May 19, 2022 Marjaana Saarikoski, Director, Cooperative Affairs at SOK Corporation discusses her extensive experience with cooperatives, and how the country of Finland is impacted by having more than 90% of its households as members of cooperatives. Marjanna Saarikoski has spent a major part of her career with consumer cooperative S Group. Since 1983 she has held various leadership positions in sales, marketing, chain/concept management and its membership & loyalty program of 2,5 million co-...
May 31, 2022•49 min
May 12, 2022 Vernon interviews Pamela Madzima, Alabama State Coordinator for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF. Ms. Madzima discusses the Alabama Cooperative Ecosystem, and her experiences at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF. Based at the Rural Training and Research Center in Epes, Alabama, Pamela Madzima has worked with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund for 18 years providing technical assistance and support to member-cooperatives of the Federatio...
May 26, 2022•50 min
On May 5, 2022, Vernon interviewed Stuart Reid, Executive Director of the Food Co-op Initiative (FCI). Vernon and Stuart discussed his experiences and accomplishments at FCI, along with his projections and initiatives for the future. Stuart Reid began his career in grocery as a carry-out and stock clerk for the Windom, Minnesota Hy-Vee store back in 1972, never believing for a minute that he would still be working in the grocery business 40+ years later. He probably wouldn’t if he hadn’t discove...
May 23, 2022•51 min
Ann Fedorchak and Mary Alex Blanton, of National Cooperative Bank (NCB); and Alison Powers, of Capital Impact Partners discuss the history, purpose and impact of the Cooperative Innovation Award. National Cooperative Bank in partnership with Capital Impact Partners, launched the 2022 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 communitie...
May 11, 2022•50 min
Professor Stacey Sutton discusses the Ideology of Black-led Cooperatives and the Solidarity Economy Ecosystem. The discussion focused on discussion will focus on Sutton’s research study "Real Black Utopias," a cooperative city research study, where she examines the infrastructure and ideology of Black-led cooperatives and solidarity economy ecosystem in multiple cities. Stacey Sutton partners with grassroots and community organizations committed to racial and economic justice, equitable developm...
Apr 29, 2022•49 min
John Holdsclaw IV, President and CEO of Rochdale Capital, a new loan development fund that aims to support community-based organizations and co-ops, discusses the launch of Rochdale Capital, and the Importance of Community Loan Programs. John Holdsclaw IV recently launched Rochdale Capital. The recently formed loan fund was formed to advance the development of community ownership and asset building in rural and urban distressed communities. "We look forward to working with National Cooperative B...
Apr 24, 2022•50 min
Ron Hantz, Executive Director of Network for Developing Conscious Communities, and educator/author Dr. Ann Gessler give an overview of the upcoming Black Cooperative Agenda National Conference, and New Orleans' cooperative development. Ron Hantz has been instrumental in advocating 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...
Apr 03, 2022•52 min
Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D., Professor at John Jay College, and economic social justice advocate discusses her research on Black women in the U.S. co-op movement, and the Cooperative Development Fund's "Unsung Heroes Project" Author of Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice (2014) & 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 po...
Apr 03, 2022•49 min
Everything Co-op kikced off its recognition of Women's History Month, with a focus on this year's theme of "Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope." In our first installment, Vernon interviews Melbah McAfee Smith, retired Executive Director of the Mississippi Center for Cooperative Development, and a 2009 inductee into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. Vernon and Ms. McAfee Smith discussed her experiences working with cooperatives to address issues experienced by the communities she worked in. They...
Mar 15, 2022•50 min
February 24, 2022 Everything Co-op closes out its recognition of Black History Month, with a webinar, focused on this year's theme of "Black Health and Wealth." The featured guest for the inaugural webinar were Thomas and Anita Roberson, owners of Botanical Bites and Provisions, LLC. Vernon and the Robersons discuss the role their plants, vegetables, and farm products play in the "Health and Wealth" of their patrons. Thomas and Anita Roberson are passionate fourth generation farmers who operate ...
Mar 08, 2022•52 min
Black History Month, 2-10-2021 Everything Co-op continues its recognition of Black History Month, focusing on this year’s theme of Black Health and Wellness, with Dãnia Davy, Director of Land Retention & Advocacy at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. Vernon and Dãnia focus on farming, and the critical role that the Federation of Southern Cooperatives has played in helping Black farmers recover from the losses experienced as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Dãnia serves as Director of...
Feb 18, 2022•53 min
Emory Shaw Campbell, author, historian, and CEO of the Cultural Heritage Consulting, discusses the importance of preserving cultural heritage. Campbell formerly served as the Director of the Penn Center on St. Helena Island from 1980 - 2002. The historic Penn Center, which opened in the 1800s to educate freed slaves was previously used as a training center and meeting place for civil rights leaders. Today it serves as a center to preserve the history and heritage of the Sea Island and Gullah cul...
Feb 17, 2022•50 min
January 27, 2022 Co-op advocate and Author Clifford N. Rosenthal discusses the role CDFIs play in the development of co-ops, and his book "Democratizing Finance: Origins of the Community Development Financial Institutions Movement." Clifford N. Rosenthal is a nationally and internationally recognized innovator, advocate, and developer of programs to provide financial access for low-income and underserved people. He joined the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions in 1980 and...
Feb 06, 2022•51 min
Researchers Dr. Prieto and Dr. Phipps discuss their book "African American Management History: Insights on Gaining a Cooperative Advantage," and the African philosophy that was the primary inspiration for the book. Dr. Prieto and Dr. Phipps are highly acclaimed researchers and educators, who are members of the Thinkers50 (i.e., The Oscars of Management Thinking) Radar Class of 2021. Their work has been published in a number of outlets including the Journal of Business Ethics, Academy of Manageme...
Jan 26, 2022•52 min
January 13, 2022 David Hincapie, Economic Development Specialist with SBA, discusses, his observations regarding the experiences of co-op businesses with PPP and COVID disaster loans, and the basics of SBA lending programs. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the US Small Business Administration has offered lending programs designed to help businesses maintain their workforce and provide gap funding for losses experienced as result of the pandemic. David Hincapie has worked closely with Washingto...
Jan 22, 2022•51 min
Michael Partis, Executive Director at the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI), discusses the correlation between Cooperatives and Economic Democracy. Michael also shares several instances where BCDI has supported the formation of cooperatives. Michael Partis is also a Researcher at the Bronx African American History Project, where he and Professor Mark Naison are editing “After The Fires:” a collection of post-1970s South Bronx oral histories. He is also co-founder of The Bronx Broth...
Jan 17, 2022•50 min
Mark Winston Griffith, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Movement Center (BMC), and Board member of the Cooperative Economics Alliance of New York City, discusses the history of BMC, and the relationship of the principles of Kwanzaa and those of the cooperative business model. Mark Winston Griffith is is a nationally recognized thought leader, community organizer and journalist. He's also the co-founder and Executive Director of the Brooklyn Movement Center (BMC), a membership-based, community ...
Jan 09, 2022•49 min
December 23, 2021 -Esther Enyolu, Executive Director of Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre of Durham (WMRCC), discusses how WMRCC used Grant Funds to Development seven Worker Co-ops. Esther Enyolu is a dynamic leader committed to cross-cultural issues, such as, equity, equality, diversity and inclusion, human rights and social justice. She has extensive knowledge of employer/employee relationship issues in both unionized and non-unionized environments. Under her leadership WMR...
Dec 31, 2021•50 min
On December 16, 2021, Vernon interviews LaKeisha Wolf, Executive Director of Ujamaa Collective, and Kandis Quam, an artist with the Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni Cooperative (ARTZ. Kandis and LaKeisha discuss the ethical and cultural principles of their cooperatives, and the Artwork available at their storefronts and on their websites for the Holiday season. LaKeisha Wolf is a co-founder and serves as executive director of non-profit Ujamaa Collective. She leads through the lens of creativity...
Dec 19, 2021•50 min
On December 9, 2021, Vernon interviews Dr. Caroline Shenaz Hossein, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and founder of Diverse Solidarity Economies (DiSE) Collective. Dr. Hossein discusses ROSCAS (Rotating Savings & Credit Associations), and her research on alternative solidarity financial systems. Dr. Shenaz Hossein is Associate Professor of Global Development and Political Science at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and founder of Diverse Solidarity Economie...
Dec 19, 2021•52 min
Bijiibah Begaye, co-director of Cooperative Catalyst of New Mexico, discusses development of Cooperative Ecosystem in the Navajo Nation, and how the Cooperative Catalyst of New Mexico serves as a resource for individuals, groups, companies, and other organizations in New Mexico that are interested in forming, converting to, or growing cooperatives. Bijiibah Begaye is a true believer in supporting the Navajo community at every stage of development. She has previously served as Program Director fo...
Dec 13, 2021•50 min
Kandis Quam, an artist with the Ancestral Rich Treasures of Zuni Cooperative (ARTZ)discusses the ARTZ Cooperative, and the rich Zuni Culture. ARTZ is the only Zuni Artists Owned and Managed Cooperative in New Mexico. The formation of the Cooperative was founded to give back the power to the artist. To ensure that artist members receive the full monetary value for their creations. Kandis grew up in an artistic family, where she learned how to navigate the art show world by observing her parents, ...
Dec 12, 2021•51 min
Casey Fannon, Acting Chief Executive Officer at National Cooperative Bank (NCB) discusses the role of NCB in cooperative development, and future strategic plans for NCB, Since joining NCB in 1996, Mr. Fannon has dedicated his entire career to National Cooperative Bank and has served as its President since March 2020. In that role, Mr. Fannon has worked on new product and market development, commercial real estate, capital markets and has managed NCB’s loan and deposit production across all NCB’s...
Dec 08, 2021•49 min
Vernon Discusses the United Nations General Assembly's proclamation of the International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD), which was made in December 2013, for the decade of 2015 through 2024. He discusses previous social justice movements, notes the similarities between them, and then offers the alternative to use cooperatives to solve the community problems cited by the different movements.
Dec 04, 2021•45 min
Vernon Oakes, and co-host, John Holdsclaw, are joined by Leaders from the cooperative community to pay tribute to Chuck E. Snyder, President/CEO of National Cooperative Bank (NCB), who made his transition on November 6, 2021. Chuck was a highly respected leader who left an impression on everyone he met. Everything Co-op was pleased to provide a platform for the co-op community to express their extreme sense of loss, and the impact Chuck had on their lives, and/or organizations. Those who paid tr...
Nov 22, 2021•50 min
10/14/2021 - Karen Zimbelman, Sr. Director of Membership and Cooperative Relations at National Co+op Grocers discusses her career in the cooperative movement. Karen was recently inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame for her contribution to the co-op movement over her career of more than 40 years. Karen Zimbelman’s cooperative career began in the 1980s at the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) where she implemented board of director trainings. Over her 40-year career, she has org...
Oct 22, 2021•49 min
In observance of Hispanic Heritage Month,on October 7, 2021, Vernon interviews Pablo DeFilippi, CUDE, Sr Vice President of Membership and Network Engagement at Inclusiv. The theme for this year's celebration is “Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope.” The theme encourages us to reflect on all of the contributions Hispanics have made in the past, and will continue to make in the future. Throughout his career Pablo has worked tirelessly to expand access to capital for Hispanics. P...
Oct 17, 2021•49 min
Vern Dosch, retired National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) President and CEO, discusses his experiences throughout his career. Vern coupled the spirit of cooperation, a commitment to rural America, and cutting-edge technology to help utilities and telecoms provide quality, affordable service to consumer-members. Under his leadership, NISC became a leading provider of IT and software solutions to utility and telecommunication cooperatives, helping its members become more efficient and ...
Oct 17, 2021•48 min
Doug O’Brien, President and CEO of the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA), John Torres, VP of Communication and Public Relations at NCBA/CLUSA, and Paul Hazen, Executive Director of the U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council (OCDC)discuss the 2021 Cooperative IMPACT Conference. Follow link to register: https://web.cvent.com/event/c9469aae-156e-42c1-9c44-ec4ff9a4bf4c/regProcessStep1 NCBA CLUSA’s Cooperative IMPACT Conference will be held October 4-8,...
Oct 04, 2021•47 min
Cynthia Pinchback-Hines PhD, Racial Justice Educator & Co-op Developer, of Co-op Cincy, discusses the "Power in Numbers: Black Co-op U" and "Business Legacy Fund" Programs, and announced the Annual Union Co-op Symposium, which will be held on November 12 & 13, virtually and in-person. The 1st day of the conference will be virtual, and the 2nd day will be in-person in Cincinnati. Dr. Pinchback-Hines, has a professional career spanning four decades. She is a community activist and organize...
Sep 26, 2021•47 min
