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After receiving applications from 10 countries, 33 U.S. states, and D.C, The Workers Lab is proud to announce our 2024 Innovation Fund Fellows—nine visionary leaders building new ideas for and with workers that address Climate Justice and leverage Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI).
A Worker-Centered Approach to Innovation
As the National Home for Worker-Centered Innovation, The Workers Lab is committed to giving new ideas for and with workers a chance to succeed. Since 2014, The Innovation Fund has invested $8 million in 100 innovators toward the vision of a country where all workers are safe, healthy, secure, and have power. Last year, we called for innovative worker-centered ideas focused on Climate Justice and Gen AI. At a time when workers face unprecedented challenges from extreme weather to technological displacement, we remain committed to investing in innovation that centers their voices, needs, and experiences.
Our 2024 Innovation Fund fellows represent the importance of diverse perspectives and lived experience in transforming old and exclusive systems into ones that are modern and inclusive. With 75% entrepreneurs of color and 65% women-led initiatives, our fellows are tackling critical issues from multiple angles—from heat-protection wearables for frontline workers to AI tools empowering teachers and supporting advocacy on behalf of incarcerated workers. Amid a political climate encouraging leaders, organizations, and individuals to hide, set aside, or abandon their values, we are doubling down on building a modern and inclusive future for and with workers, their families, children, and communities.
Our 2024 Innovation Fund Fellows prove that there is no shortage of new ideas for and with workers, even and especially in the face of climate and technological changes. The shortage, rather, lies with the investment and opportunity available in the ecosystem of worker-centered innovation to bring these new ideas to life.
Why Climate Justice?
The climate transition is already reshaping key industries, impacting millions of workers in agriculture, energy, construction, and transportation. Without intentional design, it risks repeating cycles of exclusion and exploitation. Centering workers ensures fair pay, safety, and career paths in green sectors. It also gives a chance to new ideas overlooked by public and private capital, as investments in climate solutions face uncertain political challenges.
Climate change isn't just an environmental crisis—it's a worker crisis that disproportionately impacts those who have contributed least to the harm, face the harshest effects, and have the fewest resources to adapt. From massive Hurricanes like Katrina, Harvey, and Maria to increasingly frequent coastal flooding and wildfires, we’ve seen climate change's devastating impact on communities, especially those who have been historically marginalized. Five of our fellows are building innovations that address Climate Justice:
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Driver Systems (National), led by Erik Forman, provides digital infrastructure for driver-owned rideshare cooperatives with high-road employment practices. As robotaxis threaten to displace human drivers, Driver Systems is building worker power to win legislative gains for a just, green transition in the transportation industry. |
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Share Farm (Washington), led by Vincent Peak, is building a national data infrastructure that helps farmers demonstrate their role as frontline climate workers. Through tools like the Farmer Data Wallet and Impact Index, Share Farm enables underrepresented, regenerative, and small-to-mid-sized farmers to capture and share meaningful impact data, including soil health, water use, labor practices, and climate-resilient efforts. |
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PositiveHire (South Carolina), led by Michele Heyward, is building a transformative program to bridge the energy equity gap while providing sustainable job opportunities to Black communities in the rural South. Through comprehensive training, job creation, and infrastructure development, PositiveHire addresses systemic barriers to sustainable solar careers while fostering economic growth in communities with limited access to livable wages and transportation. |
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Workizen (Worker + Citizen - National), led by Rekha Grennan, is creating an anonymized worker-centric digital career hub that builds corporate employees' individual and collective power while holding companies accountable to their climate commitments. By collecting and sharing insights and activating workers to use their shareholder voting rights, Workizen is creating new climate-worker coalitions within the workplace. |
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Eztia (National), co-led by Tiffany Yeh, is developing lightweight cooling wearables that prevent heat-related illnesses in workers using a novel, water-powered material. As climate change continues to break heat records globally, Eztia's solution extracts heat for up to 8 hours, reducing skin temperature by ~10°C without electricity—a game-changer for construction, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and other workers exposed to hot environments. |
Why Gen AI?
Emerging technologies like Gen AI are reshaping work, often without input from the workers most affected. Without intentional action, Gen AI could deepen inequality through job loss, surveillance, and concentrated profit and corporate power. Involving workers in the design and governance of AI is essential, especially where labor protections and policy adoption lag, to ensure innovation serves the public good and its benefits are widely shared.
As artificial intelligence transforms the workplace, we reflect on the history of industrialization, when workers were often excluded from having a seat at the table as innovations were implemented, coming at the cost of their rights and protections. Four of our fellows are ensuring today’s emerging technologies are developed and deployed in ways that benefit workers and strengthen worker power:
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ThriveLink (Missouri), led by Kwamane Liddell, connects 130 million adults with reading barriers to social programs through voice-activated technology—no internet or smartphone required. It streamlines enrollment and access for workers with low wages while reducing administrative strain on health and social service staff amid increasing eligibility and documentation demands. |
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PLEA (Prison Labor Exploitation Awareness - National), led by Grace Lin, is creating a digital platform that empowers citizens with data and AI-powered tools to effectively advocate for incarcerated workers' rights nationally. By hosting a central database on prison labor conditions and providing AI tools to create advocacy communications quickly, PLEA is building collective power for a population explicitly excluded from labor protections. |
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Planscribe (Illinois), led by Salem Boyland, is leveraging Generative AI to streamline administrative tasks, personalize learning plans, and provide real-time support for special education teachers in underserved districts. By automating routine paperwork that contributes to burnout, Planscribe empowers educators to focus more on direct student interaction while fostering professional autonomy. |
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Briico (National), led by Emily Kerr-Finell, helps immigrants and underresourced individuals launch legal, profitable microbusinesses in under 30 days for less than $200. Its hybrid AI-human model combines personalized, action-oriented training with AI tools to create fast, affordable pathways to economic stability for those often excluded from traditional jobs. |
The Innovation Fund Fellowship
Workers must be at the center of innovation, ensuring our technology and infrastructure work for everyone, not just a powerful few. Our 2024 Innovation Fund Fellows are midway through their 5-month virtual program designed to provide the support they need to scale their impact.
Currently, they are:
- Engaging in monthly community-based learning sessions
- Receiving mentorship from experienced coaches and leaders with firsthand experience
- Accessing customized technical and evaluation support tailored to their innovation
- Refining their business model and trajectory for scaled impact
- Earning a monthly stipend
At the end of the fellowship, fellows will have the opportunity to receive up to $200,000 in additional funding and technical support to bring their ideas to the next level, along with a full year of continued mentorship and support.
Worker-Centered Innovation Is the Future Of Work
Those most impacted by emerging climate and technological challenges must be at the forefront of creating solutions for them. At The Workers Lab, we believe that giving new ideas for and with workers a chance to succeed is how we build modern, inclusive systems that ensure all workers are safe, healthy, secure, and have power.
Our Innovation Fund embodies this belief, and so do our fellows. Their ideas signal a rising movement where workers aren’t just protected in the future economy—they’re leading it.
Our 2025 Innovation Fund: Coming Soon!
The Workers Lab is proud to be the National Home for Worker-Centered Innovation—investing in, learning from, and scaling solutions that help shape modern and inclusive systems for all workers. We invite you to follow our fellows' journeys through our social media channels and newsletter.
You can also sign up for updates about our 2025 Innovation Fund cycle, which will be opening for applications soon. Together, we can build a future where all workers are safe, healthy, secure, and have power.
Learn more about our past fellows and The Innovation Fund below!