Rebuilding the American Dream: The Markle Task Force on Jobs, Opportunity, and Economic Security

Lewis B. Kaden, M-RCBG Senior Fellow; John Harvey Gregory Lecturer on World Organization, Harvard Law School; Former Vice Chairman, Citigroup‎; Chairman, Markle Foundation Board of Trustees

The Markle Foundation Task Force on Jobs, Opportunity, and Economic Security includes 40 leaders in government, business, civil society, and academic institutions who have been working for two years on solutions to the critical problems of rebuilding an economy that provides every American with the skills and opportunity to find a productive role in the modern networked economy, with the economic security they seek for themselves and their family. Later this year the Task Force will publish a book that sets out their analysis of how the US and the global economy has changed, how government policy, business leadership, and the involvement of civil society and academic experts can lead the way by mapping the demographics of the changing jobs market and how public and private institutions and individuals themselves can develop the skills and credentials to achieve their goals. The Task Force will also set out more than a dozen pilot projects to demonstrate the potential of the recommendations.

This study group will focus on three parts of the Task Force work, with guests drawn from those involved in the project.  All sessions will be held from 4:15-5:30pm at locations to be announced.  Space is limited; sign up now to reserve your spot by sending your name, year, program, and school to kadenstudygroup@gmail.com.

Schedule and Guests

Wednesday, February 18
4:15-5:30pm
Carr Conference Room, R-219, HKS
Small Business Credit and Finance
Karen Mills, M-RCBG Senior Fellow and Former Administrator of the Small Business Administration

Wednesday, March 25
4:15-5:30pm
Carr Conference Room, R-219, HKS
Skill Training and Development by Business, Government, and Academic Institutions
Elizabeth Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer and CFO, AFL-CIO

Wednesday, April 1
4:15-5:30pm
Carr Conference Room, R-219, HKS
Innovative Leadership Needed for the Economy of the Future
Nancy Koehn, James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Lewis Kaden retired as Vice Chairman of Citigroup in 2013, which he had joined in 2005. At Citi, he was a member of the Executive Committee, Business Heads Committee, and Business Development Committee; he was Chairman of the Business Practices Committee, Controls and Compliance Committee, the Public Sector Clients Group, and the Citi Foundation.  He is the Lead Independent Director of ArcelorMittal, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Markle Foundation, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society. He is a Trustee of Human Rights First, the Century Foundation, the Business Council for International Understanding, and the Center for New American Security, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and the Advisory Council of the Stanford University Center on Longevity. Before joining Citigroup, he was a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Previously, he was a Professor of Law at Columbia University from 1976 to 1984 and Director of Columbia’s Center for Law and Economic Studies from 1980 to 1984. He served as a moderator for the Public Broadcasting System’s Media and Society Seminars, including the “Ethics in America” series, which won a Peabody award. Additionally, Kaden served as Chairman of the United States Government Overseas Presence Advisory Panel (1999-2000), the Industrial Cooperation Council of the State of New York, and Governor Mario Cuomo’s Commission on Competitiveness (1987-1992). He graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review. During 1963-64, he was the John Harvard Scholar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. 

Lewis B. Kaden headshot.

M-RCBG Senior Fellow Lewis B. Kaden.