Blake Moore speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

The Democracy at Work Institute’s Julian McKinley speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

The Democracy at Work Institute’s Julian McKinley speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

Join this session to listen in as one of five thought leaders discuss their new ideas and fresh takes on the role of employee ownership in our economy and society and what we can do to help it grow.

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

In this clip, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

Rutgers’ Joseph Blasi Opens Day Two of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

Rutgers’ Joseph Blasi Opens Day Two of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

Rutgers’ Joseph Blasi Opens Day Two of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

Apis and Heritage’s Phil Reeves Shares His Big Idea for Employee Ownership
Videos

Apis and Heritage’s Phil Reeves Shares His Big Idea for Employee Ownership

In this clip, Apis and Heritage’s Phil Reeves speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

Employee Ownership and The Future of the American Worker
Videos

Employee Ownership and The Future of the American Worker

In this discussion from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, panelists discuss the role of employee ownership in helping create a brighter future and better jobs for the American worker.

Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway Opens Day Two of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway Opens Day Two of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

In this clip, the Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway provides opening remarks on day two of the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Gwyneth Galbraith Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Gwyneth Galbraith Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

In this clip, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Gwyneth Galbraith speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.

About the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing

The purpose of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing is to study the various models that have emerged and will emerge of employee ownership shares and profit shares in the corporation and society of the United States and around the world.

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

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Podcasts Videos

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

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Resource Roundup: Wages and Affordability
Blog Posts
Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis
Publications

Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis

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.

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

Insights from Focus Groups with Employee Owners

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.