We are living through a moment of profound uncertainty about the future of work. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are raising urgent questions about which jobs will survive, which will be transformed, and which will disappear entirely. Yet amid all the speculation, one thing is already clear: millions of Americans are working jobs that do not pay enough, do not offer stability, and do not provide a real path forward. And businesses — in health care, child care, hospitality, food service and other large employment sectors — seek to hire even more people into such jobs.

In their new book, “Help Wanted: How To Find and Keep Talent in a Forever-Tight Labor Market,” authors Steve Dawson and Jerry Rubin argue that demographic realities, including an aging population, slowing growth, and declining workforce participation, mean the competition for workers is structural and long-term, not a temporary blip. Rather than treating workers as a cost to be minimized, they argue that investing in people is now a competitive necessity, and they introduce readers to business leaders who are redesigning jobs, recruiting differently, and partnering with workforce organizations to attract and retain the talent their businesses depend on.

This conversation — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on July 29, 2026 — goes beyond the employer-competitiveness frame to ask harder questions: How can we redesign work to maximize the value of all workers? How can businesses organize and advocate on behalf of their workforces? What barriers keep businesses from changing practice? And what role can policy, philanthropy, and workforce intermediaries play in redesigning work at scale?

Our speakers include Dawson, Rubin, and moderator Maureen Conway, a vice president at the Aspen Institute and executive director of the Economic Opportunities Program.

For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website. 

This event is part of our Opportunity in America series.

For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

Culture is an essential cornerstone that determines whether employee ownership translates into strong business outcomes and high quality jobs. This session explores the mindset shift required to move from passive participation to a vibrant culture of ownership, as well as the cultural shift required societally to prioritize worker ownership and economic empowerment. Panelists discuss how a strong internal culture of ownership protects the dignity of work in an automated age and serves as a powerful competitive advantage, while also exploring the changes required to shift our economy towards a new understanding of ownership and profit distribution.

Our speakers include Evan Edwards (CEO and President, Project Equity); Melissa Hoover (Director of Ownership Culture, Apis & Heritage); Chris Mackin (Founder, Ownership Associates, Partner, American Working Capital); Anna-Lisa Miller (Executive Director, Ownership Works); and moderator Adria Scharf (Assistant Professor and Senior Associate Director, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, Rutgers University; Director of the Curriculum Library for Employee Ownership, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations).

This video comes from the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

In this video, Bharat Ramamurti — former deputy director of the National Economic Council of the United States — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

Employee ownership has a compelling track record, but the model has yet to attract capital at the scale required to address the silver tsunami. That is beginning to change. This panel brings together investors and intermediaries from across the institutional landscape to explore what it would take to make employee ownership a mainstream investment strategy — and what a future looks like in which financial institutions are active partners in expanding ownership across the American economy.

Our speakers include Regina Carls (Managing Director and Head of ESOP Advisory, JPMorganChase); Jim Sorenson (Founder and CEO, Sorenson Impact Foundation); Chavon Sutton (Managing Director, Sustainable and Impact Investing, Cambridge Associates, LLC); Emily Thomas (Executive Director and the Head of Investing with Impact, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management); and moderator Jack Moriarty (Executive Director, Lafayette Square Institute).

This video comes from the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

In this video, Margot Brandenburg — senior program officer for mission investments at The Ford Foundation — speaks at the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

Our speakers include Sara Horowitz (Founder, Mutualist Society; Founder, Freelancers Union); Esteban Kelly (Executive Director, The US Federation of Worker Cooperatives); Ginny Vanderslice (Principal Emeritus, Praxis Consulting Group); Felipe Witchger (Executive Director, Francesco Collaborative and the Livable Future Impact); and Sean-Tamba Matthew (Shareholder, Stevens & Lee and SES ESOP Strategies).

This video comes from the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

In this video, Paula D’Ambrosa — director of inclusive wealth-building at Prudential Financial — delivers opening remarks on day two of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

In this video, Gwyneth Galbraith — vice president and philanthropy program officer at JPMorganChase — delivers closing remarks on day one of the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

States are emerging as important laboratories for expanding employee ownership. From experimenting with new financing and investment tools to technical assistance and outreach programs, states are increasingly on the frontlines of helping more businesses transition to employee ownership. This session highlights some of the newest and most promising state-level innovations, the leaders driving them, and what other states and federal policymakers can learn from what's emerging.

Our speakers include Shannon Lundgren (State Representative, Iowa); Andrew Zwicker (State Senator, New Jersey); Hilary Abell (Chief of the Employee Ownership Division, US Department of Labor); and moderator Julien Rosenbloom (Senior Associate, Lafayette Square Institute).

This video comes from the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.

In this video, Maureen Conway — a vice president of the Aspen Institute and executive director of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program — speaks with Steven Hill — a fellow with the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing and author of the book, “Expand Social Security Now.”

This video comes from the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.

For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.

For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.

To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.

About this event:

The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.

The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.

The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.

We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.