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.
In this session from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, we hear five thought leaders discuss their new ideas and fresh takes on the role of employee ownership in our economy and society and what we can do to help it grow.
Speakers
Jessica Gordon-Nembhard,Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development, Department of Africana Studies, John Jay College, City University of New York
Tammy Miller, Former Lieutenant Governor, State of North Dakota
Phil Reeves, Founding Partner, Apis and Heritage
Jesse Walker, Book Editor, Reason Magazine
Leslie Wilson, Dean, Wilson College of Business, University of Northern Iowa
This video comes from the third Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. Our 2025 forum, “From Workers to Owners,” highlighted how the experience of ownership changes the reality of work for workers. The forum featured companies in a range of business sectors and explored how employee ownership fits their business strategy and approach to business leadership. The particular role employee ownership can play in supporting business success was discussed , and the role institutional investors can play in improving capital access for employee ownership conversions and expansions was also considered.
