The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

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

If a colleague shared this newsletter with you, consider subscribing to our mailing list or connecting on social media. To learn more about our work, visit aspeninstitute.org/eop.

Announcements

National Job Quality Practitioner Survey

December 31 is the last day to add your voice to our National Job Quality Practitioner Survey. If your organization is involved in efforts to improve job quality — through workforce development, business advising, community finance, employee ownership, worker organizing, legal support, philanthropy, policy advocacy, or other means — we want to hear from you. One recipient will be selected randomly from all completed survey responses to receive a $300 donation to their organization. Take the survey here.

Introducing Our New Education and Career Mobility Fellows

UpSkill America and Guild are proud to announce the third cohort of the Education and Career Mobility Fellowship, a unique development program designed to support HR professionals in their efforts to build effective programs, connect opportunities, and create positive outcomes for employees across the workforce and the businesses that employ them. Learn more here.

Publications

• The Case for Validated Skills: What Employers Want and Need by Haley Glover, UpSkill America
• Pooling Resources Is an Investment in People and Business: Shared Solutions Drive Retention and Growth by Chelsea Miller, UpSkill America
• Workforce Leadership Academies in Action: Lessons from Albuquerque and North Carolina by Haley Glover and Alison Yost, UpSkill America
• Job Quality Insights from Small Business Employees by Economic Opportunities Program staff and KRC Research
• Integrating a Job Quality Practice in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): A Q&A by Bryn Morgan and Joyce Klein
• Upskilling Playbook: AI, Skill Development, and the Workforce by Chelsea Miller, Chris Huyck Trout, and Haley Glover, UpSkill America
• Shared Success Evaluation Results by Tim Ogden (Financial Access Initiative), Barbara Magnoni (EA Consultants), and Tracy Cole (Financial Access Initiative)

Click here to view more publications.

Click here to view more commentary.

Videos

Backsliding on Child Protections: The Return of Child Labor in the US, featuring Yesenia Cuello (NC Field), Reid Maki (National Consumers League), Ron Estrada (Farmworker Justice), Nina Mast (Economic Policy Institute), Charlie Wishman (Iowa Federation of Labor), and moderator Kristina Cooke (Reuters).

Bridging the Gap: Institutional Investment and Employee Ownership, from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, hosted in partnership with the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. Related videos:

Live from Guild Opportunity Summit 2025: Speaking at this year’s Guild Opportunity Summit in San Diego, UpSkill America Associate Director Chelsea Miller shares her perspective on building talent locally and investing in solutions that help small and medium-sized businesses succeed. Watch via Guild on LinkedIn.

Click here to view more videos. Click here to subscribe.

Podcasts

Click here to view more podcasts. Click here to subscribe.

In the News

Newsletters

Click here to view more newsletters. Click here to subscribe.

Upcoming Events

Click here to view more events.