Job Quality Fellowship
I’m honored to be named a Job Quality Fellow with the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program!
The 2025 - 2026 cohort is made up entirely of job quality practitioners in the Southeastern US, and I’m proud to represent Tennessee in this dynamic group.
Because I’m an advocate for democratization of information and access to important conversations that are shaping our field (and the lives of working people in America), I’d love to use this fellowship as a way to engage my larger community about job quality, employee ownership, and the business, economic, and place-based strategies that provide a compass for all of us mapping a good future.
Drop me a message below to follow along, learn, and connect your work to this work.
Rachel Eva Merfalen
Founder, Good Future
Interim Executive Director, Tennessee Center for Employee Ownership (TNCEO)
Join Me!
Drop me a message here, and I’ll include you in upcoming opportunities to engage more deeply and intentionally as I participate in the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program Job Quality Fellowship.
This could look like: open office hours to discuss what I’m learning in the fellowship, virtual happy hours to celebrate innovative solutions, AMA’s (ask-me-anything), or intentional spin-off conversations with other fellows on specific issues.
About the fellowship
Running from October 2025 through July 2026, the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program Job Quality Fellowship convenes leaders from across the South who are working to improve job quality. I’m joining 16 other Fellows, and will spend time in community, collaborating with peers, expanding our networks, and engaging in peer learning and strategic analysis to support our collective work improving the quality of jobs in the South.
For me specifically, I’l be working both as Founder of Good Future and as Interim ED for the Tennessee Center for Employee Ownership (TNCEO) to tell stories about and build more connection between the Employee Ownership Movement and the broader Job Quality community of practice.
I’m very excited to be in community with 16 other fellows, engaging in dialogue and collaboration as we build connective tissue, learn from one another, and increase collaboration to build this good future!
Thank You
Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program
W.K Kellogg Foundation
Surdna Foundation
Prudential Financial
Gates Foundation