What Ownership Means: Employee Owners in Their Own Words

Employee ownership looks compelling on paper, but what does it actually mean to have a stake in the place where you work? This session puts employee owners at the center, sharing firsthand accounts of how ownership has changed their relationship to their work, their workplace, and their futures, offering an unfiltered look at the promises and realities of building an economy where more workers have a real share in what they create.Our speakers include Charlie Arrindell (Division Manager, Lewis Tree Services); Krystal Thompson (Senior Software Solutions Advisor, Advisors for Change); Nicole Vitello (Vice President, Equal Exchange); and moderator Matt Helmer (Director of Job Quality and Worker Well-Being, Economic Opportunities Program, The Aspen Institute).This video comes from the 2026 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, which took place June 2-3, 2026, in Washington DC and online.For more information about this session, including a transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources, visit our website.For additional content from the Forum, visit our main event page.To view more sessions and event highlights, subscribe to our YouTube channel.Or subscribe to our podcast and listen on the go.About this event:The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum is an annual event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University.The Forum convenes participants — including members of Congress, congressional staff, administration officials, employee owners, investors, lenders, researchers, practitioners, and policy experts — around the shared, bipartisan goal of increasing broad-based employee ownership and providing workers and communities with the opportunity to own their share of America’s prosperity and future.The Forum highlights innovative policies and practices, features firsthand experiences and perspectives of employee owners, and fosters dialogue and engagement to drive concrete actions toward expanding employee ownership.We are grateful to our Forum Champions — the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, JPMorganChase, and EO Equals — for their principal support of the Forum. We also thank McKinsey & Company, a Forum Ally, for its generous contribution.As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. To the extent elected officials are in attendance, they are attending and speaking in their official capacity and not as a political candidate. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute or of Rutgers University.