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.
Workforce Leadership Academies bring together leaders that offer perspectives from the key institutions, agencies, and organizations involved in workforce development in their home cities and regions.
A high-capacity, responsive, and agile local workforce ecosystem is critical to a sustainable and equitable economic recovery.
WLAs strengthen Fellows’ capacity to develop and sustain effective workforce strategies, collaborate more deeply with employers, and expand the number and quality of leaders who advance opportunities for low-wage workers and job seekers as they meet employers’ talent development needs. Fellows work with leading practitioners, apply practical planning tools, strategize about applying effective strategies, and engage in leadership development. Through a Collaborative Learning Lab, academies provide a forum for local leaders to identify local and regional systems-based challenges and create shared solutions.
Building nimble collaboration through more stable and consistent investments in leaders’ knowledge, skills, and relationships at the local level can foster a more clearly aligned local workforce ecosystem that delivers integrated services to businesses and workers. Workforce Leadership Academies (WLA) bring together leaders across the many siloed fields of practice, organization types, and government policies that make up the field.
The Workforce Leadership Academies are part of the Economic Opportunity Fellows Network, a network of leadership and fellowship programs run by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. Within this Network, EOP connects national and local leaders from across sectors — nonprofit, government, business, philanthropy, academia, and more — to advance policies and practices with the potential to help low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in today’s economy.
About the Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.
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“My passion has always been leadership development. My experience tells me that changes in a system start with leadership, and the workforce development ecosystem is ripe for innovative changes at all levels.”
“By leveraging the principles of the Academy, we’re actively building a landscape that aims to shift the paradigm for low-income individuals and their families.”
– Academy Fellow
