Blog
Getting Off The Gold Standard
Follow @SJPopkin Experts gathered at the Aspen ThinkXChange Design Lab "Counting Change" to discuss metrics for two-generation approaches. The following blog was originally posted at the Urban Institute’s MetroTrends Blog on October 23, 2012. Last week, I attended the Aspen ThinkXChange conference, which brought together a diverse group from the Ascend network. Ascend brings together…
Colorado, Communities, and Collaboration
Follow @MekaeliaD The scene at the Colorado 2019 Summit in Denver, Colorado. Colorado is an important state for Ascend. Indeed, in 1950 the Aspen Institute was founded in the Rocky Mountain town of Aspen, which has been home to eight Aspen Ideas Festivals, and was most recently the launching pad for Ascend’s inaugural Aspen ThinkXChange.…
From Poverty to Prosperity in Minnesota and Beyond
Jeremiah Program participant Tiffany Meeks and her family. “You’re pregnant.” “These two words changed my life forever,” says Rebecca, a Jeremiah Program graduate who recently shared her story at the Aspen ThinkXChange. Like all the young women served by Jeremiah, Rebecca was single, working in a low-paying job, struggling to stay in college—and about to…
Building Better Futures for Families Affected by Re-Entry – Two Generations at a Time
Tweet to @feedingfaith At College and Community Fellowship, formerly incarcerated mothers and their children are served together. It’s probably safe to say that all of us, even those who live in the most marginalized communities, expect social advancement from one generation to the next. We want our children to be more educated, earn more money,…
A Big Idea for 2012: Two-Generation Approaches
Welcome to the new Ascend website, a virtual hub for leaders working on solutions and innovations to move families toward economic mobility. Ascend at the Aspen Institute is based on a simple but powerful idea: two-generation approaches, which focus on creating opportunities for and addressing needs of parents and children together, hold great promise and…
Ideas Into Action: The 2012 Assets Learning Conference
Tweet to @alevere Grounded in core values like boldness, creativity and determination, Ascend is founded on the belief that a country in which millions of families are living in poverty is neither equitable nor sustainable. Recognizing the power of collaboration as a vehicle for putting promising ideas into meaningful action, the Ascend Fellowship convenes a…