The Benefits Futures Studio
The Studio is a collaborative initiative connecting research, policy, and leadership to advance a more effective, equitable, and people-centered public benefits system.
We bring together innovators and partners to move ideas from the field into policymaking—and from vision into implementation.
What We Do
The Studio supports work across long-term transformation and near-term improvements, centering people’s lived experience and practical implementation.
Elevate Leaders
Support leaders to incubate the ideas, relationships, and infrastructure needed to transform how public benefits are designed and delivered.
Shift the Narrative
Reframe who benefits systems are for—and how they should function—to make the next chapter of public benefits in America possible.
Advance Near-Term Solutions
Advance tangible solutions where impact is possible in the near term, while keeping long-term system transformation in view.
Innovators
The Studio features innovators working across policy, technology, research, and lived experience—practitioners, advocates, and builders developing practical pathways toward a benefits system that centers people.
“Homelessness isn’t something that only happens to others—people can fall at any point in life.”
Kadisha Davis
Housing & Homelessness Advocate
Member, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program Community Advisory Group
“I help turn policy into systems that work with integrity, empathy, and modern tools.”
Cassandra Madison
Chief Operating Officer, Center for Civic Futures; public interest technology leader
“I help families navigate complex systems so they can build stability and dignity.”
Victor Gavilanes
Family Resource Specialist, JusticeWorks YouthCare Community Organizer & Member, Aspen FSP Community Advisory Group
“I center the lived experiences of disabled people to understand how policy shapes access to economic security.”
Katie Savin
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, CSU Sacramento, Ford Fellow in Disability Policy Research, National Academy of Social Insurance
“I make economics and public policy accessible to people who are usually shut out of the conversation.”
Kathryn Edwards
Economist & Policy Writer
Co-Founder, Optimist Economy
“I’ve seen how fragmented systems create unnecessary work for caseworkers and real harm for families. When we simplify how government works, access improves for everyone.”
Sarah Esty
Public Benefits Systems Leader, Former Senior Advisor for Technology & Delivery, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
With Gratitude
We’re grateful to the Ford Foundation and the Pritzker Children’s Initiative for their early support in making the Benefits Futures Studio possible.
Contact Us
Interested in learning more about the Benefits Futures Studio, supporting this work, or contributing ideas? We welcome conversations with funders, collaborators, and leaders working to imagine what comes next.