The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program — Events and Interviews

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program
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The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. This podcast features audio from our events, webinars, interviews, and other conversations. Learn more at aspeninstitute.org/eop

  1. APR 24

    Coming of Age at Work: Good Jobs for Teens

    A young person’s first job is a rite of passage in the US — an opportunity to build skills, save for college, support the family business, or support themselves and their loved ones. And after decades of decline, more teens are working today than at any point since 2008. Yet the labor market often fails them. Many face low wages, unpredictable or burdensome schedules that interfere with school, unsafe or discriminatory conditions, and limited opportunities for growth, belonging, and purpose.  At the same time, innovative approaches like apprenticeship, training on safety and worker rights, and purposeful support and mentorship show what’s possible when we get it right: jobs that build confidence, provide fair compensation, and open doors to future careers. As we prepare the next generation of workers and community members, the question is clear: what would it take to make every teen’s first job a good job and ensure the labor market delivers for young workers?  This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Forum for Community Solutions on April 21, 2026 — explores how to create meaningful work opportunities for teens while protecting them from dangerous and exploitative conditions.  Our conversation includes opening remarks from Matt Helmer (Aspen Institute) and Gabby Smith (Plate it Forward), followed by a panel discussion with Jessica Martinez (National Council for Occupational Safety and Health), Mandee Polonsky (Northwestern Memorial HealthCare), John Valverde (YouthBuild Global), Taylor White (New America), and moderator Mike Swigert (Aspen Institute). For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.  For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go. To learn more about the Forum for Community Solutions, visit: aspencommunitysolutions.org This event is part of our Opportunity in America series. It is also the second in our two-part miniseries, “Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Youth at Work.” For part one, “Backsliding on Child Protections: The Return of Child Labor in the US,” click here.

    1h 31m

  2. APR 22

    Leading Change For Skills: Champions Across The Workforce Ecosystem

    Finding great employees for any organization can be challenging, and keeping them on board presents its own challenges. In response, many creative leaders are adopting strategies that expand talent pipelines to reach a wider variety of candidates based on skills and competencies. Others are exploring ways to build organizations that support internal growth and leadership with a clearer focus on skills and competencies, as well. How can leaders across the workforce ecosystem lead organizational change and partnerships to open opportunities in sectors as diverse as affordable housing and advanced manufacturing?  This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 16, 2026 — features a conversation with leaders from our Workforce Leadership Academies who are driving changes in industry practices and organizational culture. Their work has not only created more opportunities to get workers to the door, but also supported employees once they’re through the door — for both frontline and leadership roles. Our speakers include Leah Palmer, executive director of the Maricopa County Community College District’s Arizona Advanced Manufacturing Institute, Tiffany Mangum, executive director of Fresno Housing’s Beyond Housing Foundation, who will share their lessons in leading these changes, and Dee Wallace, senior fellow with the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.  For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

    1h 1m

  3. APR 17

    Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy

    Workers and communities know very well what good jobs – or bad jobs – look like, because they live this reality every day. Yet our labor market and policies are often designed without the input or leadership of workers or the communities they live in. As a result, even well-intentioned efforts to create better working conditions and a more equitable economy can fall short for similar reasons. So what does it look like to have workers and their communities at the helm of job quality strategy and advocacy? This event — hosted on March 5, 2026, by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program — is the second in its four-part event series on Fixing Work in the South. Drawing on the work of EOP’s Job Quality Fellows, this conversation explores what kind of progress is possible when we lean on the expertise of workers and communities to inform strategy and empower them to shape a labor market that works for everyone. Our speakers include Cecilia Behgam (Texas Climate Jobs Project), Kelly Brooks (Civic Works), Maya Ragsdale (Beyond the Bars), Ben Wilkins (Union of Southern Service Workers), and moderator Amanda Fins (The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program). For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.  For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.This event is part of our Job Quality in Practice series.

    1h 22m

  4. APR 17

    Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South

    For decades, economic and workforce development systems have measured success primarily through job creation — the number of positions filled, the businesses recruited, the unemployment rate reduced. Yet for many workers, especially those in low-wage industries and economically distressed communities, job creation alone has not translated into economic security or mobility. More economic and workforce development leaders have begun to reckon with this gap, recognizing that traditional approaches are falling short — not for lack of effort, but because the systems were never fully designed with job quality as a goal. In response, a growing number of practitioners are experimenting with strategies that go beyond placement and retention to ask a more fundamental question: what makes a job worth having? Job quality strategies — which address wages, benefits, scheduling, worker voice, and pathways to advancement — are increasingly finding their way into the toolkits of a range of organizations.  In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 1, 2026, we hear how the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company's success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making. Our speakers include Job Quality Fellows Kim Eckert (Craft Education / Western Governors University), Colby Hall (Craft Philanthropy), Daniel Marshall (Alabama Center for Employee Ownership / Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.), Laurie Mays (Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Foundation), and moderator Matt Helmer (The Aspen Institute). For more information about this event, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.  For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go. This event is part of our Job Quality in Practice series.

    1h 20m

  5. MAR 23

    Maximizing the Value of Internships: Advice from Employers

    While the benefits of internships for students are well known, this webinar — which took place on March 18, 2026 — dives into a first-of-its-kind study from Strada Education Foundation and UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute to explore how internship programs drive tangible business value. Based on the newly released report, “Maximizing the Value of Internships: Advice from Employers,” we share insights from 40 diverse organizations on how they leverage internships to solve persistent talent and operational challenges. Our panel of experts discuss how leading companies define and measure the effectiveness of their programs to ensure a meaningful return on investment. Finally, we provide actionable strategies for creating the internal conditions necessary to build sustainable, high-impact internship programs that benefit both your organization and the next generation of talent. Our speakers include Devina Fernandez (Workforce Development Partner, Endress+Hauser), Bradley Leon (Executive Director, BlueSky Tennessee Institute, BlueCross BlueShield of TN), Kevin Grubb (Vice President, Work Based Learning, Strada Education Foundation), and Haley Glover (Senior Director, UpSkill America, The Aspen Institute). For more information about this event, including a transcript and additional resources, visit our website.  For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

    58 min

  6. MAR 19

    Main Street Challenges and Policy Solutions — ⁠The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability

    The small business economy, and the capital that fuels it, are changing in dramatic ways. Innovations in financing, new patterns of entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and shifting market and policy dynamics are reshaping what it means to own, operate, and grow a small business in the United States. What is the future of the small business economy and access to capital during this time of profound change? This discussion is one of several that took place as part of “The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability,” a forum hosted by the Aspen Institute’s Business Ownership Initiative and the Responsible Business Lending Coalition on March 5, 2026. The event featured panels with policymakers, small business owners, advocates, lenders, and technologists on solutions to support responsible innovation and sustainable small business prosperity. Panels include: The Changing Role of Small Business Ownership Innovations Driving Small Business Lending Forward: It’s Not All About AI Main Street Challenges and Policy Solutions For more information, including a transcript, photos, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go. This second-annual event builds on our March 2025 forum, “Advancing Innovation and Fairness in Small Business Finance.”

    1h 4m

  7. MAR 19

    Innovations Driving Small Business Lending Forward: It’s Not All About AI — ⁠The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability

    The small business economy, and the capital that fuels it, are changing in dramatic ways. Innovations in financing, new patterns of entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and shifting market and policy dynamics are reshaping what it means to own, operate, and grow a small business in the United States. What is the future of the small business economy and access to capital during this time of profound change? This discussion is one of several that took place as part of “The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability,” a forum hosted by the Aspen Institute’s Business Ownership Initiative and the Responsible Business Lending Coalition on March 5, 2026. The event featured panels with policymakers, small business owners, advocates, lenders, and technologists on solutions to support responsible innovation and sustainable small business prosperity. Panels include: The Changing Role of Small Business Ownership Innovations Driving Small Business Lending Forward: It’s Not All About AI Main Street Challenges and Policy Solutions For more information, including a transcript, photos, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go. This second-annual event builds on our March 2025 forum, “Advancing Innovation and Fairness in Small Business Finance.”

    1 hr

  8. MAR 19

    The Changing Role of Small Business Ownership — ⁠The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability

    The small business economy, and the capital that fuels it, are changing in dramatic ways. Innovations in financing, new patterns of entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and shifting market and policy dynamics are reshaping what it means to own, operate, and grow a small business in the United States. What is the future of the small business economy and access to capital during this time of profound change? This discussion is one of several that took place as part of “The New Era of Small Business Finance: Access, AI, and Accountability,” a forum hosted by the Aspen Institute’s Business Ownership Initiative and the Responsible Business Lending Coalition on March 5, 2026. The event featured panels with policymakers, small business owners, advocates, lenders, and technologists on solutions to support responsible innovation and sustainable small business prosperity. Panels include: The Changing Role of Small Business Ownership Innovations Driving Small Business Lending Forward: It’s Not All About AI Main Street Challenges and Policy Solutions For more information, including a transcript, photos, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go. This second-annual event builds on our March 2025 forum, “Advancing Innovation and Fairness in Small Business Finance.”

    1h 12m
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The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. This podcast features audio from our events, webinars, interviews, and other conversations. Learn more at aspeninstitute.org/eop

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