An America without poverty is possible.

The Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality (GCPI) is proud to announce that Executive Director Lelaine Bigelow has been selected as a 2025 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow.
The Aspen Ascend Fellowship brings together a diverse, cross-sector cohort of leaders who are reimagining and reshaping systems to improve well-being for children, families, and communities. Since its founding in 2012, the Fellowship has built a network of more than 180 changemakers nationwide who are advancing bold solutions to foster intergenerational mobility and opportunity.

As an Ascend Fellow, Lelaine will focus on advancing a policy agenda that centers women of color in efforts to combat poverty—not as an afterthought, but as a powerful and strategic pathway to lasting economic well-being for all families. This focus builds on her leadership at GCPI, where she has championed research-driven solutions to address poverty and inequality.

Without action from Congress, subsidies that keep health insurance premiums affordable for millions will expire at the end of 2025. Expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits would push health care out of reach for millions, roll back progress toward health equity, and destabilize the health care system. Families with low incomes, particularly Black and Latinx families, and people at risk of losing Medicaid would be hit the hardest. This analysis highlights what’s at risk for families, health equity, and the broader health care system.

Women are working despite the odds, including unequal pay, unpredictable low-wage jobs, and few or no benefits. The recently passed reconciliation law—dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBA) by its backers—adds harsh new work requirements to SNAP and Medicaid. The result? Millions of working women, mothers, single moms, and grandmothers could lose access to food assistance and health coverage—not because they don’t work hard enough, but because of rigid rules that ignore the realities of women’s lives.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has provided health and nutrition supports to mothers and children for over 50 years. President Trump’s FY26 budget proposal threatens to slash WIC benefits for 6.8 million program participants across the country. This blog post illustrates how cutting WIC benefits will undermine the health and well-being of mothers and children and cost the government more in the long run.

A provision in the Budget Reconciliation package would require precertification for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), delaying refunds and creating audit-like hurdles for millions of low-income families. The change targets those who earn the least, while leaving far larger sources of revenue—like wealthy individuals and corporations—untouched.