The Grief Gap and Beyond: The Lab Redefining Economic Mobility

Within the lens of human concern, Michael O’Bryan has been focused on the systemic inequities and economic challenges through his Wealth + Work Futures Lab at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. Under his leadership, the Lab is pioneering a holistic approach to economic mobility that goes beyond traditional benchmarks to focus on the human experience and the complex interplay of factors that influence economic outcomes.

According to Drexel’s website, “The Wealth + Work Futures Lab emerged from earlier work led by [O’Bryan] called The Metro Futures Coalition. The Metro Futures Coalition weaved together the expertise of workforce specialists, the ambition of young adults, the vision of employers, and the advocacy of champions who believe in change.” Today, The Wealth + Work Futures Lab has grown to nine team members working with various partners “to nurture well-being across several dimensions: family, work, social, spiritual, and psychological.” 

Together, their expansive vision focuses on the broader concept of well-being and, as O’Bryan puts highlights, the conditions that allow people to “live, develop, and die well.”

Ambition Meets Reality

At the heart of the Lab’s work is its innovative fellowship program, which brings together young adults ages 18-26 for a unique blend of artistic expression, professional development, and community-focused research. Kevin Carter, the Senior Practice and Research Fellow, describes the program’s impact:

“We’re giving them an opportunity to explore some of their challenges, whether it’s work or life in general. We’re providing expertise in their profession that [professional mentors] are willing to lend to the young people.”

The fellowship goes beyond traditional workforce development by incorporating art and media as tools for emotional processing and advocacy. Fellows engage in photography, poetry, and playwriting, using these mediums to explore and communicate complex issues such as grief, loss, and societal challenges.

One of the Lab’s groundbreaking initiatives is to examine the “Grief Gap” between Black and white youth in Philadelphia. By partnering with  Judi’s House to compile bereavement data for children under the ages of 18 and 24 who lost a sibling or parent between 1980 and 2022, the Lab is shedding light on the disproportionate impact of loss on communities of color.

Alicia Atkinson, the Lab’s Research and Innovation Officer, explains their approach: “We’re trying to expand notions of what grief and loss is, looking at it not just in terms of death, but also the everyday challenges of dealing with changes and losses in the environment.” This perspective allows the Lab to engage with the complex realities faced by Philadelphia residents, particularly young people of color, who are struggling to navigate a landscape of dwindling opportunities and increasing economic pressures.

And while death is still an all-too common form of loss faced by young Philadelphia residents of color, the Lab’s approach includes other forms of loss in its examination of grief, such as family separation due to incarceration, lack of quality public education, and erosion of economic opportunity. 

Economic Impact on Humanity

The Lab’s research challenges traditional notions of success and economic mobility.

 Atkinson notes, “We’re looking at some longitudinal data… trying to do deep dives on the ecological conditions of Philadelphia that really kind of maintained economic immobility over the last 25 years.”

This approach is yielding important insights. For example, the Lab has identified that the opposite of opportunity isn’t necessarily poverty, but rather a lack of choice and constraint. This insight is changing the way the Lab approaches workforce development and economic policy recommendations.

A major focus of the Lab’s work is on “employment capital” – the benefits and conditions that contribute to wealth creation and economic resilience. The Lab works to ensure that employers invest in workers through fair wages, comprehensive benefits, and dignified working conditions.

Atkinson explains their approach to assessing skills, “We’re trying to get really clear to make sure employers aren’t just using different language to signal middle-class norms and expectations. We’re trying to honor cultural backgrounds and experiences that maybe weren’t cultivated in traditional work environments.”

O’Bryan emphasizes,

“We are doing our best to document and demonstrate the breadth and depth of the loss. It’s not just about numbers; it’s about understanding the human impact.” It’s about understanding that “people are living at the intersection of grief, precarious work, unstable work, low, extremely low wage work and the absence of wealth.” O’Bryan continues, “as Raj Chetty’s work points out… economic mobility through the lens of what he would call opportunity. …and what’s interesting to me is that the opposite of opportunity is not necessarily poverty, but it is no choice, right? If opportunity is about a variety of choices and options before you, and opportunity is about what you can capitalize on and take advantage of to raise you up to the next level, then I think about the opposite of that, being coercion, being constraints, heavy constraints, structural constraints at varying levels of existence that really relegate you to little to no agency or choice around how you want to develop, and on whether or not you will live, die, and develop well.” 

Although the Lab’s work on grief and loss has not yet directly informed policy and cross-sector collaboration, O’Bryan and his team are laying the groundwork for future impact. They are advocating for developmentally-informed frameworks that can guide policy on issues related to work, future work, wealth, and wealth creation.

Wealth + Work Futures Lab 2022/2023 Fellows (from back to front), Charlotte, Mar, Benji, and Mohammad

The Lab’s collaborative approach involves developing ecosystems around specific initiatives or goals. An example of this is their work in Camden to create a “healthy Camden food co-op” and explore the connections within the local food ecosystem. “Our goal is to create a purchasing cooperative, but also looking at various connections within the food ecosystem and Camden,” said Austin Planer, Chief of Staff/ Inneraction Lab Fellow, who is working with Ana Martina, the Lab’s Cooperative and Business Development Manager, to do discovery work on this initiative. Together they are supporting the Lab in figuring out what technical assistance is needed, how to politically align folks on cooperative models, who benefits from this, and what potential shortcomings could arise.

“We’re doing a deeper ecosystem dive, which is kind of a microcosm of the work. What the Lab at large does, we really look to develop ecosystems around particular initiatives or goals, so trying to connect folks in different ways to some of these initiatives or some of the work that we’re doing.” Planer offers employer engagement work as an example, where the Lab is “really trying to call… employers together to support them and [gain a] better understanding how you can create or support in developing a healthy workforce ecosystem through development, like workforce development. We really take a look, or we look at the employee life cycle.”

Emma Freedman, Community Impact Manager with The Community Foundation of South Jersey shared that The Lab and O’Bryan’s  “approach to everything is through a design lens, which was new to me. At moments it felt like the approach slowed the work down because it is so intentional around designing vs. jumping right into piloting an idea. This approach has been key to ensuring that we are being intentional about all the different realities, like policies or systems, that touch the project or affect it in some way.

Intentional Leadership

O’Bryan’s leadership style and vision have been instrumental in shaping the Lab’s innovative approach. Atkinson describes his impact: “Working with Mike, I have so much gratitude… He’s choosing to be here, he’s choosing to be in Philadelphia, and he’s choosing to really be present in this community in a way that I think is so powerful to witness.”

His interdisciplinary approach, which combines insights from brain science, systems thinking and community work, has created a unique environment that fosters creativity and pushes the boundaries of traditional economic development thinking.

Despite the progress made, systemic obstacles remain. O’Bryan acknowledges the ongoing challenges of racial inequality, generational poverty, and the implementation of trauma-informed practices in the workplace continue to be a challenge.

However, the Lab’s work provides a roadmap for addressing some of Philadelphia’s most pressing challenges. By working with employers, policymakers, and community members, the Wealth + Work Futures Lab is not just theorizing about change, but actively shaping a more equitable economic future for Philadelphia and beyond.

O’Bryan emphasizes, “Success isn’t measured by accolades or headlines — it’s about creating lasting change. We need to keep pushing forward, expanding our lens of human concern to include everyone.”

Follow O’Bryan’s Journey to the Wealth + Work Futures Lab