Lily
Roberts

Managing Director, Inclusive Growth

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Lily Roberts

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Lily Roberts is the managing director for Inclusive Growth at American Progress. Her work focuses on raising wages; combating economic inequality linked to race, gender, and geography; and building wealth and stability for American families. She is the former managing director for economic policy and director of economic mobility at American Progress. She has appeared on CNBC, NPR, and Politico to discuss economic justice and the labor market.

Prior to joining American Progress, Roberts worked at Mathematica Policy Research, where she researched federal strategies to support low- and middle-income families.

Roberts received a master’s degree in social work, focusing on community development, from Case Western Reserve University. Her undergraduate degree in military history and English is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Roberts has served as a case manager at a Washington, D.C., social services nonprofit and was previously an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Shaw.

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The Devastating Harms of House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill by State and Congressional District Article
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) arrives to a House Rules Committee meeting on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at the U.S. Capitol.

The Devastating Harms of House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill by State and Congressional District

Estimates for the increase in number of uninsured people by 2034; how many people could lose some or all SNAP benefits; and the number of jobs at risk due to elimination of clean energy tax credits under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

Farms and Families in Crisis: The Trump Administration’s Assault on America’s Food System Past Event

Farms and Families in Crisis: The Trump Administration’s Assault on America’s Food System

Please join the Center for American Progress for the next in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE’s cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans. This event will focus on how cuts to food pantries, Farm to School grants, and school lunches, as well as to USDA and FDA food safety oversight, put millions at risk of going hungry.

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Project 2025 Would Cut Access to Overtime Pay Article
An employee pushes shopping carts out the front doors of a dollar store.

Project 2025 Would Cut Access to Overtime Pay

Project 2025 would make eligibility for overtime—also known as time-and-a-half pay—more confusing for workers to navigate and easier for employers to abuse.

Lily Roberts

Converting Vacant Office Space Into Housing Report
The corner of an empty apartment with windows that look onto office buildings in Lower Manhattan is seen.

Converting Vacant Office Space Into Housing

The adaptive reuse of underutilized office buildings, if paired with government support and comprehensive planning, might be a valuable tool in many local markets for addressing the vast need for more—and more affordable—housing.

Michela Zonta, Lily Roberts, Jessica Vela

5 Reasons Why Careening From Near Shutdown to Near Shutdown Is Bad for America Article
The waning Snow Moon sets behind the U.S. Capitol Dome.

5 Reasons Why Careening From Near Shutdown to Near Shutdown Is Bad for America

While avoiding a federal government shutdown is important, the chaos of constant shutdown threats; uncertainties about funding; and patchwork continuing resolutions are still detrimental for the government’s ability to provide services and the health of American democracy.

The Time Tax: Better Access to Benefits by Reducing Administrative Burden Past Event
BROOKSVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 28: Rusty Swain, 59, in Brooksville, Fla. on November 28, 2022. Swain, who has neck and back injuries from a job-related accident 10 years ago, says his bills have been piling up with his disability claim pending for a year.

The Time Tax: Better Access to Benefits by Reducing Administrative Burden

Please join the Center for American Progress for a panel discussion with experts on best practices for reducing administrative burden and increasing access to the services and programs individuals and their families need.

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Counterpoint: The Farm Bill Is About More Than Farmers In the News

Counterpoint: The Farm Bill Is About More Than Farmers

In an opinion piece published by "DC Journal," Lily Roberts argues why the farm bill is not for wealthy farmers but is instead essential for growing the economy and the middle class.

DC Journal

Lily Roberts

Public and Private Investments Are Poised To Transform Michigan Report
A worker works on the bed of one of Ford’s battery-powered F-150 Lightning trucks.

Public and Private Investments Are Poised To Transform Michigan

The historic home of the automotive industry, Michigan, stands to benefit from major infrastructure improvements and new plants for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, especially if it incorporates public input and builds worker power to grow the middle class.

David Ballard, Lily Roberts, Marina Zhavoronkova, 4 More Kevin DeGood, Emily Gee, Jessica Vela, Karla Walter

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