Everything Co-op with Vernon Oakes

July 24, 2024 Vernon interviews April De Simone, founder of the Practice of Democracy (PoD). Vernon and April explore how her initiatives, particularly in affordable cooperative-mutualist housing, have expanded and influenced the broader objectives of PoD. April De Simone, the founder of the Practice of Democracy, and curator of Democracy is..., is a transdisciplinary designer who operates at the nexus of social dynamics and spatial design. She explores the interplay between built environments and the communities that inhabit them. Her work fosters a profound comprehension of how inequity and dehumanization are manifested and perpetuated within spaces. Collaborating with a variety of stakeholders, she reshapes spatial practice opportunities to embed democratic values into the environments and systems we create. An esteemed speaker, facilitator, and board member, April's influence extends across equity and design matters. Recognized by Enterprise Community Partners as one of their Impactful 40, she is also a Dean Merit Scholar and holds a Master of Science in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design. The Practice of Democracy (PoD) is prototyping an immersive online experience. PoD strongly believes the more we expose and educate one another to build shared-value understanding, the more we can collectively advance democratic rights and values. These stories located within a neighborhood can be represented both digitally and physically. Democracy is… is a public engagement campaign calling for our collective attention and action in understanding how democratic values are represented through the environments and systems we plan and design.

July 11, 2024 Vernon conducts an interview with Dr. Cynthia Pinchback-Hines, a Racial Justice Educator and Co-op Developer at Co-op Cincy. They delve into significant insights from Cynthia's work with cooperatives during the facilitation of "Power in Numbers: Black Co-op U," and discuss the experiences of the most recent graduating cohort. Dr. Cynthia Pinchback-Hines is a community activist and organizer, educator, organizational development consultant, diversity leader, personal development coach, and board member to several non-profits, including Co-op Cincy, where she serves as board member and Racial Justice Educator & Co-op Developer. She delights in managing and facilitating Power in Numbers: Black Co-op U, a 14-week bootcamp designed to help launch and support Black-led worker-owned cooperatives. Co-op Cincy is where she discovered that her life’s journey had uniquely prepared her to serve as a catalyst for community building.

July 4, 2024 Vernon interviews Julian Hill, an abolitionist and lawyer specializing in the solidarity economy. Vernon and Julian explore key insights from Julian's experience working with cooperatives, collectives, nonprofits, and small businesses. Julian Hill is an assistant professor at Georgia State University College of Law. Hill is a teacher, lifelong learner, community organizer, artist, and attorney who knows that the world we deserve, though both possible and necessary, is not inevitable. Hill regularly advises worker cooperatives, collectives, nonprofits, and small businesses on a range of matters, including governance, contracts, regulatory compliance, and corporate law matters. Hill is also known to partner with community-based organizations to co-facilitate political education and co-develop policies and campaigns. They have facilitated workshops, both in English and Spanish, on worker cooperatives and the solidarity economy with Law 4 Black Lives, the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Democracy at Work Institute, the New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives, and the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, among others. They have prepared and delivered testimony before both the New York State Assembly and the New York City Council on issues facing worker cooperatives and small businesses in New York City. Hill is licensed to practice law in Georgia, New York and Washington, D.C.

July 4, 2024 Vernon interviews amaha sellassie, the board president of Gem City Market. amaha discusses the development of Gem City Market and its contribution to addressing food insecurity and building community. amaha sellassie is a peace builder, social healer, freedom fighter, network weaver and lover of humanity. amaha is a practitioner scholar dedicated to building bridges of trust, healing historical wounds, and harnessing the unique gifts and talents of every human being as we press towards a just and equitable society. A dedicated community organizer, amaha champions the causes of marginalized groups, striving to amplify their voices in public policy. As a co-founder of the Gem City Market, amaha has been instrumental in a community-led initiative to address food apartheid by enhancing access to fresh produce in West Dayton. Additionally, amaha serves as the Director of the Center for Applied Social Issues and is a Sociology professor at Sinclair Community College.

June 20, 2024 Vernon Interviews Matthew Epperson, Employee Ownership Domain Expert for Zolidar. Zolidar is a startup app company that is building the “easy button” for small to medium enterprises to convert their business to employee-owned enterprises. In 2017 Matthew founded the Georgia Co-op Development Center, the only statewide technical assistance provider in Georgia to provide support for startup and conversion co-op projects. He loves biking, hiking, zazen meditation, discussing books and movies, and his fiancée, Julia. He is the 2012 Keep Athens Clarke County Beautiful Citizen of the Year, a black belt in a Japanese-Korean family of martial arts, a regular performer with his local improv comedy troupe Flying Squid Comedy, and while it's true that he can have strong stage anxiety, he makes it work.

June 13, 2024 On June 13, 2024, during the live Broadcast from the National Conference on Black Cooperative Agenda titled "Economic Wealth: Power of Black Cooperative Enterprises,” hosted by the Network for Developing Conscious Communities, Vernon Oakes interviews Mayor Melvin Carter, Christina Nicholson and Jessica James. The conference was a continuation of the legacy work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In a recent interview on Everything Co-op Ron Hantz, president of NDCC states, "We take no credit for the title of the conference. Actually it was initiated by the Poor Peoples Deveopment Foundation (PPDF) which came about in 1968 during Dr. King's efforts to bring attention to the poverty of Black and poor folks in the Country. It was an organization started by Cornielus "Cornbread" Givens and Bayard Rustin to bring about education about cooperatives in communities that were needing economic opportunities, as well as bringing food to those communities as well." Ironically, the mission of the foundation was to create cooperatives. In fact, the PPDF was instrumental in moving the National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act in 1978, which led to the creation the National Consumer Cooperative Bank, today known as the National Cooperative Bank (NCB). The act aimed to encourage the development of new and existing cooperatives. The Network for Developing Conscious Communities is honored to carry on its legacy, especially in addressing concerns related to poverty, affordability, and access to healthy food. Melvin Carter is the 46th mayor of the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota’s Capital City. A fourth-generation Saint Paul resident, Mayor Carter leads with an unapologetic equity agenda. Since taking office in 2018, his accomplishments include raising the city’s minimum wage; tripling free program in rec centers; eliminating late fines in public libraries; reestablishing an Affordable Housing Trust Fund; expanding immigrant & refugee support resources; and launching an Office of Financial Empowerment. One signature initiative is CollegeBound Saint Paul, Mayor Carter’s plan to start every child born in the city with a $50 College Savings Account, which started January 1, 2020. Jessica James is Assistant VP of Community Reinvestment and Loan Advisor at Associated Bank; Jessica thrives on cultivating partnerships and addressing strategic financing needs. Additionally, she holds leadership positions in various organizations, including board roles at Network for Developing Conscious Communities (NDCC), NAREB TC, City of Lakes Community Land Trust and Rondo Community Land Trust, where she champions affordable homeownership and economic development initiatives. Christina Nicholson is a Cooperative Finance Developer for the Worker Owner Initiative, which is part of Nexus’ Community Wealth Building Strategy. In this role she supports both start-ups and existing businesses and understands the role that Worker Ownership can play in successful owner retirement strategies as well as improved workplace cultures for teams. She has been working in cooperatives in Minnesota for 25 years in a wide range of roles, from front of house retail to construction to cooperative consulting. In all of her endeavors, she has been working to connect communities to each other through a common cause.

June 6, 2024 Vernon is host an interview with Mary Alex Blanton, Senior VP at National Cooperative Bank (NCB). During the interview Mary Alex discusses the 2024 Co-op Innovation Award. National Cooperative Bank in partnership with Capital Impact Partners, has sponsored the Co-op Innovation Award to empower organizations to increase economic opportunity for the communities they serve, and advance cooperative development in communities of color and or historically disinvested communities. Priority for the grant award will be given to food, worker, and housing co-ops, but all sectors are invited to apply. Mary Alex Blanton is Senior Vice President, Director of Strategic Marketing for National Cooperative Bank. In this role, she manages NCB’s marketing, advertising, corporate communications, public relations, and brand for the bank. National Cooperative Bank's mission is to support and be an advocate for America’s cooperatives and their members, especially in low-income communities, by providing innovative financial and related services. Interested parties may visit Capital Impact Partners website at https://bit.ly/3iR4CYk to access the application. You may also visit the Co-op Innovation Award FAQ Page for more information.

May 30, 2024 Vernon interviews Simon Vansintjan, a programmer and organizer in Washington, DC. During the interview Simon discusses his most recent venture to develop a music platform co-op called Mirlo, and how this platform is supporting musicians. Simon Vansintjan is a programmer and mutual aid, solidarity economy, and dual power organizer in Washington, DC. In his free time, he plays soccer, guitar and banjo, and doodles. He’s done weekly radio on public radio and music journalism in a past life. Simon has worked as a software developer for UN organizations, Fortune 500 companies, user experience agencies, fast growing start-ups, not-for-profit organizations, open-source software, and open data platforms. Mirlo provides a user-friendly space to help musicians sell music, manage subscriptions, and share with their supporters.

May 23, 2024 Vernon interviews Jamila Medley, Collective Courage Moderator at the Partnership Action Fund. During the interview Jamila shares insights from their personal cooperative journey, and discusses the Collective Courage Fund. Jamila Medley leverages experience working within the economic and racial justice movements to support organizations committed to transformational change. With a background in organizational development, she brings facilitation expertise and thought partnership to highly participatory processes related to governance, strategic planning, and leadership development. Inspired by trust-based philanthropic principles, Jamila stewards The Partnership Fund’s Collective Courage Fund, is board chair of the Independence Public Media Foundation, and a co-lead within Securing Roots. Her solidarity economy building efforts include being a collaborator in projects like Solidarity Resource, the Solidarity Economy Principles Project, Columinate’s Co-op Cafe and she serves on the board of directors of the Food Co-op Initiative. From 2012-2021, Jamila served in governance roles and then as executive director of the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance (PACA). The Partnership Fund exists to support powerful organizations rooted in, and accountable to, multi-racial and multi-class bases within states. These organizations work towards independent political power and are building critical movement ecosystems for change.

May 9, 2024 Vernon interviews Taryn Tymus and Andrea Tucker, who hold the positions of President and Vice President at the Champlain Court Cooperative (CCC) in Washington, DC. During the discussion, Taryn and Andrea delve into the cooperative’s role within their community and share insights from their own personal cooperative journey. Taryn Tymus, a 48-year-old retired hairstylist and art-based community activist, serves as the President of Champlain Court Cooperative. Her journey in community activism began over 15 years ago in Ward 7. Taryn is enthusiastic about sharing the knowledge she has gained from her Adams Morgan neighbors in the District of Columbia, all while striving to improve her leadership skills within the cooperative Andrea Tucker is a pivotal member of the Champlain Court Cooperative. Following a rewarding career in nonprofit management, Andi now serves as both a co-op owner and the Vice President of the CCC board. Her home, shared with her daughter Maulani, is a haven of warmth, creativity, and support. Andi's decision to retire early allowed her to homeschool Maulani, nurturing her interests in drama, voice acting, and visual arts. Committed to service, Andi looks forward to contributing to the expansion of CCC's portfolio, utilizing her skills and experience to enhance the community she cherishes.

4-22-2024 Ron Hantz, Executive Director of the Network for Developing Conscious Communities (NDCC), discusses the upcoming 4th Annual National Conference on Black Cooperative Agenda, "Economic Wealth: Power of Black Cooperative Enterprises,” which will be held June 13 -15, 2024, at 214 4th Street E, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55101. Ron has been instrumental in advocating for a new community development paradigm based on “conscious community development.” He is a former Adjunct Professor, in the Africana Studies Department, at the University Maryland Baltimore County, and founded the Network for Developing Conscious Communities in 2014. He now leads the organization’s efforts on advocacy and building a sustainable ecosystem for Black governed community development organizations. Under his leadership, NDCC has emerged as a grass roots voice on promoting the use of principle-based practices to regenerate under-resourced Black communities. Ron's consulting practice includes assisting community development corporations, community associations and faith-based organizations with neighborhood planning, organizational development and applying for Internal Revenue Tax Exempt status. Ron believes that in order to develop sustainable communities, there must be a conscious effort to raise the consciousness and connectivity of local stakeholders. He sees his life purpose as elevating the Black consciousness in community development.

April 25, 2025 Vernon interviews Michelle Roth, Senior Director of Governmental Affairs for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions (LSCU). Vernon and Michelle discuss LSCU's Advocacy, and Alabama's most recent legislative session. In the role as Senior Director of Governmental Affairs Michelle Roth directs the League’s lobbying and advocacy efforts, working with the Alabama Legislature, the Governor, and her Cabinet. Her background in advocacy, community, and member relations helps Michelle champion industry-driven state legislative and regulatory issues and develop and maintain favorable relationships with lawmakers, executive leaders, and credit unions across the state. Before joining LSCU, Michelle was Executive Director of the Alabama Cable and Broadband Association. During her seven-year tenure at ACBA, she was responsible for legislative affairs, public and community relations, and statewide advocacy efforts supporting Alabama’s cable and broadband industry. She helped expand statewide internet access through this work and advocated for connecting low-income and rural Alabamians. A native of Lakeland, Florida, Michelle graduated from the University of Alabama. She has served on the Board and Executive Committee of several public policies and charitable, statewide, and community organizations. Additionally, Michelle holds the designation of Certified Association Executive, the highest professional credential in the association industry.

April 18, 2024 Vernon interviews Stacey Sutton Ph.D., Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. Sutton and Vernon will discuss her research on Real Black Utopias, and the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem (CCWBE). Stacey Sutton is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy. Dr. Sutton Co-Directs the Solidarity Economy Research, Policy & Law Project. Her research focuses on solidarity economy, prefigurative politics, economic democracy and worker-owned cooperatives, racial equity, and disparate effects of place-based city policies. For the next year, the Solidarity Economy Research, Policy & Law Project will serve as the ‘hub’ for the City of Chicago’s $15 million dollar Community Wealth Building Ecosystem (CCWBE). CCWBE aims to promote local, democratic, and shared ownership and control of community assets to transform economies to be more sustainable and just by supporting worker cooperatives, community land trusts, housing cooperatives, and community investment vehicles. Dr. Sutton serves on the Board of the New Economy Coalition, she is a Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, and a Senior Researcher with the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN). Dr. Sutton is working on a book project titled, Real Black Utopias, which explores the infrastructures, ideologies, and practices of Black-centered worker cooperatives and solidarity economy ecosystems in numerous US cities. Dr. Sutton received a BA from Loyola University in Baltimore, an MBA from New York University, an MS from the New School for Social Research in New York, and a joint Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Sociology from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

April 11, 2024 Micha Josephy, Executive Director, Carolyn Edsell-Vetter, Program Director, and Johan Matthews, Ecosystem Strategy Manager of the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast (CFNE) discuss CFNE's initiatives and programs. As Executive Director, Micha Josephy 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 first joined the co-op movement as an Oberlin Student Cooperative Association member and later coordinated the development of Boston Community Cooperative’s first housing co-op. He has a background in nonprofit financial management and community organizing. He has also participated in the Opportunity Finance Network’s leadership training program. Carolyn Edsell-Vetter is the Program Director at CFNE. She joined CFNE in March 2019. As the Cooperative Business Support Officer, she works with Spanish- and English-speaking applicants and borrowers to assess project feasibility and connect with culturally appropriate technical assistance resources. Carolyn came to CFNE after 19 years with A Yard & A Half Landscaping near Boston, MA, where she led their conversion to a worker-owned co-op and served as co-CEO from 2014-2019. Carolyn serves on the board of the Cooperative Development Institute and has been involved in co-ops since living in a cooperative house in college. The daughter of a Cuban immigrant, Carolyn is particularly interested in using cooperatives to create social and economic justice for immigrants, BIPOC, and others who have faced structural barriers to bringing businesses to scale. Johan Matthews is the Ecosystem Strategy Manager at CFNE. In this role, Johan facilitates the development of equitable co-op ecosystems in emerging communities across the northeast. He also provides culturally informed technical assistance to ensure that communities traditionally excluded from economic investment can engage in cooperative enterprise. Johan joins CFNE after over a decade of collaborating with local leaders and institutions to design and implement community-based economic engagement strategies. CFNE’s Mission is to work for economic, social, and racial justice by advancing community based, cooperative, and democratically owned or managed enterprises with a preference to assisting cooperatives in low-income communities.

April 4, 2024 Vernon interviews Malik Kenyatta Yakini, Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN), and Lanay Gilbert-Williams, Board President of the Detroit People’s Food Co-op. Vernon and his guests discuss the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network and the Grand Opening of the Detroit Food Commons. Malik Kenyatta Yakini is an activist and educator who is committed to freedom and justice for African people in particular, and humanity in general. Yakini is a co-founder and the Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, which operates a seven-acre farm in Detroit and spearheaded efforts to establish the Detroit Food Policy Council. He served as a member of the Michigan Food Policy Council from 2008 - 2010. From 2011 - 2013 he served on the steering committee of Uprooting Racism Planting Justice. He is a co-founder and on the leadership team of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Lanay Gilbert-Williams is a native Detroiter who serves as the Board President of the Detroit People’s Food Co-op. She founded the Detroit’s Brown Moms Sisterhood Circle, a system of support for African-American mothers, especially those whose children are in the foster care system. She is the President of the Wildemere Park Neighborhood Association and is the Youth Program Coordinator for Know Allegiance Nation. As a proud Mom of 6, she is dedicated to assisting in the development of solutions that model nation and community-building for Black youth.

March 28, 2024 In honor of the 2024 Women's History Month theme of “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” Everything Co-op concludes its commemoration with an interview with Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D., Professor at John Jay College, and social justice advocate. Dr. Gordon Nembhard and Vernon recognize women cooperators who are working to improve Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Author of Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice (2014) and 2016 inductee into the U.S. Cooperative Hall of Fame, Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D., is a Professor at John Jay College, City University of NY. She is a political economist specializing in cooperative economics, community economic development, racial wealth inequality, Black Political Economy. She is a member of the Cooperative Economics Council of NCBA/CLUSA; the ICA Committee on Co-operative Research; an affiliate scholar with the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, University of Saskatchewan; and past board member of Association of Cooperative Educators.

March 21, 2024 In honor of the 2024 Women's History Month theme of “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” Vernon interviews Renée Sattiewhite, President and CEO of the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC). Vernon and Renee discuss the role AACUC plays in creating bridges between community-based organizations and consumer-focused initiatives designed to close the extensive racial wealth gap. In addition to serving as President/CEO of the AACUC, Renée Sattiewhite is also a certified diversity professional, credit union development educator, motivational speaker, executive coach, mentoring trainer, and recognized expert on marketing and branding. Renee has brought both her unique vitality and forward-looking vision in order to create one of the most dynamic organizations in the credit union movement. She has successfully propelled the organization forward to offer a credible voice that addresses today's dialogue on race, equity, and inclusion for all. In September 2022, Renée was inducted to America’s Credit Union Museum’s newest display “Credit Union Women Making History....Herstory,” an interactive exhibit highlighting incredible women’s achievements that have made history in the credit union industry and showcasing women’s stories never heard before. In 2020, after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and with the growing visibility of the Black Lives Matter movement, this momentum galvanized the country against racial injustice. Renee became one of the most notable catalysts, encouraging the credit union industry to become more aware of the urgent need for change toward true racial equality and economic justice, and launched the Commitment to Change: Credit Unions Unite Against Racism initiative. As a direct result of Renee's leadership AACUC received the 2022 Anchor Award from the National Credit Union Foundation which is the equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize of the credit union movement. The African-American Credit Union Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit organization created in 1999 to increase diversity within the credit union community through advocacy and professional development. This award-winning organization is shaping diversity, equity, and inclusion in the movement to eliminate the racial wealth gap, and is considered a leader in the credit union industry.

March 14, 2024 In honor of the 2024 Women's History Month theme of “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” Vernon interviews Attorney Renee C. Hatcher. Vernon and Renee discuss how she has used the law to address issues related to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Renee Hatcher is a solidarity economy lawyer. She is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Director of the Community Enterprise and Solidarity Economy Law Clinic at UIC Law, a legal clinic that provides free legal support to grassroot organizations, cooperatives, and other solidarity economy enterprises. Daughter of the late civil rights activist and first elected Black mayor of a U.S. city, Richard Gordon Hatcher, Renee is committed to advancing the Black Freedom Movement through her work with co-ops and communities. Renee is a member of the leadership team for the Black Abolitionist Solidarity Economy (BASE) Fellowship, and a member of Law for Black Lives Movement Lawyering Squad. Renee also serves as a board member for the New Economy Coalition and the Detroit Justice Center. Prof. Hatcher is the Co-Director of the newly minted Solidarity Economy Law & Policy Initiative at the UIC Center of Urban Economic Development.

March 7, 2024 In honor of Women's History Month's 2024 theme of "Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion," Everything Co-op in collaboration with Co-op Leaders pay Tribute to a dear friend, Elizabeth (Liz) Carolyn Allen Bailey, who recently made her transition January 25, 2024. Liz Bailey, a native of Chippewa Falls, WI, grew up in an extended large, active and musically inclined family, many of whom, like Liz, firmly believed in improving each of the communities in which one lives and works. Liz served as the Managing Principal of The Bailey Group LLC, a Washington DC-based consulting firm focused on economic and community development that includes member-owned cooperative business enterprises. She provided her clients the benefit of her career experience in strategic public policy that combined the private sector, the executive branches of state and federal governments, and extensive non-profit program management. For much of her professional career, Liz held leadership positions with the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International, including Interim CEO, VP for Public Policy & Cooperative Development, and almost eight years as Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Foundation, NCBA CLUSA's non-profit affiliate. Bailey held degrees from the University of Wisconsin and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. After leaving the NCBA CLUSA, Liz remained active in the promoting of the cooperatives business model through her private consulting and as a member of Cooperation Works, and as a member of the board of a non-profit, Cooperatives Build a Better World, to raise public awareness of cooperatives. She consistently argued that those who support and build cooperatives spend too much time talking to each other rather than to those who would benefit from a better comprehension of the public value of cooperatives.

February 29, 2024 In honor of the 2024 Black History Month theme of African Americans and The Arts, Vernon interviews Lauren Ruffin, Director and Lead Strategist of the Art Program at Michigan Central. Vernon and Lauren will discuss her cooperative journey, and her feelings about how "African Americans and The Arts" impacts lives and history. Lauren Ruffin is Director and Lead Strategist of the Art Program at Michigan Central, a 32-acre Innovation Campus in the heart of Detroit. She is also Associate Professor of Worldbuilding and Visualizing Futures at Arizona State University where she explores the unprecedented and rapid political and social changes taking place in every facet of our lives, largely due to advances in technology. Her research centers on the best practices organizations and companies should embed to ensure that their platforms are safe, equitable, profitable, and joyful for all users, and particularly users from Black and Indigenous, disabled, and queer communities. Prior to these roles, Lauren co-founded CRUX, an immersive storytelling cooperative that collaborates with Black artists as they create content in virtual reality and augmented reality (XR). She also served as co-CEO of Fractured Atlas, the largest association of independent artists in the United States. In 2017, she started Artist Campaign School, a new educational program that has trained 74 artists to run for political office to date. Lauren has served on the governing boards of Black Innovation Alliance, Black Girls Code, and Main Street Phoenix Cooperative; and is on the advisory boards of ArtUp and Black Girl Ventures. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Political Science and obtained a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.

February 22, 2024 In honor of the 2024 Black History Month theme of African Americans and the Arts, Vernon interviews Janet Bennett-Cox, Board member of Ebony Care Cooperative. Vernon and Janet discuss a program being sponsored by Ebony Care Cooperative, that brings elders and youth together to learn the art of Batik making, and how she feels this activity will impact lives of its participants. Janet is a motivated, energetic ‘idea-preneur,’ who enjoys the successes of collaborative projects. She taught for 27 years in elementary education with the Toronto District School Board, and is committed to serving her community as needs and opportunities arise. Janet was instrumental in the inaugural process of getting four Black, female owned and operated Worker Co-operatives, started under the umbrella of the Women’s Multi-Cultural Resource and Counselling Centre 1(WMRCC). She currently serves on the Board of Ebony Care Cooperative. A green enthusiast, she helps in the management of their family business, LIQUID GREEN PRODUCTS INC., a manufacturing company which produces and markets a line of natural, eco-superior cleaning products and weekly co-hosts the LIQUID GREEN HEALTH SHOW with her partner.

January 4, 2024 As the Cooperative Hall of Fame approaches the celebration of its 50th Anniversary in 2024, we at Everything Co-op celebrate our very own host, Vernon Oakes, who will be amongst this year’s inductees. Team members Justin Franks, Rob McClinton and Pat Thornton, share their thoughts about Vernon Oakes, including those shared with the Cooperative Hall of Fame selection panel shown below: "Vernon Oakes' boundless compassion for others and his unwavering dedication to personal growth and learning have set him apart as a shining example of empathy and continuous development within the cooperative community, making him a truly deserving inductee into the Co-op Hall of Fame. " Justin Franks — Web Development Digital Strategy Vernon Oakes is the embodiment of the seven co-op principles, living with a sense of fairness and justice, committed to equality, and evangelizing the values of cooperation among all humans. He makes me, and others, embrace the cooperative movement for no other reason than to see if living with its values and principles as our north star, as Vernon does, will make us as good, kind, and decent of a person as he is. Rob McClinton — Strategy & Partnerships I firmly believe that Everything Co-op is so successful because Vernon has put the Spirit of Cooperation first and foremost in All we do. Vernon has conducted more than 375 interviews that are posted on the show's website at everything.coop. His objective to educate the masses about cooperatives will serve the cooperative community for many generations to come. Thus, he has indeed created a rich legacy of service. May the Cooperative Hall of Fame Selection Committee induct into its cadre of Heroes, one of the most ardent co-op advocates of all-time, Vernon Oakes. Pat Thornton, Producer

1-4-2024 Elizabeth Carolyn Allen Bailey pays tribute to Vernon Oakes, on the occasion of the announcement of his induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. For much of her professional career, Liz held leadership positions with the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International, including Interim CEO, VP for Public Policy & Cooperative Development, and almost eight years as Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Foundation, NCBA CLUSA's non-profit affiliate. Bailey held degrees from the University of Wisconsin and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. After leaving the NCBA CLUSA, Liz remained active in the promoting of the cooperatives business model through her private consulting and as a member of Cooperation Works, and as a member of the board of a non-profit, Cooperatives Build a Better World, to raise public awareness of cooperatives. She consistently argued that those who support and build cooperatives spend too much time talking to each other rather than to those who would benefit from a better comprehension of the public value of cooperatives.

2-15-2024 In honor of the 2024 Black History Month theme of African Americans and the Arts, Vernon interviews Ashley Walden, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Unlock Creative. Vernon and Ashley will discuss the purpose and objective of In honor of the 2024 Black History Month theme of African Americans and the Arts, Vernon interviews Ashley Walden, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Unlock Creative. Vernon and Ashley will discuss the objective and purpose of the National Black Women Creative Cooperative, and how she has used "The Arts" to impact lives and history. Ashley is a proven leader, change agent, and visionary. She is a focused executive who effectively manages day-to-day operations of multi-layered organizations while keeping equity and inclusiveness at the forefront. Ashley has 18 years of experience in nonprofit management and community-based arts business administration. She is a diligent producer driven by authenticity and a love of people. Unlock Creative is a social enterprise whose mission is to nurture, grow, and sustain Black creative leadership. Ashley is also the Founder and current President of the National Black Women’s Creative Cooperative, a worker-owned limited liability cooperative and mutual aid network of Black women creatives whose mission is to liberate Black Women from oppressive and toxic work environments, generate wealth owned and stewarded by and for us toward a goal of political and financial freedom. Ashley built her career at Alternate ROOTS, a nearly 50-year-old Southern-based regional arts service organization for artists, cultural bearers, and organizers. She held several roles including Managing Director, Program Director, and Director of Strategic Partnerships. Ashley was the Associate Producer for Cornerstone Theater Company based in Los Angeles who creates socially relevant plays with communities throughout the USA. She has also been a Lecturer at University of California at Longbeach, an Assistant Professor of Theater at Kennesaw State University in GA, and served on the Board of Directors of Appalshop based in Whitesburg, KY., and how she has used "The Arts" to impact lives and history.

February 8. 2024 Allen Kwabena Frimpong, Co-founder and principal cultural designer with ZEAL,, discusses Cooperative Economic Alternatives that Enable Artists and Creatives to Thrive. Allen Kwabena Frimpong is a cooperative entrepreneur, cultural designer, and conceptual artist. In addition to being a co-founder of Zeal, he is a founder of several powerful and influential social entrepreneurship endeavors. He was a managing partner of AdAstra Collective, which is a boutique consulting co-op whose vision is to transform power through networked movement building for a just, democratic, and liberating world. AdAstra Collective also anchored the work of the Old Money, New System community of practice 2016-2020, that supported movement resource mobilization initiatives that strengthened social movement ecosystems. He also co-founded Liberation Ventures and was a former Senior Fellow at PolicyLink, creating a field-building organization that takes a networked approach in building a culture of repair towards winning on reparations in the US. Allen has supported the capacity-building of many organizational efforts over the last 20 years with a unique interdisciplinary practice in community organizing, cultural strategy, transformative leadership advising, resource mobilization, and participatory planning within networked complex systems of communities. He is also the current board chair of one of the oldest social movement public foundations in the US, Resist. Allen has a master's degree in Urban Planning and Affairs from CUNY Hunter College and graduate certifications from the UPenn School of Social Policy in the Executive Program on Arts and Cultural Strategy as well as the Center for Popular Economics at Amherst College. He also studied at the New York City Jazz Workshop. ZEAL offers support with networks of creatives to reclaim their birthright as creatives who co-create cultural equity; cooperatively own, steward, and govern the means of their cultural production; and drive the economic vehicles and infrastructure necessary for arts and culture ecosystems in historically vulnerable communities to mutually thrive. ZEAL is most known for its critically acclaimed pop-up exhibition “Who Owns Black Art?” during Miami Art Basel 2019-2022 which has been featured in the New York Times, ABC Nightline, and Hyperallergic to name a few. As a conceptual artist he designs and produces multimedia anthologies. For more information about ZEAL or other initiatives Allen is involved in visit the following websites: · www.zeal.coop · www.oldmoneynewsystem.net · www.oldmoneynewsystem.net

February 1, 2024 In honor of the 2024 Black History Month theme of African Americans and the Arts, Vernon interviews Kali Akuno, co-founder and Director and Cooperation Jackson. Vernon and Kali discuss new initiatives of Cooperation Jackson, and how the organization has used "the Arts" to inform and promote co-ops. Kali Akuno is an organizer, educator, and writer for human rights and social justice. He is also a co-founder and director of Cooperation Jackson, which is an emerging network of worker cooperatives and supporting institutions. Cooperation Jackson is fighting to create economic democracy by creating a vibrant solidarity economy in Jackson, MS that will help transform Mississippi and the South. Previously, Kali served as the Director of Special Projects and External Funding in the Mayoral Administration of the late Chokwe Lumumba of Jackson, MS. His focus was supporting cooperative development, sustainability, human rights and international relations. Kali is also the co-editor of "Jackson Rising Redux: Lessons on Building the Future in the Present" and "Jackson Rising: the Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, MS". He is the author of numerous articles and pamphlets including "the Jackson-Kush Plan: the Struggle for Black Self-Determination and Economic Democracy", "Until We Win: Black Labor and Liberation in the Disposable Era", "Operation Ghetto Storm: Every 28 Hours report" and "Let Your Motto Be Resistance: A Handbook on Organizing New Afrikan and Oppressed Communities for Self-Defense". You can find more information about Cooperation Jackson at www.CooperationJackson.org

January 25, 2024 Vernon interviews Devin Fuhrman, Chief Agriculture and Sponsor Relations Officer at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Vernon and Devin discuss the evolution of Nationwide, from its beginning as a part of the Farm Bureau through its partnerships and innovation techniques it relies on today, to maintain its commitment to be a "Customer Protection Company." Devin Fuhrman serves as the Chief Agriculture and Sponsor Relations Officer. In this role, Devin enables Nationwide business by managing several key agricultural relationships, including its 8 state Farm Bureaus, and serves as a connecting point to the breadth of resources Nationwide offers to its friends in agriculture. Several relationships date back to Nationwide’s founding in 1926, starting with the Ohio Farm Bureau. Devin has held numerous roles within Nationwide. He previously served as Associate Vice President (AVP) of West Regional Sales for Nationwide Agribusiness, leading his team in 11 states and supporting both Farm and Commercial Ag Sales. He also served as AVP of Sales for Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as AVP of Sales Development, leading the Allied Sales Delivery team in Des Moines, IA. Prior to joining Nationwide in 2006, Devin held sales roles with Heartland Coop, as well as Progressive Insurance, serving in the capacity of Sales Manager and Regional Marketing Manager, leading 11 states. Devin is a graduate of Grand View University and received his Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University. Devin currently serves on the Board of Directors with the National Cooperative Business Association - Cooperative League of the USA, Cooperative Development Foundation, Columbus Region Leadership Circle, The Ohio State Vice President’s Advisory Committee, and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective Board of Directors.

January 18, 2024 Doug O’Brien, President and CEO of the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) discusses his cooperative journey, and the 2024 initiatives for NCBA CLUSA. Doug O'Brien works with the cooperative community, both domestically and internationally, to deepen their impact and influence. NCBA CLUSA is the primary voice for cooperatives in the United States for using the cooperative business model to empower people in their businesses and communities. Doug has been with NCBA since 2016 and became president and CEO in January 2018. Before coming to NCBA CLUSA, Doug led the work of the White House Rural Council and served in top positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture focusing on rural economic development. Doug has also worked in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House and for two Governors. O'Brien's experience in academia includes teaching and writing at the University of Arkansas Law School and Drake University Law School. O’Brien was raised on a diversified farm in Dubuque County, Iowa, and holds degrees from Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa), the University of Iowa Law School, and the University of Arkansas Masters in Agricultural and Food Law Program.

December 14, 2023 Everything Co-op continues to feature finalist from its Inaugural 2023 Holiday List, a thoughtfully curated list of products and services from the cooperative community. In this 3rd installment, Vernon will introduces his listeners to two of his picks for the "Body" & "Community". Nate Chittenden, Member/Owner at Cabot Creamery Cooperative, discusses the whole process of how the concept of "Farm-to-Table" plays out within his family farm, and other farmers, who are a part of Cabot; and Danielle Robidoux, organizer with Equal Exchange gives an inside account of how worker-owners fit within the structure of Equal Exchange, and the benefits being passed on to consumers. Nate Chi­ttenden grew up with a passion for cows, farming and family. He comanages the family’s 1,980-acre Dutch Hollow Farm in Shodack Landing, New York, with his parents and brothers. With about 1,500 cows, there is always plenty to do on the farm. Dutch Hollow welcomes thousands of visitors each year from schools, pre-schools, youth groups, 4-H clubs, high school science classes and college veterinary classes. Nate has held leadership positions on the board of Agri-Mark Young Cooperators, is a member of the Farmer Advisory Council for F.A.R.M., and has been a local 4-H dairy leader for more than 20 years. His efforts have helped strengthen his community, promote family farming and inspire the next generation of dairy farmers. Nate was recently honored with the inaugural Cornell University Hometown Alumni Award. The award honors alumni in New York state who return to their home counties to start or enhance, a business or non-profit, and who regularly volunteers and is deeply engaged in their home counties. Nate is a Devoted Dad when he isn't farming and enjoys spending time with his kids and trying out new recipes that incorporate the award-winning dairy products his family farm helps produce. Danielle Robidoux is a long-time food activist who has been interested in our connection to food since she was young. Raised by her Italian grand-mother, she was making homemade sauce since she could walk. Traveling to coffee lands throughout her higher education brought up the resounding question of 'why do people have to suffer so consumers can buy cheap products?'. To Danielle, Equal Exchange had the answer. Danielle has her Master's Degree in International Relations and Economic Development and has been doing organizing work for Equal Exchange for the past seven years. She loves yoga, hiking, traveling, and anything that involves food.

12.7.2023 Christina Jennings, Christina Clamp. Michael Peck & Kevin O'Brien Share Products & Services for the Mind from Everything Co-op's 2023 Co-op Holiday List. Everything Co-op continues its Inaugural 2023 Holiday List, a thoughtfully curated list of products and services from the cooperative community. In this 2nd installment Vernon introduces listeners to three of his picks for your "Mind" and "Community". Christina Jennings, Executive Director of Shared Capital, Christina Clamp, Director of the Center for Co-operatives and Economic Development, Michael Peck, executive director and co-founder of 1worker1vote, and Kevin O'Brien, General Manager of Worx Printing, will share their products and services featured in the 2023 Holiday list. Christina Jennings is the Executive Director of Shared Capital Cooperative, a national CDFI loan fund that provides financing to support the growth and development of cooperatively owned businesses and affordable housing. Christina has more than 25 years of experience in community development finance in the US and internationally. The focus of her work has been on economic justice and creating equitable access to capital. She joined Shared Capital in 2008 where she provides strategic leadership, oversees lending, and leads capitalization efforts. She has also launched and managed small businesses and social ventures. Christina Clamp is the Director of the Center for Co-operatives and Economic Development, and has over 40 years of teaching experience at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), as a professor of Sociology. She is also a consulting researcher on a national study of catalyzing community wealth with the American Sustainable Business Network. Christina has been actively involved in promoting the study of cooperatives since her dissertation, which was a study of management in the Mondragon cooperatives. She has served as a consultant to various clients including National Cooperative Bank and US Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Her board work includes board chair of LEAF, a CDFI; the ICA Group and the Fund for Jobs Worth Owning. Michael Peck serves as executive director and cofounder of 1worker1vote. Emerging from the October 2009 collaboration MOU between the United Steelworkers and Mondragon International, 1worker1vote serves as fiscal sponsor for the 2022-2023 Build Mutualism Campaign. Peck is also co-founder and managing director of a second for-profit start-up, The Virtuous Cycle Collaboratory, a majority-minority worker cooperative and social enterprise (mission: to “flatten unequal socioeconomic curves into shared prosperity virtuous cycles”). Kevin O'Brien is the founder and general manager of the worker-owned union cooperative Worx Printing in Worcester, MA (USW 2936). Worx is a third generation evolution of the Union Co-Op Model codified in 1worker1vote by the United Steelworkers and the Mondragon Cooperative. For 28 years, he has been dedicated to cooperating with others to advance anti-sweatshop movement policies and practices in the apparel industry. His experiences have helped thousands of Labor Unions, Nonprofits and Political Campaigns to lift awareness, advance campaigns and programs, and improve fundraising results using ethically manufactured branded merchandise.

LaKeisha Wolf, Executive Director of Ujamaa Collective discusses how Ujamaa has used the collective cooperative business model to address Community problems, and create generational wealth. This interview features selections from Everything Co-op's 2023 Holiday List, a thoughtfully curated list of products and services from the cooperative community. The intention is to put into practice the principle of Cooperation Among Cooperatives. In this first installment Vernon introduces his listeners to one of his picks for your "Soul," with LaKeisha Wolf. LaKeisha Wolf is a co-founder and serves as executive director of a non-profit, Ujamaa Collective. She leads through the lens of creativity and community, working with artists and organizers to develop place-making strategies, models of equity for community resources, as well as local and global partnerships rooted in the values of fair trade entrepreneurship, mutual aid and wellness. Additionally, as a community cultural worker and teaching artist, LaKeisha provides support and workshops in the areas of culturally responsive arts and wellness practices; and cooperative enterprise development. Ujamaa Collective is a grassroots organization that works to center Black Africana people within a cooperative economics practice. provides a cooperative retail boutique for makers and artists to connect with conscientious consumers. For more info, visit Ujamaa at: https://www.ujamaacollective.org/

November 16, 2023 Everything Co-op continues its observance of National American Indian Heritage Month, with an interview of Josephine Foo, executive director of Indian Country Grassroots Support, and project attorney with the Diné Nihi Kéyah Project, and Raymond Deal traditional counselor with Diné Bá Álchíní Yił Ádaaní Navajo Family Voices. Vernon and his guests will discuss the role Lawyers and counselors play in representing tribal communities, and families in the Navajo Nation. Josephine Foo is executive director of Indian Country Grassroots Support and project attorney with the Diné Nihi Kéyah Project, which maps land base and local governance information and laws that impact community life on the Navajo Nation. She has served Diné communities since 2000 including eight years in the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, Office of the Chief Justice. She is a member of the Cooperative Professionals Guild webinar planning circle. Raymond Deal is a traditional counselor with Diné Bá Álchíní Yił Ádaaní Navajo Family Voices, a program of Indian Country Grassroots Support. He previously served 20 years in the Navajo Nation Peacemaking Program. Raymond is a U.S. Marine Corp. veteran (1968-72) who served in Vietnam, which he has revisited twice since the end of the war. He is deeply engaged in community revitalization and collective healing. Hozhoogo’ naasha Dooleel. We all walk in beauty.

November 9, 2023 Everything Co-op's kicks off its observance of National American Indian Heritage Month, with an interview of Eva Seidelman, associate at Chestnut Law Offices, and Kevin J. Fort, Executive Director and CFO of Regenerative Business Institute (RBI). Vernon and his guests will discuss the role Lawyers and accountants play in representing tribal communities, governments, businesses and non-profit organizations. Eva Seidelman is an associate at Chestnut Law Offices. Her practice includes cooperative formation, and other business, housing and community development legal service, as well as general counsel representation to tribal governments and organizations. Ms. Seidelman leads CLO’s partnership with Cooperative Catalyst to provide legal services to cooperatives throughout the Southwest and has practiced cooperative and community development law for almost a decade. Kevin J. Fort is the Executive Director and CFO of Regenerative Business Institute (RBI). RBI is a cooperative financial services firm, providing accounting, finance, and equity management expertise for cooperatives. Mr. Fort leads RBI’s partnership with Cooperative Catalyst to provide cooperative accounting and financial services throughout the Southwest and has worked with cooperatives for nearly a decade.

October 12, 2023 Vernon interviews Angela Marie Sayles, CEO of Little Africa Food Collaborative. Angela. Vernon will discuss her efforts to address land and food rights, and the topic of Rethinking Market Studies for Black Led Cooperatives. Angela holds the position of CEO for the Little Africa Food Cooperative. She advocates for local food systems and cooperatives, lobbying within the Ag Noire Coalition and the National Cooperative Business Association. Angela’s work as research facilitator, with National Black Food & Justice Alliance Market Study Group, has produced a 40-page summary report on the topic of Rethinking Market Studies for Black Led Cooperatives. Most recently, Angela hosted the United Nations parallel event focused on Innovation and Technology in Land and Food Rights for Global African Women and Girls at the 67th Commission on the Status of Women. Angela is involved in local, national, and global projects addressing land and food rights, cooperative ownership equity, financial sustainability in agribusiness, and social enterprise fund development. She facilitates sustainability training for Cleveland residents with greenspace projects and is currently serving on a community land trust committee with the Vital Neighborhoods working group under the City of Cleveland Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. Founded in 2016, Little Africa Food Collaborative's mission is to provide an inexpensive healthy food source, for impoverished urban communities. The organization strives to create economic, social and cultural independence.

Everything Co-op features four Cooperative Leaders and Scholars who are participating in the 2023 IMPACT Conference. Vernon will discuss the co-op sectors they are involved with, and they will share their cooperative journey. Adrián Román is a Co-op Organizer at BCCO parallel to his work as a mediator and mindfulness instructor. His work as a co-op organizer focuses on creating and facilitating curriculum in cooperative education, assessing interpersonal dynamics to design organizational systems that support shared ownership and facilitating the process of developing a cooperative. Lesly Calle serves as the Manager of Alumni Relations at the Office of Student Success at the City College of New York where she manages program development and outreach strategies to engage a growing network of alumni of the social science division. Prior to this work, Lesly served as Manager of Member Engagement at the Drivers Cooperative where she supervised driver engagement. Tomi Chung is a student, educator, organizer, and co-operator. At the time of writing, she serves as the President of the Berkeley Student Cooperative and is responsible for coordinating the development of next fiscal year's $13 million operating budget along with a three-year Strategic Plan for the organization. Karen Tyler-Ruiz serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Community-Based Enterprise, Inc, in Detroit Michigan. C2BE supports the creation of people-centered businesses, cooperatives, community, and worker-owned enterprises where worker-owners and members have a say in all financial and strategic decisions. The Cooperative Leaders and Scholars (CLS) program is an opportunity for employees, board members, and post-secondary students working for cooperatives and others interested in working for a cooperative or cooperative organization to participate in multi-sector programming and events and engage with co-op industry thought leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The program is administered by the Cooperative Development Foundation. The interviewees are listed below.

September 28, 2023 Sheldon C. Petersen retired governor and CEO of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC), discusses his co-op journey, and projections about the future of the cooperative movement. Sheldon Petersen served as Governor/CEO of CFC for 26 years from 1995 until his retirement in 2021. He began his career in the rural electrification program in 1976 as staff assistant for Nishnabotna Valley REC in Harlan, Iowa. He later served as general manager of Rock County Electric Cooperative Association in Janesville, Wisconsin in the early 1980's. Petersen joined CFC in 1983 as an area representative providing financial management and consulting services to CFC members in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, and the Dakotas. In 1990, he moved to CFC headquarters where he held various management positions. Petersen also served as the CEO of two CFC affiliated organizations targeted to the financial needs of the electric cooperatives and rural telecommunications companies and cooperatives. He continues to serve as board member of the Homestead Funds, a position he has held since 2005. Homestead is a mutual fund complex with roots in rural America.

September 21, 2023 Everything Co-op continues it's tribute to the 2023 Cooperative Hall of Fame inductees, with an interview of Leslie Mead, retired Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Foundation. Leslie discusses her co-op journey, and projections about the future of the cooperative movement with Vernon. After growing up in Indiana and attending college in Iowa, Mead moved to Washington, DC and took a job with the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) as assistant general counsel. After a decade with NCFC, she moved into her role as an independent consultant, where she developed education projects for NCFC, set up the Leadership Scholarship Program for the Ralph K. Morris Foundation, and served as the executive administrator for the Association of Cooperative Educators (ACE). Building upon its historic strengths, while redirecting resources to meet a more diverse contemporary and future audience, Mead helped ACE re-establish itself as a premier educational organization, with uniquely cross-cultural offerings. Mead then moved on to expand the impact of cooperative philanthropy, first as executive director of The Cooperative Foundation and then at the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF). During her tenure at CDF, Mead consolidated multiple funds under management, which lowered the costs of fund administration, and enabled CDF to invest more strategically and impactfully in cooperative development. She increased operating revenue by 64%, operating surplus by five-fold, and grant giving by ten. Though CDF supports every cooperative sector, among Mead’s most notable accomplishments is her work structuring and funding the Cooperative Home Care Initiative, a network to support a particularly vulnerable group of American workers. One of her parting contributions was the Unsung Cooperative Hero category launched in 2021 to recognize the contributions to cooperatives by members of historically overlooked and marginalized communities.

August 14, 2021 Everything Co-op continues its tribute in honor of the 2023 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees, with an interview of co-op housing advocate, Linda Leaks. Linda and Vernon discuss her cooperative journey, and projections for the future. Linda Leaks, affectionately known as the "Godmother of Housing Co-ops," is a Co-founder of the Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community, and at least 20 other housing co-ops in the Washington DC Metro Area. Linda's’ organizing of tenants for housing justice and housing cooperatives is legendary in the DC Community. She is highly revered and respected as a consummate advocate for addressing housing inequities. Leaks moved to Washington, DC in 1978, during a period of immense gentrification. As she witnessed the drastic change in the city, and pursued a career that would enable her to address the impact of its transformation. Linda ultimately earned a degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. In 1982, Leaks led the founding of a collective house in Northwest DC with three other black women. Known as the “T Street Collective,” it became a hub of Black feminist organizing in a depressed neighborhood still dotted with boarded-up buildings and hardly any businesses. In 1986, she landed her first job as a tenant organizer with Washington Inner-city Self Help (WISH), whose mission was, in part, to help organize tenants to form limited equity housing co-ops to maintain their homes. Leaks even took her organizing skills to South Africa, where she helped organize in the early 1990s the first housing cooperatives in Johannesburg. Over the next few decades, Linda became the Executive Director of WISH, and led battles to convert dozens of apartment buildings into housing cooperatives in DC. She did so by coaching frightened tenants on how to manage cooperatives, protest, advocate and otherwise overcome the actions of city officials, landlords, and developers' who were intent on pushing people out in favor of luxury high-rent housing. As Leaks worked to secure co-op ownership for tenants, she developed educational materials and trainings uniquely designed to help renters transition to owners. Many of her mentees are still carrying on her legacy of tenant advocacy.

September 7, 2023 Everything Co-op has dedicated the Month of September to interview the 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees. Induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame is the highest honor that the U.S. cooperative community bestows on the extraordinary men and women who have made genuinely heroic contributions in support of the cooperative form of enterprise. The first interview to kick off this tribute was with Maurice Smith, Attorney and Counselor at Law, and retired CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union (LGFCU) . Maurice and Vernon discussed his co-op journey, and projections about the future of the cooperative movement. As the retired CEO of LGFCU, the fourth largest credit union in North Carolina, Maurice led expansion of the institution at an industry-leading pace—16-fold organic growth rate to current $3.8B in assets—while creating an enduring brand for 400,000 members. Maurice has accomplished this with his agile style of leadership, based on co-op principles and values, and staying focused on maximizing member value. He leverages quantitative financial acumen and qualitative leadership traits in creating cultures of collaboration and engagement. Maurice has been the CUNA Board Chair, CUNA CEO Council Executive Committee Chair, National Cooperative Bank Board Chair, and Filene Administrative Board Chair. He has also served on critical board committees including audit, governance, and nominating. Since retiring, Maurice practices law for organizations whose values reflects his own.

August 24, 2023 Joanne Lechasseur, Co-founder, Program Director of the Global Innovation Cooperative Summit, and Zuraidah Hoffman, Communications Director for the Global Innovation Cooperative Summit, discuss the upcoming Global Innovation Cooperative Summit, which will occur in Montreal, September 27 – 29, 2023. Zuraidah Hoffman is an Independent International Cooperative Communications consultant, with more than 20 years of experience in communications. Her cooperative journey began with NRECA International, a US-based global rural electrification NGO that takes its roots from the American electric cooperative movement. She continues to support their communications needs and travels the world to produce stories on the impact rural electric cooperatives have on improving lives. Zuraidah is currently the Communications Director for the Global Innovation Cooperative Summit. In 2021, Zuraidah was the MC for International Cooperative Alliance’s (ICA) 33rd World Cooperative Congress in Seoul and led the Congress communications team from her home office in Washington DC. She also served as ICA’s interim communications director in 2019. Zuraidah is an alumnus of The George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Joanne Lechasseur, holds a master’s degree in industrial relations from Université Laval, Quebec and she’s a content expert for events on the cooperative business model. She served as the ICA Seoul 2021 World Cooperative Congress Event Manager. Prior to that she was the Director of Programming and Scientific Activities for the International Summit of Cooperatives in 2012, 2014 and 2016, where she worked for 28 years for the Desjardins Group in various sectors of activity to include work organization, regional development, strategic planning, business development, and much more.

August 10, 2023 Vernon interviews Deb Trocha, Executive Director at Indiana Cooperative Development Center (ICDC). Deb and Vernon discuss the Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference, "The River of Cooperation." The conference will be held at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel, September 14 - 16, 2023. For the first time ever, the Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference will be held in a city that is home to multiple food co-ops. Conference organizers are excited to have five local food co-op hosts for 2023 including: Eastside Food Co-op; Mississippi Market; Seward Community Co-op; Valley Natural Foods Cities and TCCP (Twin Cities Co-op Partners).” Two notable points are: the Early bird rate has been extended to August 11, and the Hotel room block (see reduced rates), expires August 23, 2023. Deb Trocha joined the Indiana Cooperative Development Center (ICDC) in 2006 after serving as Executive Director of the Indiana Small Business Development Center. During that time, she worked with many different types of cooperatives, from food co-ops and food hubs, to housing, artists, agriculture, and early childhood education. She is committed to increasing awareness of cooperatives and is passionate about the cooperative business model’s ability to empower people and their communities. 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.

August 3, 2023 Vernon interviews Minnie McMahon, Coordinator of the Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network. Vernon and Minnie discuss the role community land trusts play in retaining collective control, strengthening diverse neighborhoods, creating permanent affordability in housing, and the history of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI). Minnie McMahon is the Coordinator of the Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network, hosted by Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. She started at DSNI in 2019, acting as the Project and Operations Manager at Dudley Neighbors, Inc., the community land trust. Before that, Minnie worked for small farms in Massachusetts, California and New York, growing flowers, developing systems, and advocating for workers' rights. Shared governance and the role of power in social systems have been throughlines in Minnie’s work.

July 27, 2023 Vernon interviews Dr. Dawn Carpenter, director of the Solidarity Economy Workshop. Vernon and Dawn discuss the theological nature of work and the moral responsibilities of wealth. Dr. Dawn Carpenter is an ethicist and a leading authority on the theological nature of work and the moral responsibilities of wealth. She is the founding director of the Solidarity Economy Workshop and the host and executive producer of the What Does It Profit podcast that seeks to tell the stories of the solidarity economy through the lens of contributive justice theory. She comes to this work as a veteran of Wall Street where she engineered the capitalization of over $3 billion for some of the country’s most venerable social purpose corporations. Her first podcast, More than Money, reached the Top 15 on the iTunes Business chart and was rated as a Top 15 Podcast that Will Inspire You to Change the World by Causeartist.com. Her work seeks to provide a moral foundation for economic and social justice. In recognition of her work, she was awarded the 2020 Spirit of Georgetown Award. She is currently completing her first book entitled “Co-workers with God: Contributive Justice and God’s Plan for Work and Wealth.” She serves as a senior advisor to the Vatican’s Economy of Francesco’s Finance and Humanity working group and is a member of the economic working group of its Laudato Si Action Platform. She also serves on the finance and investment committees of several organizations. She holds graduate degrees in political science, public finance, and Catholic theology. Her doctorate is in the multi-disciplinary field of liberal studies.

July 20, 2023 Peter Dean leads National Co-op Community Services, the national division of UHAB, in New York City. UHAB has empowered New York City tenants to create over 1,300 limited equity housing cooperatives totaling over 30,000 homes during the past 50 years. NCCS is offering incubators around the country to share the lessons UHAB has learned so others can build permanently affordable housing cooperatives throughout the US.ds Peter has developed and managed permanently affordable housing co-ops, grocery and cable television co-ops as well as non-profit and for-profit affordable housing. He lives in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC and has an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

July 13, 2023 Gary Hampton, Business Growth Consultant, and Vice Chair of the Association of Cooperative Educators' (ACE) Board of Directors, discusses the upcoming Climate, Cooperatives and Resilience conference, sponsored by ACE, on August 7-10, 2023, in San Juan Puerto Rico. Gary W. Hampton is an expert on organizational development, fundraising and community-based economic development. He advises, trains and coaches' businesses and nonprofit organizations on strategic growth and development. Hampton has nearly two decades of experience in IT and strategic development across different industry sectors (Technology, Financial, Government, Private, Non-profit, Retail, Education). Mr. Hampton is also active in community-based cooperative economic development and a member owner of the Ajani Group Cooperative. He is a passionate cooperative and community supporter. Hampton currently sits on the boards of Create WV, Compensation Committee and Association of Cooperative Educators, Vice Chair. He holds a BA from Marshall University in Management Information Services.

June 22, 2023 Vernon Interviews Mark Goehring, Manager of Columinate and Common Good Management Services (Common Good); and Alejandra Chavez, Community Service Representative at Common Good. Our host, Vernon Oakes, is a member consultant of Columinate, and has been on the Common Good development team since its inception in Fall 2018. Vernon and his guests discuss the overarching goals and objectives of Columinate, and the many facets of Common Good. Mark Goehring is the Manager of Columinate, a cooperative of consultants who share strategies, tools and skills that help organizations build and empower community. Mark also assists with the development of tools and resources to support effective governance, and provides ongoing management and board support. Alejandra Chavez is the Community Service Representative for Common Good. She manages three different Mobil Parks, offering local resources to its residents and promoting social justice in everything she does. Her dream is to continuing raising community awareness and keep promoting love to build healthier communities, particularly continuing raising awareness to immigrant and Latinx issues. Columinate is a national cooperatively owned and operated consulting and management services company with a focus on community impact. The company is true to the meaning of its name, because Columinate means "light the path forward together. Its work is adaptive and ever evolving to meet the needs of diverse, multicultural communities; and grounded in cooperative values, self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity, honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others. Columinate consultants and staff are catalysts for common good. Their network of more than 60 consultants and staff are located across the US. In addition to supporting a diverse consultant community, Columinate has a variety of business units, including Common Good Management Services, the Columinate Job Board, the Columinate Compensation Database, and Columinate Events & Media. Common Good Management Services, launched in early 2021. Common Good serves the needs of mobile home parks owned by or on behalf of its residents by providing professional community-based property management. Currently, Common Good is active in Colorado and Montana filling a significant service gap in the affordable housing marketplace. As Common Good grows the number of communities and residents it is also growing new jobs, a powerful and diverse bilingual service-oriented team focused on treating each resident with respect and dignity.

Vernon interviews Erika Allen, Co-Founder and CEO of Operations for Urban Growers Collective. Erika discusses the Urban Growers Collective's apprenticeship program, and how the cooperative business model can be used to address food insecurity in urban areas. Erika Allen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Operations for Urban Growers Collective, President of Green ERA Educational NFP and Co-Owner of Green Era Sustainability Partners. Previously, Allen founded and was the Director of Growing Power — Chicago from 2002 to 2017. She is the co-founder of the Chicago Food Policy Action Council, serves on the board of Grow Greater Englewood and Leadership Council for Growing Home, and is an advisor for the Community Food Navigator project. Allen has been appointed by IL Governor J.B. Pritzker for the IL Leadership Council for Agricultural Education (ICAE) for a 3 Year term (2022–24). Allen was recently appointed by the Biden Administration to join the Farm Service Agency Committee for Illinois. She is also a Co-Chair of the Food Equity Council for the City of Chicago. Allen received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her MA in Art Psychotherapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

May 25, 2023 Julian McKinley, Senior Communications Director, at Democracy At Work Institute (DAWI), discusses DAWI's work with the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives to track, measure, and support worker co-ops through research, and the launch of its bi-annual census with Robert McClinton and Pat Thornton. DAWI staff are excited, because when the results of the census are evaluated, they will be able to look at 10 years of worker co-op data for the first time in history. Julian McKinley leads DAWI's communications initiatives in support of its work to expand worker ownership. He is a passionate and mission-driven storyteller with deep roots in community empowerment and economic development, previously leading organizational storytelling and strategic communications around community and systems-level economic change at United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut and Capital Institute. Julian began his career as a community news editor in Connecticut, where he founded and managed operations of multiple hyperlocal news websites. Julian is also a certified Master Composter and founder of Rockaway Waste Ed, a community organization helping local nonprofits and community gardens divert food waste, rebuild soil, and increase access to nutrient-dense food through compost management, education, and consultation. He lives in the Rockaways, Queens, New York, and holds a bachelor’s in communications from Springfield College (Mass.).

April 6, 2023 Vernon interviews Bob Allnutt, and Leslie Nordin. Vernon and his guests Bob and Leslie will discuss how co-ops are solving housing needs for their adult children with special needs, Bob and Leslie also introduce The Neighborhood of Maryland, Inc, and the Big Wave Project, two programs they have established as a vehicle for their efforts. Bob Allnutt is a real estate broker and developer in Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. Bob and his wife Amy are parents to three children, daughters Elizabeth and Emma, and their son Jack. Non-speaking and autistic, Jack learned to communicate via typing at age 10 and was mainstreamed in the public school system. Now 21, Jack has graduated from high school and will start college to pursue his interest in finance and the stock market. Jack was one of the stories featured in the 2017 documentary Far from the Tree, based on the Andrew Solomon bestseller. Bob has used the knowledge and contacts accumulated from over 40 years of real estate experience – supplemented by zealousness, passion, and urgency created by the needs of Jack and his peers – to make progress in creating a community for which there was no perfect template to be found. Bob has a degree in finance from Virginia Tech and an MBA from The George Washington University. Before launching his own commercial real estate practice in 1995, Bob was a vice president at Boston Properties. Bob enjoys sports, outdoors, and music, playing harmonica and singing in a local blues band. The Neighborhood of Maryland, Inc. was established in 2021 as a charitable non-profit to facilitate the creation of a community focused on addressing the requirements of special needs adults. The Neighborhood of Maryland has been shaped by the myriad of applicable laws and regulations, and in its current form is two distinct entities. The public benefit, non-profit will build and own a regional community center catering to the special needs population in general. The privately funded housing cooperative comprising primarily of special needs parents, will develop and own the adjacent residential community. Leslie Nordin is an attorney and mother to Sawyer, who will be a future resident of Big Wave. Since Sawyer’s birth in 2004, Leslie has been actively involved with the work of various non-profit organizations. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of Perkins School for the Blind, Leslie has acted as a public spokesperson for multiple organizations that benefit children and adults with disabilities, including autism and visual impairment. Leslie’s perspective and experiences parenting a child with special needs have been featured on the radio and in print. In 2009, Leslie ran the Boston Marathon blindfolded in an effort to inspire Sawyer and raise awareness of the abilities of people who are blind or visually impaired. Her blindfolded marathon run was highlighted in local media, and appeared in Runners World magazine and the book, Boston, Inspirational Women. Leslie and her husband, Dayton, are passionate about the mission of Big Wave. They believe that Big Wave will provide Sawyer and many others with an environment where they can establish friendships, engage with their community, and live life at their highest potential. Leslie and Dayton were particularly drawn to the diversity of residents at Big Wave and the level of commitment that all families share. Leslie has a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. Dayton and Leslie are also parents to a daughter, Riley, who is Sawyer’s true best friend. The family loves to enjoy the outdoors together, including hiking, fishing, kayaking, and much more.

April 27, 2023 This week Vernon continues his discussion of "Humanity@Work&life-Global Diffusion of the Mondragon Cooperative Ecosystem Experience,” with an interview of contributing author, John Holdsclaw IV, President and CEO of Rochdale Capital. Vernon and John discuss the challenges and opportunities of financing worker cooperatives, and new initiatives of Rochdale Capital. John Holdsclaw IV currently serves as president and CEO of Rochdale Capital, a newly formed, national non-profit community development loan fund that provides financing and technical assistance to cooperative enterprises and other community-based organizations. Rochdale Capital focuses on making financial services accessible to under-resourced communities, specifically to women and/or minority-owned small and growing businesses. John currently serves on the board of directors of Global Communities, Groundswell, Partners for Common Good, and American Bankers Association (ABA) Stonier Graduate School of Banking. In addition, John is the immediate past president of the Community Development Financial Institution Coalition (CDFI Coalition), and immediate past chair of ABA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group. “Humanity@Work&life - Global Diffusion of the Mondragon Cooperative Ecosystem Experience”, published by Oak Tree Press, frames a collective labor of earned merit, vision and determination by 36 contributors in six countries, three continents, proving how solidarity, innovation, and conviction forge sustaining local and global social economy practice on behalf of the greater common good.