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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 month.

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.

Publications

• Employee Ownership: An Economic and Workforce Development Strategy for State and Local Governments by Matt Helmer
• A Typology of State-Supported Work-Connected Learning Programs by Haley Glover (UpSkill America) and Jorge Ugaz (Craft Education)
• MillerKnoll: Developing Operations Leaders from Within and Beyond — A Case Study in Structured Talent Development by Haley Glover 
• Employer-Friendly Practices: A Guide for Higher Education by UpSkill America
• What Employee Ownership Means to Workers by Maxwell Johnson and Matt Helmer 
• Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis by Haley Glover

Click here to view more publications.

Videos

• Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes featuring Arindrajit Dube (The Wage Standard: What’s Wrong in the Labor Market and How to Fix It), Carrie Joy Grimes (The Joy of Money: How to Do More With and Feel Better About Your Money—No Matter How Much You Have), and moderator Natalie Foster(Economic Security Project). Hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on October 7. 
• Moving Beyond ROI: What We Know About the Business Case for Apprenticeship Annelies Goger (UpSkill America) presented findings from her research on the business case for apprenticeship during an Apprenticeships for America webinar on Wednesday, October 14. She presented alongside Kelly Cure (Bay Area Council) and Shantenae “Shay” Robinson (Aon). They had a lively discussion about startup versus ongoing costs, how to make apprenticeships accessible for small businesses, and how program design matters for optimizing ROI.

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Podcasts

• Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes featuring Arindrajit Dube (The Wage Standard: What’s Wrong in the Labor Market and How to Fix It), Carrie Joy Grimes (The Joy of Money: How to Do More With and Feel Better About Your Money—No Matter How Much You Have), and moderator Natalie Foster(Economic Security Project). Hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on October 7.

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Newsletters

• Ownership Across America: What Iowa and New Jersey Are Teaching Other States (From the Forum)
• Resource Roundup: Wages and Affordability
• Upcoming Events – October 2026 
• Monthly Digest – September 2026

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Upcoming Events

• November 10 — Metrics that Matter: Financial Tools for Evaluating CDFI Mergers and Acquisitions
• December 8 — Gouged — A Book Talk with Lindsay Owens

Click here to view more events.