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Worker Institute Field Trip

Our Mission

The Worker Institute at Cornell engages in research and education on contemporary labor issues, to generate innovative thinking and solutions to problems related to work, economy and society. The institute brings together researchers, educators and students with practitioners in labor, business and policymaking to confront growing economic and social inequalities, in the interests of working people and their families. A core value of the Worker Institute is that collective representation and workers' rights are vital to a fair economy, robust democracy and just society.

Advisory Council

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See our advisory council

People at the Institute

Patricia Campos-Medina

  • Executive Director, The Worker Institute

Risa Lieberwitz

  • Professor of Labor and Employment Law, ILR School, Academic Director, The Worker Institute

Kathleen Mulligan

  • Director of Labor Leadership Initiatives

Maheya Afnan

  • Administrative Manager, The Worker Institute

Anne Marie Brady

  • Director of Research for Worker Rights and Equity, ILR Worker Institute

Katie Gerken

  • Senior Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Jeff Grabelsky

  • Senior Extension Associate

Erica Iheme

  • Senior Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Elaine Kim

  • Senior Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Michael Lenmark

  • Senior Research Support Specialist, ILR Worker Institute

Lejdina Lluga

  • Administrative Assistant, The Worker Institute

Sherrie Morales

  • Program Coordinator

Natalia Navas

  • Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Anna Rivera

  • Program Coordinator

Arianna Schindle

  • Director of Training and Curriculum Design, Worker Rights and Equity, ILR Worker Institute

Zoë West

  • Senior Researcher, Worker Rights and Equity, ILR Worker Institute

KC Wagner

  • Director of Workplace Issues at Cornell University's ILR Metro District Office in New York City.

ILR Hosts 2025 UALE Northeast Summer School for Women+ in Unions and Worker Organizations

This summer, the reach of labor education in Ithaca expanded as more than 150 workers united as a network of leaders grounded in history and ready to drive meaningful change in their own communities.
Group shot of UALE Summer School participants
ILR Hosts 2025 UALE Northeast Summer School for Women+ in Unions and Worker Organizations

Worker Voices Matter in Deciding the Future of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA)

Given the ongoing debate on the impact of trade tariffs on US job creation, the Worker Institute, with a generous grant from CAROW, sponsored a transnational labor roundtable conference that brought together forty labor and academic stakeholders from the United States, Mexico, and Canada...
Group shot from USMCA roundtable event in Mexico City
Worker Voices Matter in Deciding the Future of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA)

ILR and Friends Remember and Recommit to Lois Gray’s Legacy

On April 17, friends and colleagues of the late Lois Gray gathered at ILR’s New York City office to remember the life work of the beloved and respected labor leader.
View of the audience, people sitting and some standing up at the back
ILR and Friends Remember and Recommit to Lois Gray’s Legacy
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Worker Institute Fellows

 

Through our Fellows program, the Worker Institute acknowledges the groundbreaking work of our external colleagues and partners in the labor movement. Worker Institute Fellows have been nominated due to their ongoing and continued work on key Worker Institute projects.

 

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See full list of fellows