The Aspen Institute

Person-centered practices stem from a simple point: By directly engaging people with lived experiences of financial insecurity, we can create more effective systems and shared prosperity. Watch this event hosted by Aspen FSP on December 5, 2024, to learn how non-governmental and philanthropic organizations are implementing and scaling person-centered practices across the financial security field. 

Through a set of panel discussions, cross-sector leaders, including members of FSP’s Community Advisory Group, will share the latest learnings, innovative practices, and models for adopting person-centered approaches. Together, we will ask the critical question: How can we make person-centered practices the default in financial security initiatives?

Agenda

Welcome Remarks 
Dan Porterfield, President and CEO, Aspen Institute

A Discussion on Aspen FSP’s Approach to Person-Centered Insights
Callie Greer, Community Advisory Group Member, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Joanna Smith-Ramani, Co-Executive Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Person-Centered Leadership: Innovative Practices and Emerging Models
Maryann Broxton, Main Representative to the United Nations, International Movement ATD Fourth World
Jessica Jackson, Essential Leaders Council Member, Families and Workers Fund
Rosazlia Grillier, Board Chair, Community Organizing & Family Issues (COFI) and Community Advisory Group Member, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Riani Carr, Program Associate, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (moderator)

Investing in Person-Centered Approaches
Erin Currier, Senior Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Dina Emam, Program Associate, Center for Economic Opportunity, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Sarah Haight, Director, 2Gen Practice, Ascend at the Aspen Institute
Tyonka Perkins Rimawi, Program Director, Families and Workers Fund
Tim Shaw, Policy Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (moderator)

Speakers

Dan Porterfield, President and CEO, Aspen Institute

Dan Porterfield is President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. A native of Baltimore where he was raised by a single mother, and a Rhodes Scholar, he has been recognized as a visionary strategist, transformational leader, devoted educator, and passionate advocate for justice and opportunity. Dan previously served as President of Franklin & Marshall College, where he led the College in tripling its percentage of incoming low-income students and doubling its population of domestic students of color. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work, holds bachelor’s degrees from Georgetown and Oxford, and earned his Ph.D. at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is the author of the book Mindset Matters: The Power of College to Activate Lifelong Growth about the growing value of college in today’s rapidly changing world.

Callie Greer, Community Advisory Group Member, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Callie Greer has been a Grassroots Community Organizer for 20+ years. At this part of her journey, she is the Community Navigator for Alabama Appleseed. Callie enjoys her work with Grassroots Folks in different communities in Alabama. Callie is passionate about advocating for Medicaid Expansion, Advocating Against Gun Violence, and cooking. She lost her daughter Venus to Cancer largely because of the lack of Healthcare Insurance and her son Mercury to Gun violence. And by the Grace of God, she gets to do this for a living, allowing her personal experiences to be the foundation for her professional work and combine them into her passions. The fear of families experiencing untimely loss of life is one of the things that fuels her, but the hope of a better future and more life gives her energy.

She came to the CAG via Leah Nelson of Alabama Appleseed, who thought she was a perfect fit for this project. After learning what the CAG would be doing, she thought she was also a perfect fit. Her favorite part about being in CAG is the Zoom calls, updates from everyone, the sharing of information, and the fact that everyone is active in this work. Some of Callie’s highlights from the 1st year were the swag she received from FSP and getting to meet everyone in person for the first time last year. She is excited to continue creating meaningful change with the CAG this year.

Joanna Smith-Ramani, Co-Executive Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program

Joanna Smith-Ramani is Co-Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, a leading national voice on Americans’ financial security. Working with the team, she is building a diverse cross-sector community of leaders (Joanna calls her “quirky Thanksgiving table”) who, together, are using their shared accumulated wisdom and humanity to deeply investigate and solve the most critical financial challenges facing U.S. households.  

Joanna has more than 20 years of experience across community, personal finance, and asset development. Prior to joining Aspen FSP as the Director of its Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC), Joanna served as Senior Innovation Director at Commonwealth. 

Joanna holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. She serves on the Board of the CASH Campaign of Maryland and A Wider Circle, and was selected to the 2017-2018 class of Leadership Montgomery.

Maryann Broxton, Main Representative to the United Nations, International Movement ATD Fourth World

Maryann Broxton is the Main Representative to the United Nations for the International Movement ATD Fourth World. As the US coordinator for the Multidimensional Aspects of Poverty (MAP) participatory research (2016-2020), she developed and facilitated trainings on equitable participation for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Center for Law and Social Policy, and the Aspen Institute, along with social worker students at the New School in New York, Harvard, Columbia, and Fordham University. She has spoken about multidimensional poverty and setting the conditions for equitable participation at the OECD in Paris, the World Bank in Washington D.C., and the United Nations High Level Political Forum. Her personal area of advocacy is food justice, having attended the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health (2022) and the US Department of Health and Human Services Food is Medicine Summit (2023). Maryann holds a B.A. from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Jessica Jackson, Essential Leaders Council Member, Families and Workers Fund

Jessica Jackson, a proud native of Southwest Detroit, is a certified nurse midwife dedicated to advancing health equity and empowering families. Grounded in her deep understanding of the challenges faced by women and children, she blends evidence-based practice with compassionate care. Jessica serves on multiple boards and councils, including the Families & Workers Fund Essential Leadership Council. She leads with purpose as a co-leader and hopes to drive innovative solutions to uplift communities.

As a mother of two, Jessica draws from her own experiences to lead with insight. Her role as a dedicated Girl Scouts troop leader reflects her unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation of strong, empowered leaders.

Rosazlia Grillier, Board Chair, Community Organizing & Family Issues (COFI) and Community Advisory Group Member, Aspen Institute Financial Security 

AN ADVOCATE FOR ALL THINGS EQUITABLE! SHE IS A SURVIVOR OF MULTIPLE LIFE THREATENING ILLNESSES, A FACTOTUM & PIONEER IN THE REALM OF REAL PARENT ENGAGEMENT & ADVOCACY.  

ROSAZLIA’S: NEVERTHELESS DETERMINATION FOSTERS MANY HATS, SHE IS THE INTERIM VICE-CHAIR of UPLAN’s BOARD & SITS ON MULTIPLE LOCAL AND NATIONAL BOARDS & ADVISORIES. SHE IS A TRAINER & Board Chair OF COF(Community Organizing & Family Issues), Co-President Emeritus of POWER~PAC IL, in which She served many Years as President and has mentored other Leaders to walk in that role. She continues to participate with strong voice in many  collaborative ground efforts such as  bringing various Early Education Stakeholders together for Early Childhood Collaborations, to ensure Equity & Transparency in Early Education Programs & Services also making sure that Parents understood the IEP process, long time member of the Economic Justice Coalition, FIAI (Financial Inclusion for All of IL), Worked for Years to help pass and push for implementation of The Childrens Savings Account Legislation, Has worked for many Years on fines/fees, Debt collection, Utility relief and working in Partnership with Blacks in Green(BIG)

To create and will soon pass The Peoples Utility Relief Reform(PURR)-HB2172 As a part of The Campaign to end Energy Poverty! She also, serves Nationally as a  GOVERNING COUNCIL & FOUNDING MEMBER OF UPLAN (United Parent Leaders Action Network), Nationally She also sits on NAFSCE’S BOARD (National Association for Family School & Community Engagement) as well as the PFLC, the Family Math Advisory PAC & is one of 3 Parents on The Funders for Educational Leadership Parent Advisory. She is one of 6 Community Advisory Group Members with Aspen FSP!

SHE HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS LOCAL & NATIONAL AWARDS FOR HER COMMITMENT AND SERVICE. No Matter the challenge a day might bring, ROSAZLIA, Comes EQUIPPED , TO ENCOURAGE EQUITABLE, COLLABORATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS SO EVERYONE WINS WITH A GOAL TO INSPIRE A VISION THAT “IGNITES POSITIVE CHANGE”❣ “WORLDWIDE”

Riani Carr, Program Associate, Aspen Institute Financial Security

Riani Carr (she/her) is a Program Associate at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Aspen FSP) and is a strong believer that policy change starts with community expertise. In her role, she engages with cross-sector leaders, helps design and execute events, contributes to research, and advances and implements the Person-Centered Insights approach and methodology across Aspen FSP’s portfolio of work. What Riani considers the most meaningful part of her work is her leadership of Aspen FSP’s Community Advisory Group and the relationships she’s cultivated with the members, whose lived and professional expertise ground, strengthen, and challenge her work. 

Riani is an alum of the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship and earned a B.A. in Politics and International Affairs, with minors in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Wake Forest University. Riani calls Silver Spring, Maryland home and loves to travel and find new hobbies.

Erin Currier, Senior Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation 

Erin Currier is a senior program officer for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. In this role, she co-leads the foundation’s national grantmaking team focused on early childhood, employment equity, health and food systems. She also oversees a portfolio of work that supports family economic security and promotes the centering children and their families in employment and government policies and programs.

Dina Emam, Program Associate, Center for Economic Opportunity, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Dina Emam is a program associate at The Annie E. Casey Foundation in the Center for Economic Opportunity. Within CEO, she is a member of the Employment, Education and Training portfolio team. In this role, she leads the Center’s investments in job creation and youth and young adult engagement. She also manages the Foundation’s Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential Initiative, a national effort to build and strengthen supportive career and education pathways for young people with connections to the child welfare system, the justice system, and young people who are experiencing homelessness. Prior to joining Casey, Dina was a research associate at the Urban Institute, where her work focused on establishing an evidence base for strategies to build economic opportunity in under-resourced communities across the country. She served as an evaluator on federally funded randomized control trials to assess the impacts of various financial empowerment strategies and has led research on the implications of health care reform on youth aging out of foster care. Dina holds a Master of Applied Economics and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Swarthmore College.

Sarah Haight, Director, 2Gen Practice, Ascend at the Aspen Institute

Sarah Haight is Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s director of 2Gen practice. Sarah works with a national network of more than 500 leaders and organizations who are exploring, incubating, or implementing 2Gen approaches, which provide opportunities for and meet the needs of children and the adults in their lives together. She also manages key convenings and grantmaking strategies to ensure a legacy of educational success, economic security, and health and well-being passes from one generation to the next.

Sarah’s career focuses on economic inclusion and supporting practitioners to translate their work with families to influence policy and systems change. Since joining Ascend in 2011, she has managed technical assistance to the Ascend Network, comprised of 500+ practitioners, policymakers, and researchers focused on 2Gen approaches; managed the Aspen ThinkXChange, the national forum on 2Gen solutions; the Aspen Forum on Children and Families, Ascend’s largest public convening; and grantmaking and innovation community strategies, including the Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community. She partners across Ascend to develop and package tools and resources to equip organizations and leaders to better serve families with low incomes. 

Prior to joining Ascend, Sarah worked as an editor and journalist at Conde Nast in New York City. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from the Silver School of Social Work at New York University and has worked as a therapist in direct-practice clinical settings with women with low incomes, with a focus on maternal mental health. She is licensed to practice social work in New York and the District of Columbia.

Tyonka Perkins Rimawi, Program Director, Families and Workers Fund

Tyonka Perkins Rimawi is a Program Director with the Families and Workers Fund, a coalition of more than 25 diverse philanthropies working together to build an economy that uplifts everyone. Tyonka leads the Fund’s 21st Century Benefits impact area, collaborating with leaders across the public and private sectors to strengthen delivery of key services, such as public benefits, that effectively reduce poverty and propel economic opportunity when they are shaped to guarantee a base of economic security for all people. She also collaborates with the Fund’s Essential Leaders Council of diverse frontline workers and leaders who provide guidance on the Fund’s priorities and weigh in on grant prospects.

Tyonka has a track record leading innovative philanthropic initiatives focused on economic security, including a public-private partnership that launched the first fully funded flexible cash program for families working to overcome public benefits cliffs in order to achieve economic opportunity. She also led economic opportunity initiatives at Goodwill Industries International and the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning. Tyonka earned a BA in Journalism from Butler University and an MBA in Supply Chain Management from the University of Indianapolis.

Tim Shaw, Policy Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security 

As the Policy Director for the Financial Security Program, Tim works to advance promising policies that address the most pressing financial security challenges facing people in America. Working with leaders across levels of government, Tim and Aspen FSP’s policy team seek to provide policymakers the innovative ideas, research, and network of leaders they need to design and enact policies that make a concrete difference in people’s financial security.

Before joining the Aspen Institute, he was an Associate Director for Economic Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. While there, he was the policy lead for BPC’s Paid Family Leave Task Force and led projects on economic opportunity, retirement security, and fiscal policy. Prior to that work, he was a tax and budget staffer at the Government Accountability Office. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including the Washington Post, Politico, and the Wall Street Journal.

Tim holds a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.