Everything Co-op With Vernon Oakes

Vernon Oakes, host of Everything Co=op interviews Charles E. Snyder, President and CEO of National Cooperative Bank (NCB). Vernon and Mr. Snyder discuss the impact NCB has had in the cooperative community, and the importance of the cooperative principles. Charles E. Snyder is the president and chief executive officer of National Cooperative Bank and leads its Executive Council, a team of senior managers representing business development units and functional areas across the company. Mr. Snyder joined NCB in 1983 as corporate vice president and chief financial officer. In 1992, he was named president and chief executive officer. Mr. Snyder serves on numerous boards, including the Consumer Federation of America, National Cooperative Business Association, a membership association representing every type of cooperative in America. In 2011, Mr. Snyder was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame and in 2007 received the Jerry Voorhis Award, the National Association of Housing Cooperative's most prestigious honor

Vernon Oakes, host of Everything Co-op, interviews Hugh B. Price, Civil Rights Leader, Attorney, Author and Foundation Executive. Vernon and Hugh discuss his autobiography, and how the cooperative principles were interwoven throughout his family history. Hugh B. Price is a long-time civil rights leader, activist and public intellectual. As president of the National Urban League from 1994 to 2003, he launched the League's historic Campaign for African-American Achievement, spearheaded pressure on the federal government to combat police brutality and racial profiling, vigorously defended affirmative action, and helped repair frayed relations between the black and Jewish communities. He has been an editorial writer for the New York Times, senior vice president in charge of national production at WNET/Thirteen in New York City, and vice president of the Rockefeller Foundation. Recently Prince released his reflective autobiography, This African American Life (Blair, 2017). His numerous television appearances range

Vernon Oales interviews Jessica Johnson, Regional Director of Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA). Vernon and Jessica discuss the business practices of CPA, and how the organization has saved its members over #3 million dollars in the past three years. Vernon Oakes interviews Jessica Johnson, Regional Director of Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA). Vernon and Jessica talk about how CPA has leveraged the buying power of community institutions to help lower operating costs, while also making investments in sustainability, worker equity, and community organizing. As Regional Director of CPA, Jessica Johnson manages the group purchasing and strategic sourcing of CPA's 75 member community institutions in the Washington DC region. Jessica has 13 years of management, sales, and contracting experience working in the for-profit, non-profit and government sectors. Most recently Jessica led a team at Education Data Systems, Inc. where she assisted with the procurement of $2 million in annual contracts. She also managed

Vernon Interviews Campbell C. Johnson III, Chair of the Urban Housing Alliance, (UHA). Vernon and Campbell discuss how UHA provides assistance to help DC residents address issues related to gentrification, and the rising cost of owning property in Washington DC. Urban Housing Alliance (UHA) is a community-based, non-profit organization that implements a range of educational advocacy, services and programs to fight displacement of low and moderate income residents, improve their quality of life, and to foster economic development that uplifts this community and its constituents (families, youth, elderly, and special needs). The core belief, obligation and pledge of UHA is: "Economic development should uplift a community, it should not and must not uproot its residents".

John Torres, VP of Communication and Public Relations for the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International is interviewed on Everything Co-op. Vernon and John discuss the Co-op Festival, 2017 Co-op Impact Conference, and other initiatives being sponsored by NCBA/CLUSA. John Torres serves as the Vice President of Communication and Public Relations for the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA), an organization that serves as the primary voice in the U.S. for people who use cooperatives to build a better world. NCBA CLUSA provides cross-sector education, support, and advocacy that helps co-ops thrive, with an international development portfolio of over $48 million in active programs in 20 countries. John is a proven strategic communicator with more than 20 years of experience in corporate communication planning and development, crisis communication, and multimedia and social content development. An experienced traveler, John has worked in multi-cultural envir

Vernon interviews Monique Rizer, Executive Director of Opportunity Nation. Vernon and Monique discuss Our Opportunity Nation, the 2017 Opportunity Index, and other research and reports being used to close the opportunity gap in America. Since September of 2015, Monique Rizer has been the Executive Director of Opportunity Nation. Under her leadership, the team has grown supporters by 35 percent and developed "Our Opportunity Nation," a national opportunity plan that was featured in the Washington Post, and garnered the endorsement of more than 130 organizations. Prior to joining Opportunity Nation, Monique served as the Chief of Staff for Be The Change, Inc., Opportunity Nation's parent organization. She also served as deputy director of military spouse programs for the Military Officers Association of America, where she founded Keeping a Career on the Move®, which earned the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE) 'Power of A' Silver Award. Monique is a national spokesperson on opportunity. She has

Gail Taylor, is the owner/operator of Three Part Harmony Farm. A long-time resident of the District, Taylor has worked as an organizer and social justice activist focusing on Latin America solidarity (internationally) and affordable housing issues (locally.) She has been farming organically since 2005. Taylor speaks regularly on food and farming issues and has been featured in The Washington Post in 2014 and 2015 for her role as a leader in the urban ag movement. In 2015, she was featured as one of Fifty+ under 50: Innovative leaders transforming metro DC’s food system. She is a member of the Seed Keeper’s Collective, Ecohermanas, and co-founder of Community Farming Alliance. Three Part Harmony Farm exists to grow food for people, but it also exists in part to challenge our assumptions on how urban farms should look. It intentionally seeks to create a viable and just local food economy while at the same time dismantling racism and the ever present, entrenched forms of oppression in that same food system. Thre

Vernon interviews Marcella Charles Casto, Assistant Principal and Career Technology Education Administrator at Mingo Central High, Vernon and Marcella the Simulated Workplace Program, other programs she administers at Mingo Central High School, and how cooperatives can be incorporated into the academic programs to further enhance them. The simulated workplace program is the brainchild of Kathy D'Antoni, assistant state superintendent of schools for the Division of Technical, Adult and Institutional Education, and it is going into its fifth year. Students must apply for a job, go through an interview, be subject to a random drug testing, and develop a portfolio of work projects and certifications. Ms. Charles Casto is dedicated to working with youth in this program. The program address common concerns that businesses have of today's youth. "Over the last three years, what we have heard from business and industry leaders is that kids don't understand customer service, they don't have a strong work ethic, and th

Vernon interviews Brad Mitchell, Managing Director, Battelle for Kids. Vernon and Brad discuss his innovative approached to advance education reform, with an emphasis on his focus on rural collaboratives. As a Managing Director, Brad leads Battelle for Kids' efforts to advance innovative education reform, especially around rural collaboratives that serve as practice partners in research and practice partnerships focused on advancing access, equity and quality for rural students. He previously led the Ohio Appalachian Collaborative, a partnership between Battelle for Kids and 27 school districts in southeast Ohio dedicated to developing a comprehensive approach to accelerating college and career readiness. Throughout his career, Brad has worked at the national and state levels in the role of educational policy analyst, serving on the staff of the 1982 National Commission on Excellence in Education (A Nation at Risk) and as Director of Community Partnerships for the Ohio Children and Family First Initiative.

Vernon interviews Kate Mereand, Program Manager for Tech & Innovation, DC Department of Small and Local Business Development. Vernon and Kate discuss the Stakeholders Co-op group, and other programs and initiatives of DC Department of Small and Local Business Development. Ms. Mereand provides one-on-one technical assistance to any DC-based business seeking to grow, with a special focus on diversity inclusion across all business industries and the tech sector. Her work includes providing support for the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem, to ensure it is both inclusive and innovative. She also conducts stakeholder groups and pilot programs to support specific populations in the District as they pursue entrepreneurship, including: youth, the disability community, cooperatives, and those involved with the justice system. To that end Ms. Mereand has been supporting a monthly, open stakeholder group on building the cooperative ecosystem in DC for the last six months, and will operate that programming through at lea

Vernon Interviews Ms. Noémi Giszpenc, Executive Director of Cooperative Development Institute. Vernon and Noémi discuss the role that cooperatives can play in the Arts,the role that African American Women have played in the cooperative movement, and CDI's work to help start-up cooperatives, and support existing cooperative businesses. Ms. Giszpenc, manages the day-to-day activities of the organization. She began her career as an economics researcher at the World Bank, worked as an editor at the Nonprofit Quarterly, a magazine for nonprofit managers, and became a principal at Ownership Associates, Inc., a consulting firm in Cambridge, MA specializing in developing an ownership culture at employee-owned firms. As part of earning a Master's in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University, she did a thesis on the creation of a cooperative economy in the Northeast, including the practical development of an interactive cooperative directory, which has now evolved into the Data Commons Coope

Vernon Oakes, Host of Everything Co-op, Interviews Janis Hazel, ANC Commissioner and Director of Communications for Washington, D.C. Councilmember, Vincent Gray. Vernon and Janis discuss legislation introduced by Councilmember Gray, and how cooperatives can help to advance his agenda. Janis is serving a third term as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC 7D05) in Ward 7 of Washington, DC. She is the Director of Communications for Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent C. Gray and has served as Director of Communications in the Executive Office of the Mayor. She was appointed by the Obama Administration to manage the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census Decennial operations for the District of Columbia’s 2010 Census and has served as the Director of Development and Communications for Howard University Television (WHUT-TV). A native of Detroit, MI and a political science major at the University of Michigan, she began her career in public policy with Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (NY), and later worked f

Vernon interviews John D. Johnson, retired President & CEO, CHS Inc., and 2017 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductee. Vernon and John discuss his life work and experiences as a leader in the cooperative movement, and the history of CHS Inc. and how the cooperative business model and guiding principles were used to establish the business. John Johnson's vision and unwavering belief in the cooperative value proposition reshaped U.S. agricultural co-ops' ability to capture 21st century success. Grounded by his rural North Dakota and South Dakota roots, he dedicated his 34-year career to embracing innovative opportunities to connect producers from their farms and ranches to the global marketplace through their cooperatives. Johnson's leadership style combined a clear vision of the benefits of pursuing new paths, initially for Harvest States Cooperatives and later for CHS Inc., with an exceptional ability to articulate the benefits of these bold steps to member-owners, board members and employees with trust, integrity

Richard Larochelle, retired Senior Vice President, National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, and 2017 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductee appears on Everything Co-op, Vernon and Richard discuss the food co-op he's helping to form in his community, and his life work and experiences as a leader in the cooperative movement. Rich Larochelle has spent his life championing the cooperative business model. During a 40-year electric cooperative career -including nearly a decade with the federal Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and later senior leadership posts with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation-he demonstrated his passion for helping cooperative consumers by fighting to improve the quality of rural life at every turn. His achievements were many: encouraging Congress to create the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program (REDL&G); securing passage of the REA Improvement Act of 1992; overcoming a presi

Everything Co-ops Host, Vernon Oakes, interviews Rodney North, Cooperative Consultant, and member of the DC Cooperative Stakeholders Group. Vernon and Rodney discuss events and initiatives of the Stakeholders Group, their upcoming workshop, “How Co-ops Strengthen Neighborhoods,” and the DC Anchor Partnership. Rodney North has spent more than two decades in co-ops, helping co-ops, or advocating for the co-op model, and usually was doing all three at the same time. Today Rodney is consultant to cooperatives, and an active member of the DC Cooperative Stakeholders Group. This is a group of local people and institutions who have been meeting for the last six months - thanks to support from the city's Department of Small and Local Business Development - to explore ways to strengthen and support co-ops in the city. The city is supporting this effort because business cooperatives are one thread in the city's overall economic development strategy. Before returning to the DC area in 2015 Rodney spent 20 years as part

Vernon and Doug discuss the programs, resources and events offered through NCBA/CLUSA. They also so discuss efforts to establish a food cooperative in Washington, DC's Wards 7 and 8, and resources that are available to assist groups with starting food cooperatives. They rounded out the show with a discussion about the work that is being done through the CLUSA International arm of the organization. Doug O'Brien serves as Executive Vice President for Programs at NCBA CLUSA, where he works with the cooperative community, both domestically and internationally, to deepen its impact on individuals and communities. NCBA is the primary voice for cooperatives in the United States for using the cooperative business model to empower people in their businesses and communities. 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 Rural Development, an organization with over 40 programs and 5000 employees that annually finances mor

Vernon and Michael discuss his White Paper, "MRAGA" - Make Rural America Great Again: An Infrastructure Road-Map for Rural America's High-Road Institutional Stewards. Michael Peck strives to overcome inequalities of wealth/income, opportunity, and social mobility by applying the sixty years of Mondragon experience and principles to form, transform, and transition worker co-ops and union co-ops. Since late 1999, Michael Alden Peck has served as the North American delegate for Mondragon, the world's largest industrial worker cooperative. On March 26th, 2012, the United Steelworkers (USW), Mondragon, and the Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC) announced the union-coop template, to create worker-owner hybrid projects and businesses with the goal of revamping U.S. manufacturing through worker empowerment and ownership. In January 2014, Michael helped to launch 1worker1vote.org, a non-profit dedicated to building a national network of unionized worker-owned cooperative businesses to overcome opportunity, mobility

Vernon and Dr. Hoyt discuss the influence Women have had within the cooperative movement; organizations and resources available to help cooperative startups, and how women have used cooperatives to solve community problems. Hoyt is an internationally known expert on cooperatives, who began her distinguished career in the 1960s as a member of the Berkley Consumer Food Co-op. Her academic interest in cooperatives took root in graduate school at University of California at Davis, where her Master's Thesis focused on the Consumer Cooperative of Sacramento. Always active in the national food cooperatives, Ann began her 25 year directorship of the annual Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) in 1988. Her love of teaching led to work in board education and governance, and the launch of an intensive education program for food cooperative managers, the Cooperative Management Institute (CMI). She has trained several thousand cooperative and non-profit directors and managers throughout the country and is th

Vernon Oakes and Ms. Haynes discussed her life work and experiences as a leader in the cooperative movement, and how Faith Community United Credit Union changed lives and addressed so many community problems during her tenure. Rita Haynes dedicated her nearly 60-year career to serving the financial needs of disadvantaged communities in Cleveland, Ohio. Her innovations transformed the credit union industry with the development of products to combat predatory lending and harnessed financial resources to support community development. Rita is recognized for serving over fifty years as director, manager, treasurer and CEO of Faith Community United Credit Union, Cleveland, Ohio. Through vision, collaboration and sheer grit, Rita led the transformation of a small credit union operating out of a church basement, into a 6000-member financial institution with $12 million in assets, all the while never losing sight of the financial needs of the credit union's low income members and their communities. A pioneer in faith

As we continue our celebration of Women's History Month, and focus on the theme of Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business, we pay tribute to an advocate who is a true trailblazer Ms. Elizabeth (Liz) Bailey. Vernon and Ms. Bailey discuss the role women have played in the "herstory" of cooperative movement, and in the facets of the movement that she has personally been involved with. Liz Bailey is 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. Ms. Bailey provides her clients the benefit of her career experience in strategic public policy that combines the private sector, the executive branches of state and federal governments and extensive non-profit program management. For much of the past decade, Ms. Bailey held leadership positions with the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International, including Interim CEO, VP for Public Policy & Cooperativ