This webinar will cover the nuts and bolts of developing a co-op. Panelists will focus on business planning, legal and governance structures, and financing as key topics for consideration. The session will provide participants with an overview of relevant co-op resources and technical assistance providers from across the New England region.
Facilitator:
- Noémi Giszpenc is the Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a cooperative economy in the Northeast U.S. 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. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master’s in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University.
Panelists:
- Maggie Cohn is the Southeastern New England Loan and Outreach Officer for the Cooperative Fund of New England, a Community Development Finance Institution founded in 1975. She has served as the Executive Director of local non-profits, working for the Mission Hill Health Movement; for the Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness with a broad array of community organizations, institutions and municipal agencies; and for Mission Hill Main Streets, working with local businesses and residents to improve the commercial district. Previously she worked at Red Sun Press, a worker-controlled commercial print shop in Jamaica Plain. She serves on the board of the Back of the Hill Community Development Corporation and is a member of Boston Building Resources, Harvest Cooperative Market and the Dorchester Community Food Co-op. She holds a BA from UMass Boston and a Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. She shares her home with her husband and three elderly cats, and prefers to travel by bike.
- Stacey Cordeiro is a Co-op Organizer, and founder of the Boston Center for Community Ownership (bcco.coop). She provides education & training, facilitation, and consulting to worker co-ops and other community owned businesses. Since earning a Masters' Degree from MIT in Community Economic Development in 2000, Stacey has worked as an organizer and consultant for co-op development organizations such as Cooperative Economics for Women, the Cooperative Development Institute, and the Vermont Center for Employee Ownership. She is a member of the Democracy at Work Network (dawn.coop), and the Worker Owned and Run Cooperative Network of Boston (worcn.org).
- Lydia Edwards is an attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services where she works in the Employment Unit. She is also a Sustainable Economies Law Center Fellow and a recently received her LLM in taxation from Boston University School of Law.