Burning Glass Institute
The Burning Glass Institute is a labor policy and research think tank that produces research and reports to promote worker economic mobility. The Burning Glass Institute has partnered with Walmart, the American Enterprise Institute, ExcelinEd, and other organizations on research projects focused on economic mobility and job training. 1 2 3
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Activities
The Burning Glass Institute is a nonprofit that promotes economic mobility and skills training and believes the left-of-center principle of equity. The organization produces research and attempts to promote economic mobility by working with educators, businesses, and lawmakers. 1 2
Burning Glass Institute was founded in 2021 as a nonprofit think tank that created policy research using the data created by Lightcast. Lightcast, formerly known as “Burning Glass Technologies,” is a labor market data firm. Matt Sigelman, the president of the Burning Glass Institute, was previously the chairman and chief executive officer of Lightcast. 4 5 6
The Burning Glass Institute contends that 30 percent of job skills have been replaced in the past decade, that companies are unable to attract the diverse workforces they desire, that colleges and universities do not create educational programs that match labor market demand, and that workers are not being aided in gaining the new skills they need to acquire throughout their careers to stay competitive. 1
The Burning Glass Institute produces a report called the “American Opportunity Index” that scores the largest 250 public companies in America on how well they promote economic mobility among their employees. The Index is a joint project of the Burning Glass Institute, Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work, and the Shultz Family Foundation. 1
Other research produced by the Burning Glass Institute include a report detailing whether credentials actually produce wage gains, a report that identifies jobs with high economic mobility that do not demand four-year-degrees and details ways for workers to transition to those jobs, the British Opportunity Index that compares employees across large British companies measuring employee mobility and pay as well as hiring practices, and a report that analyzes artificial intelligence technology adoption and the diffusion of AI skills in the U.S. economy. 7
Companies and organizations that have partnered with the Burning Glass Institute to produce reports include Walmart, the American Enterprise Institute, American Student Assistance, and ExcelinEd. The Burning Glass Institute reportedly worked with Walmart and other companies to standardize job description language to aid employees who have skills but may not recognize the way that specific companies refer to those skills. 7 8
Leadership
The president of the Burning Glass Institute was Matt Sigelman as of 2025. Sigelman was previously a senior advisor at the Project at Workforce at Harvard, a fellow and future project co-lead at the Stanford Center for Longevity, and the chairman and CEO of Lightcast. 9 6
The chief economist of the Burning Glass Institute was Gad Levanon as of 2025. Levanon was previously an adjunct professor at New York University the head of labor market institutes at the Conference Board, the chief economist for North America at the Conference Board, and an economist for the Bank of Israel. 9 10
Financials
According to tax filings, in 2023 the Burning Glass Institute reported $7,922,188 in revenue, $5,703,554 in expenses, and $4,305,717 in assets. Of its expenses, the organization spent $4,946,449 in attempt to shape though leadership of educators and policymakers focused on equity and prosperity. 2