Everything Co-op With Vernon Oakes

Vernon discusses the relationship between Spirituality and Cooperatives

Vernon and Daniel discussed his involvement in the cooperative movement, the reform of the farm credit system, and the Cooperative Hall of Fame. Daniel T. Kelley is the owner and operator of Kelley Farms, a diversified corn and soybean operation in Normal, Illinois. He is an authentic leader and champion of cooperative development, who has spent more than three decades serving the cooperative sector. Most recently, he retired as board chairman and president of the agriculture supply cooperative GROWMARK, Inc. Kelley's roots in the cooperative movement began in 1970 when, as a full-time farmer, he joined his local cooperative, Evergreen FS. He later served as president of the organization from 1985 to 2008. In the 1980s, Kelley shouldered efforts to reform the Farm Credit Banks, creating a foundation for success that the Farm Credit System, its member-owners and rural communities enjoy today. Over his career Kelley has served on many cooperative boards. He is currently on the board of Nationwide Mutual Insuran

Vernon and Judy discuss her involvement in the cooperative movement, trends in cooperative development, and how to effectively engage politicians in the cooperative movement. For over 40 years, Judy has been a champion for cooperative development, articulating a steady and unswerving vision about the power of cooperation, and persistently reminding cooperatives and cooperative institutions that they exist to empower people. Her incredible capacity as a strategist has resulted in cross-sectoral coalitions that have created critical infrastructure for the co-op community domestically and internationally. Ziewacz was instrumental in launching the nation's first statewide cooperative development center - now known as Cooperative Development Services. She also played a key role in establishing CooperationWorks!, a national cooperative development network, which is responsible for the creation of hundreds of co-ops, thousands of jobs, and serving hundreds of thousands of members. As the Executive Director of the Co

Vernon interviews Hall of Fame Hero Dr. Ann Hoyt. Vernon and Dr. Hoyt discuss her journey as a Cooperator, cooperatives in the Italian prison system, consumer cooperatives, economic justice, and economic Democracy.

Vernon and William discuss his involvement in the cooperative movement, the Cooperative Hall of Fame, and his vision for the next phase of the movement. William Nelson's involvement in cooperative education began in the 1970s while serving as community education director for the Minneapolis public school system, focusing on connecting urban and rural schools around food and hunger issues. In this role, Nelson was first introduced to a new wave of food cooperatives in the Twin Cities. Nelson went on to spend 13 years at the University of Minnesota-Waseca, teaching courses on cooperatives, agriculture, entrepreneurship and leadership. Nelson is a founding member and director for the Ralph K. Morris Foundation. He has also brought stable leadership and financial support to the Association of Cooperative Educators. And through his long tenure as president of The Cooperative Foundation, Nelson helped expand support for cooperative development, extension, education and research.

Vernon and his guests discuss the evolution of housing cooperatives in Washington, D.C., the prospect of forming a federation of limited equity housing cooperatives, and the role cooperatives play in improving the quality of life for its participants. Ajowa Nzinga Ifateyo has been a co-editor of Grassroots Economic Organizing, (GEO) for more than 10 years. GEO, a 30-year-old publication, reports on cooperative developments around the world, and provides advocacy for alternative economic solutions. Her work with GEO has inspired her to research and think about ways to empower individuals to make personal changes to better organize and participate in cooperative/group entrepreneurial enterprises. Ajowa has nine years of experience on cooperative boards, including: Ujamaa Collective, the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and the Eastern Conference on Workplace Development. In 2000, she and four other D.C. residents co-founded an affordable housing co-op for community organizers, the Ella Jo Baker Intention

Vernon and Ed discuss the democratization of wealth, how cooperatives are used to enhance communities and development, and democratic ownership. Ed Whitfield is co-founder and co-managing director of the Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC). A long time social justice activist, Ed had been involved in labor, community organizing and peace work since the late 60's when he was a student activist at Cornell University. He was the chairman of the Greensboro Redevelopment Commission for 9 years and formerly board chairman of Greensboro's Triad Minority Development Corporation. He is currently helping to provide technical assistance to a group of people living in an urban food desert struggling to develop a community owned cooperative grocery store.

Vernon Discusses the Role of cooperatives in Black History. He also reflects upon comments made by past guest related to the same.

Vernon discusses the Community Purchasing Alliance and interviews Marile Rist, President of Christ Lutheran Church. The Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA) is a social-purpose cooperative that leverages the buying power of community institutions to help lower operating costs, while also making investments in sustainability, worker equity, and community organizing. As a cooperative, CPA is wholly owned by its members, that serves the needs of its members first. Through aggregation and group procurement of services, CPA helps its members save money and get better service, while also holding vendors to higher standards in terms of environmental and worker practices.

Vernon interviews Esteban Kelly, educator, community organizer, and radical geographer. He's the current Board President of the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance (PACA). He works for the New Economy Coalition, and is also a founder and worker-owner of AORTA, (Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance, a worker co-op of educators whose facilitation and consulting strengthens cooperatives and social justice groups.

Vernon Oakes interviews Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard on Everything Coop, a weekly radio show that airs on Radio One's landmark station, WOL 1450 AM, in the Washington, DC market. Dr. Gordon Nembhard discussed her book Collective Courage: The History of African American Economic Thought and Practice. The book traces economic cooperation from the early 1700's to the present. From Mutual Aid Societies to The Federation of Southern Cooperatives.

Vernon interviews Bruce Reynolds, Program Leader for the Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Programs in their Rural Development Division.

Vernon interviews RJ Taylor, Board Chair for Equal Exchange, and Sales representative based om Virginia. Vernon and RJ discuss the organizational structure of Equal Exchange, Fair Trade, the relevancy of being involved in a purpose driven business, and the concept of voting with your dollars.

Vernon interviews Beth Ann Caspersen, Quality Control Manager at the Equal Exchange Cooperative. She is a sensory specialist and manages Equal Exchange's coffee quality from the point of origin through to the finished product. She has a B.A. in Anthropology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Sensory Science and Consumer Testing certificate program at UC Davis and has been with Equal Exchange for more than 17 years.

Vernon Interviews Rodney North, Public Relations Manager for Equal Exchange, a 100+ person worker co-operative. Rodney joined Equal Exchange 19 years ago and has been a member of the co-op for 17 years. During this time the co-op has grown into a $55 million enterprise, best known for its Fair Trade coffee, tea & chocolate. North has held a variety of other roles within the co-op.

Vernon interviews Former Diplomat James Joseph. Mr. Joseph is a Professor of Public Policy Studies at Duke University. Vernon and Mr. Joseph discussed several initiatives and programs implemented by him, and the Spirit of Ubuntu, the Zulu principal that is said to be the reason President Mandela was able to forgive his captors, and eventually work with them.

ernon and David discuss his recently published article, "Thurgood Marshall, From Cooperative Apartment to Supreme Court," and his life work in the cooperative movement. During February, Everything Co-op celebrates Black History Month by focusing on the Association for the Study of African American Life and History's Theme. This year's theme is The Crisis in Black Education. Therefore, it is quite fitting to bring David Thompson to the microphone again, for a discussion about his article on Thurgood Marshall, and his upcoming book, Cooperatives and the Civil Rights Movement. An excerpt from Cooperatives and the Civil Rights Movement. At the epi-center of the cooperative movement in Harlem was a housing cooperative called the Dunbar Apartments. Filling an entire city block, this 511-unit housing cooperative was funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as the first black housing cooperative in the country. When it opened in 1928, on the eve of the Great Depression, the Dunbar was the first home ownership opportunity f

Vernon interviews Terry D. Simonette, President and CEO of Capital Impact Partners (CIP). Vernon and Terry discuss how CIP uses it's CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) Status to transforms underserved communities into strong, vibrant places of opportunity. Capital Impact Partners is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution which operates nationally to help underserved people build strong, vibrant communities. Mr. Simonette is responsible for the overall direction and execution of Capital Impact Partners strategic mission, financial management functions, and senior leadership development. While at Capital Impact Partners, he has promoted an insightful strategy that has steadily increased the size and scope of the organization. In addition to extensive community investment activities, under Mr. Simonette's stewardship, Capital Impact Partners has broadened its activities to include, nonprofit and cooperative capacity building, social innovation programs, and state and federal poli

Vernon and Judy discuss her involvement in the cooperative movement, trends in cooperative development, and how to effectively engage politicians in the cooperative movement. For over 40 years, Judy has been a champion for cooperative development, articulating a steady and unswerving vision about the power of cooperation, and persistently reminding cooperatives and cooperative institutions that they exist to empower people. Her incredible capacity as a strategist has resulted in cross-sectoral coalitions that have created critical infrastructure for the co-op community domestically and internationally. Ziewacz was instrumental in launching the nation's first statewide cooperative development center - now known as Cooperative Development Services. She also played a key role in establishing CooperationWorks!, a national cooperative development network, which is responsible for the creation of hundreds of co-ops, thousands of jobs, and serving hundreds of thousands of members. As the Executive Director of the Co

Vernon interviews John Holdsclaw, Senior VP of Corporate Affairs at National Cooperative Bank (NCB). Vernon and John discuss the role NCB has played in building communities, and the tools that are used to sustain them. They also discuss many examples of how cooperatives were used to solve community problems by empowering the community within to create cooperatives, and take control of their destiny. Mr. Holdsclaw is NCB's first senior vice president of corporate affairs. He is charged with the development of new bank relationships and management of the bank's existing affiliations with Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). He also promotes and advances social investment opportunities within the philanthropic arena and in product development, furthering NCB's commitment to mission banking. Prior to joining NCB, Mr. Holdsclaw served as the Director of Policy Development for Capital Impact Partners, a strategic partner of NCB. As Director of Policy at Capital Impact Partners, he was instrumental in