Everything Co-op With Vernon Oakes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vernon interviews Doug O'Brien, Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs, for the White House Domestic Policy Council. Vernon and Doug discuss marketing cooperatives, the impact cooperatives have had in Rural America, and other initiatives of the Policy Council. Doug O'Brien has served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs since January 2015. Before that time and since March of 2009, O'Brien served in a number of leadership capacities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including as the Acting Under Secretary for the Rural Development Mission Area. At the White House, he helps lead the work of the White House Rural Council, which President Obama created in 2011 to encourage interagency cooperation and improve the effectiveness of federal programs in rural areas. Recently, the Council announced Rural Impact, an effort focused on rural child poverty. This work builds on O'Brien's leadership in rural community economic development that has focused on both emerging opportunities and in impoverished are

Vernon interviews Charles Gould, Director-General of the International Co-operative Alliance. Vernon and Chuck discuss the "Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade," the impact of cooperatives on the economy, Co-op Identity, and new initiatives of The Alliance.

Vernon uses excerpts from President Obama's speech during the reenactment of the March in Selma on Bloody Sunday 50 years ago to draw comparisons to the core principles of cooperatives.

Vernon and Melbah discuss the role women have played in the cooperative movement and in the facets of the movement that she has personally been involved with; and some of her experiences in working with groups to help form cooperatives and her personal experience of as a member of a local cooperative. Ms. McAfee Smith worked for nearly 40 years as a trusted co-op developer in some of the most impoverished areas of the country. She started her career with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, returning to her home state to lead the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives and the Mississippi Cooperative Development Center. Her visionary leadership and hands-on, grassroots approach to building communities have helped bring health care, economic development, and social justice to people in need through the cooperative model.Mrs. Smith was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in 2009.

Papa Sene has been serving with NCBA CLUSA for three decades, but has a life’s history of accomplishments in the cooperative movement and their impact on development. Sene grew up in Naikhar, Senegal, where cooperating was a natural way of life. Throughout his life, he shared, taught, enhanced, and finally globalized the values and practicality of cooperatives everywhere he went. He began spreading the message of cooperating in the Boy Scouts, but moved outside of scouting when he led a transformative co-op housing movement in Dakar in the 1960s. Sene began with CLUSA as a consultant, eventually leading the design of the “CLUSA Approach,” a method which has been used across sectors and around the world. This approach has since been applied to natural resource management, community health, and governance strengthening. During his 30 years with NCBA CLUSA, Sene has been recognized by USAID and the World Bank for his achievements. He has also written several books and received numerous awards.

Vernon and David discussed the emergence of food co-ops, his new book, and the role of cooperatives in the Economy. This month marks the 2nd anniversary of Everything Co-op, and the celebration of National Co-op Month. Cooperative Network's 2015 Co-op Month theme, Take Ownership, celebrates how the cooperative model gives consumers a real stake in their economic destinies, because co-ops are owned and controlled by the people who use their services. Therefore, it is quite fitting to celebrate this milestone by bringing David Thompson to the mic again, to announce his new book being released this month, that focuses on food co-ops. Thompson, has worked for national cooperative organizations of the United States, Britain and Japan as well as the United Nations. He served as Vice President of the National Cooperative Business Association and Regional Director of the National Cooperative Bank's Western Office. He specializes in funding the capital needs of the cooperative development sector and nonprofit and coop

Vernon Oakes interviews Kim Koontz, and Mai Nguyen, Executive Director and Cooperative Development Specialist at the California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD). They discussed the upcoming California Co-op Conference, which will be held in San Diego, and programs and many different programs and services offered through CCCD.

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

Vernon interviews Charles Gould, Director-General of the International Co-operative Alliance. Vernon and Chuck discuss the "Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade," the impact of cooperatives on the economy, Co-op Identity, and new initiatives of The Alliance.