Traditional economic development focused on attracting large companies promising many jobs has left behind many people in communities across the country, including working people, low-income individuals and families, people of color and immigrants. But some communities have taken a different approach, one that embraces and cultivates local assets and ownership and that empowers traditionally excluded communities. This event explores the approaches these communities have taken, including alternative business ownership models, leveraging the purchasing power of large public and nonprofit institutions to bolster communities, robust workforce development, more equitable infrastructure development, and more. Panelists discuss how inclusive economic development cultivates economic opportunity and quality jobs for community residents.
This event features Dwight C. Jones (Mayor, Richmond, Virginia), Marjorie Kelly (Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow, The Democracy Collaborative), Sanjay Pinto (Sociologist and Fellow, The Worker Institute, Cornell University; Fellow, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations), Emily Kawano (Co-Director, Wellspring Cooperative Corporation), and moderator Dorian T. Warren (Fellow, The Roosevelt Institute;  MSNBC contributor; Board Chair, Center for Community Change).
This event is part of the Working in America series, an ongoing discussion series hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program that highlights an array of critical issues affecting low- and moderate-income workers in the United States and ideas for improving and expanding economic opportunities for working people. For more information, visit as.pn/workinginamerica.
The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity. Learn more at as.pn/eop.