The pandemic created an unprecedented disruption that shook the labor force across the country. With millions of Americans making important career shifts, and a societal challenging and redefining of "work" - we are experiencing a Great Reshuffling in our labor market. In this roundtable discussion, we’ll explore what unique challenges workers are facing and how basic income can support this shift in building a dignity economy.

Emily Squadra has been a professional baker and cook for over a decade and has allowed her passion for food to take her many places. After running a baking company during the pandemic and pivoting several times, she decided to exit the food industry and became a substitute teacher for PPS with goals of becoming a health teacher who teaches kids how to cook.

Madeline Neighly, Economic Security Project

Madeline Neighly is the Director of Guaranteed Income at the Economic Security Project and Co-Chair of the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice. Prior to joining ESP, she was a Director of Advocacy and Policy at the Roosevelt Institute where she focused on corporate power issues.

Leslie E. Kausch has been a NC Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor since 1994.  For the first half of her career, she provided counseling and victim advocacy for crime victims, primarily in cases of domestic violence and sexual assault, through a homeless shelter, police department, courts, and non-profit settings.  As part of her work, she tried to help people navigate an inadequate and punitive means-tested system of public and private assistance.  Currently, she is in private practice, specializing in helping adolescents and adults take a more proactive approach to their lives.

Eri Noguchi serves as the Associate Executive Director of the Association to Benefit Children (ABC), a New York City-based not-for-profit organization providing early childhood education, and youth, family support, and mental health services to children and families. Her professional practice has focused on the systems of care represented by ABC's programs through an anti-poverty and equity lens. She also teaches social work and urban studies students at Columbia University and Roosevelt House of Hunter College at the City University of New York, and serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network.

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The Great Reshuffling: Pandemic Impacts on the Re-visioning of Work and Labor