Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

Employee Ownership

The 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.

Join our mailing list and follow us on social media for regular updates on our work.

Events

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Economic Opportunity

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

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Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2026: Owning America’s Future
Economic Opportunity

Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2026: Owning America’s Future

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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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Strengthening Small Business through Employee Ownership

Strengthening Small Business through Employee Ownership

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Bridging the Gap: Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership

Bridging the Gap: Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership

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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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Photos — Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2025

Photos — Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2025

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Briefs — Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2025

Briefs — Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2025

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Event Videos

Ownership During the AI Revolution
Podcasts Videos

Ownership During the AI Revolution

Shifting Culture to Advance Employee Ownership
Videos

Shifting Culture to Advance Employee Ownership

Fmr. NEC Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

Fmr. NEC Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

panel discussion about EO at EOIF26
Videos

Moving Institutional Capital into Employee Ownership

Margot Brandenburg speaking at EO Forum 2026
Videos

Ford Foundation’s Margot Brandenburg Keynotes the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership (2026)
Videos

Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership (2026)

Prudential Financial’s Paula D’Ambrosa Opens Day Two of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Videos

Prudential Financial’s Paula D’Ambrosa Opens Day Two of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

Gwyneth Galbraith delivers closing remarks EOIF 26
Videos

JPMorganChase’s Gwyneth Galbraith Closes Day One of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum

Publications

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Publications

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

Insights from Focus Groups with Employee Owners

Employee Ownership: An Economic and Workforce Development Strategy for State and Local Governments
Publications

Employee Ownership: An Economic and Workforce Development Strategy for State and Local Governments

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.

Employee Ownership Plans According to Earnings, Gender, and Race in the United States
Publications

Employee Ownership Plans According to Earnings, Gender, and Race in the United States

Blog Posts

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Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — June 2026

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — June 2026
Blog Posts

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — June 2026

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Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — May 2026

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — May 2026
Blog Posts

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — May 2026

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — April 2026
Blog Posts

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — April 2026

We hope you’ll join us at one of our upcoming events. Everyone who registers will receive a link to the recording, so please sign up even if you can’t participate live.

Economic Opportunities Program Upcoming Events — March 2026
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Upcoming Events — March 2026

We hope you’ll join us at one of our upcoming events, which you can learn about here. Everyone who registers will receive a link to the recording, so please sign up even if you can’t participate live.

infographic of a newsletter on a tablet
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — January 2026

We are pleased to present a selection of our work from the past month.

Resource Roundup: A Look at the Year Ahead
Blog Posts

Resource Roundup: A Look at the Year Ahead

Newsletters

Ownership Across America: What Iowa and New Jersey Are Teaching Other States
Blog Posts

Ownership Across America: What Iowa and New Jersey Are Teaching Other States

Building an Ownership Culture: From the Shop Floor to the National Narrative
Blog Posts

Building an Ownership Culture: From the Shop Floor to the National Narrative

The Employee Ownership Advantage
Blog Posts

The Employee Ownership Advantage

Views from Capitol Hill
Blog Posts

Views from Capitol Hill

Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership
Blog Posts

Five Big Ideas for Employee Ownership

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

Job Quality and Employee Ownership: An Interview with Job Quality Fellow Rick Plympton (CEO, Optimax)
Blog Posts

Job Quality and Employee Ownership: An Interview with Job Quality Fellow Rick Plympton (CEO, Optimax)

Optimax works in precision optics. But they didn’t need a microscope to see why employee ownership was a smart decision.

Cover Page for the publication "Race and Gender Wealth Equity and the Role of Employee Share Ownership"
Publications

Race and Gender Wealth Equity and the Role of Employee Share Ownership

Employee ownership can promote equity, improve job quality, and boost business performance.

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, March 2021
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, March 2021

The COVID-19 crisis brings new urgency to our work to improve jobs, expand business ownership, and advance economic opportunity.

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, November 2020
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, November 2020

The COVID-19 crisis brings new urgency to our work to improve jobs, expand business ownership, and advance economic opportunity.

Workers’ Coop Stitches Strong Social Fabric: Opportunity Threads Innovates in Changing Their Region and Industry
Blog Posts

Workers’ Coop Stitches Strong Social Fabric: Opportunity Threads Innovates in Changing Their Region and Industry

How can employers’ policies and practices push up business value, boost job quality for workers, and advance broader social impacts?

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, October 2020
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, October 2020

The COVID-19 crisis brings new urgency to our work to improve jobs, expand business ownership, and advance economic opportunity.

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, June 2020
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, June 2020

The COVID-19 crisis brings new urgency to our work to improve jobs, expand business ownership, and advance economic opportunity.

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, May 2020
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Newsletter, May 2020

The COVID-19 crisis brings new urgency to our work to improve jobs, expand business ownership, and advance economic opportunity.

Panelists speak at "How Do We Create More Quality Jobs?" (Left to right: E.J. Dionne, Demetra Nightingale, Caryn York, Amanda Blondeau, Rick Plympton)
Blog Posts

What’s new at the Economic Opportunities Program, June 2019

Learn how we’re helping low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

UpSkill America Director Jaime Fall
Blog Posts

What’s new at the Economic Opportunities Program, May 2019

Learn how the Economic Opportunities Program is helping people connect to and thrive in a changing economy.

Sharing profits and ownership with workers not only make them happier, it benefits the bottom line too
Blog Posts

Sharing profits and ownership with workers not only make them happier, it benefits the bottom line too

Sharing the fruits of a company’s success is not only good for workers. It’s also good for the bottom line.

Exploring Employee Share Ownership as a Potential Investment Strategy in Opportunity Zones
Publications

Exploring Employee Share Ownership as a Potential Investment Strategy in Opportunity Zones

Expanding employee ownership is a demonstrated way to create quality jobs and increase employee wealth.

TEam

Maureen Conway

Vice President; Executive Director

Policy Programs

Matt Helmer

Director of Job Quality and Worker Well-Being

Policy Programs

Maxwell Johnson

Senior Research Associate

Policy Programs

Merrit Stüven

Associate Director

Policy Programs

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

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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

Foundational Skills: National Survey Findings
Publications

Foundational Skills: National Survey Findings

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.

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Podcasts Videos

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

This conversation is part of our Opportunity in America series, where we take a look at the economy, what’s working, what’s broken, and really how we fix it to make sure that everyone can succeed in today’s economy.

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Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — October 2026

Resource Roundup: Wages and Affordability
Blog Posts

Resource Roundup: Wages and Affordability

Ownership Across America: What Iowa and New Jersey Are Teaching Other States
Blog Posts

Ownership Across America: What Iowa and New Jersey Are Teaching Other States

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