Charting a Resilient Future for US Workers: Solutions to Navigate an Uncertain Economy

Amid seismic economic shifts, workers and families have experienced highs and lows. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a once-in-a-lifetime economic shock, followed by a robust government response to stabilize the economy. Nearly three years later, a tight labor market has led to historic wage growth and better jobs—particularly for workers earning low wages. Inflation, however, has undermined these gains, and policies to control prices could lead to higher unemployment. Longer-term trends such as income inequality, automation, climate change, and demographic shifts pose uncertainty for the present and future of work.

And yet, with transformation comes opportunity. We invite you to join WorkRise and its partners for a virtual conference to explore the challenge and promise of the current moment, innovative policies and practices aimed at improving job quality and economic mobility, and creative, cross-sector solutions that are turning risk into resilience so that workers, businesses, and communities can thrive. Each day will be anchored around a specific theme, and leaders and doers from our stakeholder networks, including workers, employers, policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and advocates, will share actionable insights and solutions to navigate the road ahead. Workers will also share reflections on their experiences with economic uncertainty and their hopes about the future.

This conference is relevant to employers and business leaders, talent professionals, service and training providers, worker advocates, program administrators, policymakers, and all changemakers working to support economic mobility in the labor force. Members of the news media covering workforce, labor markets, and the economy will find new ideas and important context to shape coverage of these topics. We invite attendees to apply lessons from the event to their own work in advancing workers’ economic mobility through policy, practice, and partnerships.

Keynote speakers

Raphael Bostic, President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Andre Dickens, Mayor, City of Atlanta

Maria Flynn, President and CEO, Jobs for the Future

Todd Greene, Executive Director, WorkRise, and Institute Fellow, Urban Institute

Don Howard, President and CEO, The James Irvine Foundation

Michael McAfee, President and CEO, PolicyLink

Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League

Sarah Rosen Wartell, President, Urban Institute

Featured speakers

Alexander Wickman Bartik, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Kristen Broady, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Kimberly Brown, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Elizabeth Cheung, Senior Program Officer, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Kristen Harknett, Professor, Social Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco

Michelle Holder, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Washington Center for Equitable Growth

Elisabeth Jacobs, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute

Erin L. Kelly, Sloan Distinguished Professor of Work and Organization Studies, MIT Sloan School of Management

Julian D. Miller, Director, Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice, Tougaloo College

Sarah Miller, Principal Adviser for Community and Economic Development, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Jake Rosenfeld, Professor of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis

Kimberly Shin, Managing Director, FSG Talent Rewire

Shayne Spaulding, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute

Carl E. Van Horn, Director, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Tracy Wareing-Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Public Human Services Association

Additional speakers to be announced.

Presented by

AARP

Business Roundtable

Families and Workers Fund

Jobs for the Future

Rework America Alliance, a Markle Initiative