Everything Co-op With Vernon Oakes

Deb Trocha, Executive Director of ICDC, discusses the Cooperatives and Diverse Communities 2020 conference that was held on October 30th, entitled “Reimagining Work: The Worker Cooperative Model.” She and Vernon talk about how the evolution and primary focus of the conference, and how worker co-ops are helping employees create businesses that are more equitable and just. Deb Trocha joined the Indiana Cooperative Development Center (ICDC) in 2006 after serving as Executive Director of the Indiana Small Business Development Center. She has over 20 years of economic development experience. Under her leadership, ICDC promotes cooperatives as a vibrant model to address economic and social needs. ICDC provides start-up, management, and technical assistance to a wide variety of co-ops in agriculture, arts, childcare, education, energy, and housing sectors. ICDC also provides training opportunities designed to bring together groups of people involved in co-op development.

Vernon interviews Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D, Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development at John Jay College of the City University of New York, and Renee Hatcher, Assistant Professor of Law at UIC John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Vernon and his guests will discuss strategies to address diversity, equity and Inclusion in cooperatives. Dr. Gordon Nembhard, is Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development at John Jay College, of the City University of New York; Author of Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, and a 2016 inductee into the U.S. Cooperative Hall of Fame. She is an affiliate scholar at the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where she is co-investigator for the “Measuring the Impact of Credit Unions,” Community and University Research Partnerships (CURA) project; and an affiliate scholar with the Economics Department’s Center on Race and Wealth at Howard

Laura Vogel, Senior Advisor for NRECA Political Affairs, and Kate LaTour, Director of Government Relations for the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International, discuss the importance of the 2020 Presidential election and resources provided through vote.coop for ALL voters. Laura Vogel joined NRECA in 2014, and is a member of the Political Affairs team. She is responsible for developing programs to encourage Co-op member and staff engagement in political issues that matter to the Co-op family, and is the program manager for their voter initiative, Co-ops Vote. She is also involved in NRECA’s political training programs, serving as an instructor for the Grassroots Course for co-op Directors, and provides strategic input for NRECA’s annual Youth Tour program. In 2019 Laura was named to the national steering committee for National Voter Registration Day. She has a Master’s Degree in Political Management from George Washington University, a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Miami University in O

Vernon interviews Allison Hellenbrand and Brad Forbes, participants from the 2020 Cooperative IMPACT Conference Cooperative Leaders and Scholars Institute (CLSI). The conference was held virtually, October 5 - 9, 2020. In acknowledgment of National Co-op Month, everyone who registers will have access to the sessions throughout October. The Cooperative Leaders and Scholars Institute is an opportunity to develop and engage young professionals (ages 18-35), and post-secondary students of any age with participation in this national Cooperative conference, and exposure to co-op industry and thought leaders, policymakers, and other key stakeholders. NCBA CLUSA's 2020 Cooperative IMPACT Virtual Conference is the only national, cross-sector event elevating the national conversation around co-ops, a trusted, proven way to do business and build communities. The annual conference provides an unparalleled platform to re-energize the cooperative movement and galvanize its champions around building the next economy. Th

NCB CEO Charles , Snyder joins NCBA CLUSA's President/CEO Doug O'Brien and VP of Communications and Public Relations John Torres, to discuss the 2020 Cooperative IMPACT Conference. This year the conference will be held virtually, October 5-9, 2020. Online registration is open at www.ncbaclusa.coop, and has the capacity to accommodate unlimited registrants. This conference offers an opportunity to join hundreds of co-op developers, financiers, community and city leaders, innovators, economists and policymakers. Everyone who registers will have access to the sessions throughout October, in acknowledgment of National Co-op Month. As President & CEO of NCBA CLUSA, Doug O'Brien works with the cooperative community, both domestically and internationally, to deepen its impact on individuals and communities. Doug has been with NCBA since 2016, where he has served as the Executive Vice President of Programs before becoming president and CEO in January 2018. John currently serves as the Vice President of Communicatio

Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union discusses racial equity in co-ops, and how COVID-19 has impacted farmers. EArlier this year Rob was elected as the National Farmers Union's 15th president during the organization's 118th anniversary convention. Larew, who was raised on a West Virginia dairy farm, served as NFU's Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Communications since fall 2016. In that role, he oversaw the organization's legislative advocacy in Congress and the executive branch as well as its public relations activities. Prior to his employment with NFU, Larew served over 22 years in Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), most recently as the staff director of the House Committee on Agriculture. Rob Larew has called for any additional aid to be distributed to those who need it the most. (See his statement below) "Even as restrictions ease, it is evident that farmers will be feeling the effects of the pandemic for quite some time. Markets have been slow to recover

Vernon Oakes talks with three more of Start.coop's 2020 Cohort of Entrepreneur Teams. The interviews are a precursor to The People's Pitch, a pitch event celebrating Start.coop's class of 2020. This week Vernon will interviews: Angela Dawson, President/CEO of Forty Acre Co-op, A Black-led cooperative advancing innovative agriculture and technology for socially disadvantaged farmers nationwide; Sarah Speare, CEO/Co-Founder of Tootie's Tempeh Inc, a worker-owned consumer foods cooperative that provides tasty, ready-to-cook, and sustainably made tempeh that supports local agriculture everywhere, and Stephen Bediako, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Turning Basin Labs, a cooperative staffing agency that connects temporary workers to the benefits of permanent employment. But Wait... This is Your Preview to an Experiential Event! All listeners of Everything Co-op, and readers of NCBA CLUSA's Co-op Weekly, have been invited to be active participants of The People's Pitch, on Friday October 9th, for final

Everything Co-op has partnered with Start.coop to interview graduates from its 2020 cohort of entrepreneur teams. The interviews are a precursor to "The People's Pitch", a pitch event celebrating the Start.coop's class of 2020. This week Greg Brodsky, Co-Director of Start.coop, joins representatives from two of the teams: Austin Robey, Co-Founder of Ampled, and Lewis Weil, founder of Money Positive, discusses the upcoming event with host, Vernon Oakes. But Wait... This is Your Preview to an Experiential Event! All attendees of NCBA CLUSA's 2020 Impact conference, have been invited to be active participants of "The People's Pitch," on Friday October 9th, for final graduation pitches from Start.coop's 2020 cohort teams, and to actually cast their VOTE to determine which start-ups are awarded funds from the $10,000 graduation prize pool. The event will be held in conjunction with the National Co-op Business Association (NCBA), as the close to their 2020 Impact conference. Start.coop exists to build an ec

Alison Powers, Cooperative & Community Initiatives Manager at Capital Impact Partners, and Camille Kerr, Founder of ChiFresh Kitchen discuss the 2020 Co-op Innovation Award, and the work being done by co-op owners of ChiFrish Kitchen. Capital Impact Partners, in partnership with National Cooperative Bank, awarded a total of $100,000 to the 2020 Co-op Innovative Awardees, - ChiFresh, The Guild, and the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative. This year the Co-op Innovation Award focused on organizations educating new audiences on the impact and potential of the cooperative model to disrupt income inequality, steward community ownership, and create strong vibrant places of opportunity. The Innovative Award aims to increase co-op development in communities with low incomes and/or communities of color. ChiFresh Kitchen was awarded $50,000 to expand its commercial kitchen, owned and determined by formerly incarcerated Chicagoans, primarily Black women. ChiFresh pushed forward its intended launch in response

Micha and Vernon discuss how the Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE) uses its expertise to address racial inequities in financial institutions, by providing technical assistance, instituting standardized policies that account for racial biases; and partnering with other community organizations to deliver services. As Executive Director, Micha is responsible for executive leadership, program development, capitalization, and operations. He first joined CFNE in 2010 as a Program Manager, helping raise grant and loan capital, managing compliance reporting, and new program development. Micha's co-op involvement goes back to his undergraduate membership in the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association. He has a background in nonprofit financial management and community organizing, and holds a BA in environmental studies from Oberlin College and an MS in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. He has also participated in the Opportunity Finance Network's leadership training program.

Vernon Interviews Nikishka Iyengar, founder and CEO of The Guild, a social enterprise, focused on building community wealth through real estate and entrepreneurship programs. Nakishka is also the owner of the Whole Systems Collective, an impact consulting and media firm with a focus on working towards a just and regenerative economy. Nikishka and Vernon discuss the democratization and governance of assets broadly, with a specific emphasis on business and real estate. The Guild was recently awarded $25,000 as a recipient of the 2020 Co-op Innovation Award, to support its mission of building community wealth through real estate, entrepreneurship programs, and access to capital, creating equitable and sustainable communities by addressing the root causes of economic inequality. The grant will help The Guild democratize ownership of businesses and real estate through a racial equity lens, and support its "whole systems" approach to providing technical assistance to Black and Brown enterprises through its Commun

Vernon and Amanda discuss how the Center builds capacities of worker cooperatives and cooperative ecosystems across the state of West Virginia, and the region. Amanda is an Appalachian Cooperative educator and advocate who develops, organizes, and implements non-traditional modes of learning within the University context. She holds an MA in Geography and conducts action research focused on cooperatives enterprises as an alternative means of grassroots economic organizing. Amanda is also a founder of FIRSTHAND Co-op a fair trade coffee company in the heart of Appalachia. As Director of Education and Outreach with the WVU Center for Resilient Communities, her work forefronts justice and equity at the center of our food systems, supporting access, affordability, and dignity for all. Amanda has used cooperative models, values, and ethos to organize with rural communities facing significant food access barriers and work with organizations aiming to build cooperative food production power across the state of

Vernon interviews Ann Fedorchak, Managing Director at National Cooperative Bank (NCB), and Michael Partis, Executive Director at the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI), and his team. Vernon and his guests discuss the 2020 Co-op Innovation Award, and its foundation.

Anthony Cook, Professor at Georgetown University, discusses how he uses the clinical experiential education program at Georgetown Law, to bridge the gaps between wealth, income and power. He also talks about his journey to discovering the value of the cooperative business model, and realization of how a cooperative ecosystem can be used to address the needs of under-served communities. Professor Anthony Cook is a law professor at Georgetown University. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University's program in Public and International Affairs, and is a doctoral candidate in Sustainable Urban Development at Oxford University. He teaches courses in Race and Democracy, Community Development, Cooperatives and a Practicum on Law, Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation that provides legal and business planning support to startup and early stage social impact entrepreneurs. Professor Cook is a nationally recognized scholar in critical race theory and the wor

Sarah Hrisak, Lead Coffee Roaster and Production Supervisor at Equal Exchange, Inc., talks about the employee centered focus and cooperative business structure of Equal Exchange. Vernon and Sarah also discuss how Equal Exchange has supported its employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sarah supervises the roasting of about 5.5 million pounds of coffee a year to a range of roast profiles and strict quality standards. Since roasting her first batch of coffee in 2013, her roast philosophy has evolved to focus on balance and sweetness. She loves that coffee roasting is always new and changing because of the seasons of the product and New England. As an owner, Sarah served two terms as Worker-Owner Coordinator, and is currently serving her first term on the co-op's Board if Directors, where she helped rewrite the By-laws and Articles of Organization. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, good beer, and going on adventures with her fiancé, Ashley.

Rob and Vernon discuss Marketing and Branding during COVID-19, and the role he feels it should play in the process of reshaping businesses in a post COVID-19 World. Rob is the head of Small World Communications, a web hosting and online marketing company focused on small businesses (smallworld.coop). He is a veteran of the Southern California tech scene with roots in several Idealab startups. Rob is passionate about helping people and organizations identify and achieve their goals using the same cutting-edge tools and best practices larger tech companies deploy. Rob has built several sales and support organizations, led multiple company divisions, trained leaders to develop their management skills, mentored new managers, and taught website planning workshops for local businesses through the SBA. A Chicago native, Rob embodies the combination of hope and stoicism that one expects from a rabid Chicago Bears fan.

Vernon Oakes, host of Everything Co-op discusses the plight of the United States Postal Service (USPS). We are in serious jeopardy of losing USPS unless we speak up. As cooperatives and as individuals we are all dependent on the United States Postal Service (USPS). We believe it’s time for the cooperative community to add its collective voice to the public calls for action to save the USPS. We have never needed the United States Postal Service (USPS) more than we do today! Throughout the pandemic crisis, the postal service has been a critical lifeline for the millions of American, particularly seniors and people living with disabilities, who would otherwise be forced to leave their homes for necessities like prescription medications and household essentials. This has been particularly crucial in rural America where the digital divide still looms and the services of the USPS serve as a lifeline to the rest of the world. Bottom line, we need Congress and the Administration to be reminded of the importance

Rebecca Henderson, John and Natty McArthur Professor at Harvard University discuss her recently released book "Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire," and the role she feels cooperatives can play in a post COVID-19 world. Rebecca Henderson is one of 25 University Professors at Harvard University, a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a fellow of both the British Academy and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is an expert on innovation and organizational change, and her research explores the degree to which the private sector can play a major role in building a more sustainable economy focusing particularly on the relationships between organizational purpose and innovation and productivity. Her publications include the books Leading Sustainable Change and Accelerating Energy Innovation: Lessons from multiple sectors and Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire, published in April 2020. Rebecca sits on the boards of Amgen and of Idexx Laboratories. In 2019 she wa

Dr. Martin Lowery, Executive VP Emeritus of NRECA discusses the role of cooperatives in addressing issues that have been raised by the two pandemics being experienced right now; COVID-19 and systemic institutionalized racism. He invokes the International Cooperative Alliance's "Declaration on Positive Peace Through Cooperatives." For more than three decades, Dr. Martin Lowery has been a forceful advocate for the cooperative business model. He is Executive Vice President, Emeritus, of the NRECA, and the past chair of the National Cooperative Bank Board of Directors. Dr. Lowery was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in May 2014, the highest honor that the U.S. cooperative community bestows on individuals who have made heroic contributions to the cooperative movement. He is currently the elected U.S. representative to the board of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). Dr. Lowery received a bachelor's degree (cum laude) from DePaul University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Duke University.

National Cooperative Bank(NCB) President Charles E. Snyder & President and CEO of National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International Doug O'Brien, discuss the roles cooperatives can play in a post COVID-19 World. They also share how their organizations have helped the cooperative community through advocacy and service during the pandemic. Charles E. Snyder is the Chief Executive Officer of NCB and leads its Executive Council, a team of senior managers representing business development units and functional areas across the company. Mr. Snyder joined NCB in 1983 as corporate vice president and chief financial officer. In 1992, he was named president and chief executive officer. Mr. Snyder serves on the board of the Consumer Federation of America and the American Bankers Association Foundation. He previously served on the board of the National Cooperative Business Association, a membership association representing every type of cooperative in America. In 2011, Mr. Snyder was inducted into the Coope