Top Banner
Learning from Each Other Inspiring Change 2015 ACE INSTITUTE JULY 12-15 AMHERST, MA COOPERATIVE EDUCATION Association of Cooperative Educators Aprendiendo unos de otros Inspirando cambios El Congreso anual de ACE 2015 12 al 15 de julio Amherst, Massachusetts EDUCACIÓN COOPERATIVA Association of Cooperative Educators Apprendre les uns des autres Inspirer le changement Congrès ACE 2015 12 au 15 juillet Amhest au Massachusetts ÉDUCATION COOPÉRATIVE Association of Cooperative Educators
24

(445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

Oct 11, 2020

Download

Documents

dariahiddleston
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

Learning from Each OtherInspiring Change

2015 ACE INSTITUTE JULY 12-15 AMHERST, MA

CO O P E RAT I V E E D U CAT I O N

Association of Cooperative Educators

Aprendiendo unos de otrosInspirando cambios

El Congreso anual de ACE 2015 12 al 15 de julio Amherst, Massachusetts

E D U CAC I Ó N CO O P E RAT I VA

Association of Cooperative Educators

Apprendre les uns des autresInspirer le changement

Congrès ACE 2015 12 au 15 juillet Amhest au Massachusetts

É D U CAT I O N CO O P É RAT I V E

Association of Cooperative Educators

Page 2: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

2

Dear Institute Participant:

Welcome to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the 2015 ACE Institute. We are in the Connecticut River Valley, home to an abundance of worker, producer, and consumer co-ops. When the ACE Institute planning committee first started thinking about a theme for this year’s Institute that would highlight cooperatives in this area, the idea of peer-to-peer learning emerged. Within the Connecticut River Valley Area there are many examples of co-ops coming together, learning from one another, sharing their experiences, pushing the cooperative economy forward, together.

The 2015 ACE Institute theme is Cooperative Education: Learning From Each Other—Inspiring Change. Like the cooperatives in and around the Connecticut River Valley, the ACE Institute has always offered an opportunity for cross sector, cross border peer learning; we have celebrated the different roles the researcher, developer and practitioner play and how they work together. This year, I ask that you take time to reflect on how you are a co-op educator—through educating boards and members, through communication, within universities and research, or in the development process. You are all cooperative educators, and in this capacity, you are all inspiring change within your co-ops, communities and the larger economy.

I welcome the Youth Cohort again. This peer group illustrates the next generation of co-op education leaders that are excited and ready to teach about the impact the cooperative model plays in bringing about positive social and economic transformation.

To all Institute participants, presenters and attendees, thank you for the cooperative education you are doing that is inspiring change and for your participation at the Institute. I look forward to learning from all of you. Enjoy this time with peers, new friends and colleagues; enjoy the Institute.

Sarah M. Pike Executive Director Association of Cooperative Educators

CONTENTS

Events at a Glance

Daily Presentations: Presenter biographies and presentation summaries, including Mobile Learning Sessions (Tuesday)

Institute Who’s Who

An invitation to join or renew your ACE membership

ACE Awards

ACE Auction

Thank you to our ACE sponsors whose financial assistance provides scholarships, awards, language interpretation and other

services that are vital to our Institute.

Also thanks to honorees of our ACE Awards Banquet for their

part in developing cooperatives and demonstrating how education

can be different.

Select papers and slide presentations from the ACE Institute will be posted at

http://coopeducators.com

Tweet? use #ACEinstitute

Follow ACEeducators on Twitter

and join us in conversation on

LinkedIn: http://s.coop/linkedn

Complete the Institute Evaluation

online at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/

ACEInstitute

Page 3: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

3

Sunday, July 12, 2015Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus

5:00–9:00 WELCOME RECEPTION (Marriott Room, 11th Floor)

Monday, July 13, 2015All Monday’s activities will take place at the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Centre on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus

7:00–8:00 BREAKFAST (Concourse, outside Room 163)

8:00–8:30 (Room 163)

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Learning from Each Other—Inspiring Change

8:30–9:30 GENERAL SESSIONWired Differently

Keynote by Vern Dosch, National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC)

9:45–10:45 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Telling Your Co-op Story (Workshop) Patricia Cumbie, CDS Consulting Co-op

SESSION B (Room 165)

Credit Unions and the Cooperative Model (Workshop) Kevin Smith, TEAM Resources

SESSION C (Room 162)

Municipal Investment in Cooperative Development as a Tool for Community and Economic Development

Anne Reynolds, University of Wisconsin Center for CooperativesRuth Rohlich, City of MadisonRebecca Bauen, Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI)

11:00–12:00 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

The Learning/Action Lab: Preliminary Lessons from Two Years of Work with Native Communities

Co-operative Innovation Project

Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative

Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan

SESSION B (Room 165)

Co-ops, Students and Faculty Together: UMass Cooperative Enterprise Collaborative

Erbin Crowell, Neighboring Food Co-op AssociationNancy Folbre, Professor Emeritus, UMass AmherstOlivia Geiger, Ph.D. Candidate, UMass AmherstAdam Trott, Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives

SESSION C (Room 162)

Puerto Rico’s use of Cooperative Education and Development for Incarcerated Individuals

Lymarie Nieves-Plaza, Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Candel CoopRoberto Luis Rodriguez Rosario, author

Learning from Each Other—Inspiring Change

EVENTS AT A GLANCE

Page 4: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

4

2:45–3:45 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Lessons in Leadership from Italian Cooperatives

Internal, Ongoing Co-op Education at a Large Worker Cooperative

Margaret Lund, consultant

Rodney North, Equal Exchange

SESSION B (Room 165)

Cooperative Educationilient Future (Workshop) Megan Svoboda, Roberta Giordano, Zen Trenholm and Jeff Noven, The Student Environmental Resource Center, University of California, Berkley

SESSION C (Room 162)

Youth Traveling Cooperative Institute: Peer Organizing and Educating in the Upper Midwest (Workshop)

Emily Lippold Cheney, USACYC

1:00–2:30 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Wired Differently: Telling the Story so Others Will Listen (Workshop)

Vern Dosch, NISC

SESSION B (Room 165)

Student Learning Styles in Three Classes: Online, Distance and an On-Campus Equivalent

Shared-Service Cooperatives: Strengthening Local Economies Through Collaboration

Gregory McKee, Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives

Christina A. Clamp, Southern New Hampshire University

Carol Coren, Cornerstone Ventures LLC

SESSION C (Room 162)

Empowering Communities: Education for Building Wealth

Coop Principal (CP) Investment Club

Cooperating for the Social and Economic Integration of Francophone Immigrants to Ontario

Keane Bhatt, The Democracy CollaborativeJohnnie Fenderson, PUSH Green

Margaret Lund, consultant

Julien Geremie, Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario

12:00–1:00 LUNCH (Marriott Room, 11th Floor)

4:00–5:00 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Curriculum for Cooperative Entrepreneurs Elvy Del Bianco, Vancity

SESSION B (Room 165)

Banish Your PowerPoints! Embrace Methods for Creative Cooperative Learning (Workshop)

Esteban Kelly, AORTA

SESSION C (Room 162)

We Run This: Peer-to-Peer Internal and External Education Mechanisms

Adam Trott, Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operativesErbin Crowell, Neighboring Food Co-op Association

Page 5: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

5

Tuesday, July 14, 2015Meet at the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus

7:00–8:00 BREAKFAST (Amherst Room, 10th Floor)

8:00–9:30 ACE ANNUAL MEETING (All are welcome)

9:30–10:00 Mobile Learning Session Descriptions Adam Trott, Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives

ACE Participants will choose Mobile Learning Session A or B.

(Tours leave from the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center and return by 5 p.m. Note: ACE Banquet begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Marriott Room on the 11th floor of the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center)

MOBILE LEARNING SESSIONS 2015

MOBILE LEARNING SESSION A (lunch will be provided on the tour)

MOBILE LEARNING SESSION B (you will have lunch on the tour)

Travel from Amherst to nearby communities—Collective Copies (worker co-op), Simple Diaper & Linen (worker co-op), UMassFirve College Federal Credit Union, and River Valley Market (food co-op)

Travel to Greenfield, about half an hour away from the university— Greenfield Farmers Co-op Exchange (producer co-op), Green Fields Market (food co-op), Artisan Beverage Cooperative (worker-owned brewery), Real Pickles (a small, worker-owned cooperative producing pickled products) and worker co-op PV Squared (Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics)

6:00 ACE BANQUET AND AWARDS CEREMONY (Marriott Room, 11th Floor)

5:10–6:00 GENERAL SESSION (Room 163)

Lessons from Mondragon and the Worker Co-op Masters Program

Fred Freundlich, Mondragon UniversityChristopher Michael, New York City Worker Cooperative Business Association

6:00 DINNER ON YOUR OWN

6:45 SPECIAL SESSION (Room 162)

Regional Cooperative/Solidarity Economic Development

Page 6: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

6

Wednesday, July 15, 2015All sessions will take place in the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center

7:00–8:00 BREAKFAST (Concourse, outside Room 163)

8:00–8:15 OPENING REMARKS (Room 163)

8:30–9:30 (Choose Session A or B)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Cooperative Education Experiences (Workshop) Natalie Locke, Aynah

SESSION B (Room 165)

Building Communities of Practice Rebecca Bauen, DAWI

9:45–10:45 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Cooperative Traditions Across Generations (Workshop) Emily Lippold Cheney, USA Cooperative Youth Council

SESSION B (Room 165)

In-house Co-op Education Programs: An Open Conversation and Brainstorm Session (Workshop)

Rodney North, Equal Exchange

SESSION C (Room 162)

Community Self-Directed Education : What is a Discussion Course on Cooperatives? (Workshop)

Lisa Stolarski, The Cooperation Group B. Anthony Holley, The Cooperation GroupNikki Marín Baena, United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives

11:00–12:00 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Non-traditional Co-op Education: Community Colleges and Prisons (Workshop)

Andrew Stachiw, Toolbox for Education and Social Action (TESA)

SESSION B (Room 165)

Relevance and Impact of Cooperative Business Education

Research in Cooperation or Cooperation in Research? The Importance of Links Between Cooperatives

Claude-André Guillotte, University of Sherbrooke

Étienne Fouquet, University of Sherbrooke (IRECUS)

SESSION C (Room 162)

Teaching It Through Living It: Bringing Theater of the Oppressed Techniques into Cooperative Education (Workshop)

Caroline Savery, consultant

12:00–1:00 WRAP UP AND LUNCH

ADJOURN

Page 7: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

7

Sunday, July 12

The Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus

5:00–9:00 WELCOME RECEPTION

Monday, July 13All Monday’s activities will take place at the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus

7:00–8:00 BREAKFAST (in the concourse, outside Room 163)

8:00–8:30 WELCOME (Room 163)

Learning from Each Other—

Inspiring Change.

8:30–9:30 GENERAL SESSION

Wired Differently

Keynote by Vern Dosch, National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC)

In writing Wired Differently (2015), Vern wished to preserve NISC’s cultural development and the critical elements that led to it. Wired Differently tells the story of NISC, a nearly fifty-year-old technology business built on the cooperative model. Starting as a software and IT services provider for three rural cooperatives in the late 1960s, NISC has grown to more than 1,000 employees serving 14 million end users in Canada and 49 U.S. states or territories, and has facilities in Mandan, North Dakota, Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Shawano, Wisconsin. In this opening session, Vern will discuss the importance of ongoing employee education and awareness about being a cooperative, and how a cooperative culture builds a different kind

of organization that engages employees, delights customers and sparks better results.

NISC President and CEO Vern Dosch is a life-long resident of Bismarck-Mandan, North Dakota. His career in cooperatives spans four decades. Vern holds degrees from North Dakota’s University of Mary.

9:30-9:45 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Telling Your Co-op Story (Workshop)

Compelling narratives give people a good understanding of your co-op and passion by bringing to life what you do. They also show how people are connected to the co-op and community.

In this workshop you will learn storytelling techniques that will build enthusiasm, energy and a shared sense of purpose for your cooperative.

Patricia Cumbie is with CDS Consulting Co-op that provides solutions for cooperative organizations. She began her cooperative career as the member services director at Seward Community Co-op in Minneapolis in 1989. Over the course of her career in retail food co-ops, including Mississippi Market and Lakewinds Food Co-op, she worked as a department manager, customer service manager, trainer and marketing and member services director. Patricia is also the co-author of several educational handbooks for food co-ops, including the Brand Readiness Kit, How to Start a Food Co-op (revised edition), and the Member Equity Toolbox.

Learning from Each Other—Inspiring Change

DAILY PRESENTATIONS

Page 8: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

8

Anne Reynolds is the Executive Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. She develops courses, conferences and educational programs at the Center, and has led numerous workshops on board leadership, board roles and responsibilities and strategic planning. Her areas of interest include governance, member loyalty, business structure and innovative uses of the cooperative model. Anne serves on several boards, including The Cooperative Foundation and the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund.

Ruth Rohlich is the Business Development Specialist for the City of Madison. Previously, she was the Project Director for the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, a Community Development Financial Institution that provides business education, access to capital and technical business assistance to low wealth, people of color and women entrepreneurs. A businesswoman herself, Ruth owned and operated a gift and flower business. She completed her Executive MBA in 2012 at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rebecca Bauen directs the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) Fellowship Program for worker co-op developers. She has long-standing experience in worker cooperative development and adult education. She was Executive Director of Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security in Oakland, California, supported the start-up of an interpreting co-op and led a workplace conversion project in Washington State. While working for the Northwest Cooperative Federation, she organized the first four years of the annual western worker cooperative conferences. She also taught courses on worker cooperatives and popular education at University of California, Berkeley and The Evergreen State College, and has published multiple articles and reports on community development and cooperatives. Rebecca holds a Masters in Public Administration concentrating on sustainable development from the University of Washington.

SESSION B (Room 165)

Credit Unions and the Cooperative Model (Workshop)

Many credit unions appear to have lost their cooperative roots, while others continue to thrive. Hear how financial cooperatives have dealt with governance, strategic planning and oversight challenges. In this session, we will discuss approaches that financial co-ops have used that have both worked and failed. We’ll talk about adaptive strategies based on credit union examples. In addition, we will explore significant governance issues that can have a dramatic impact on the health and longevity of an organization—concerns such as board and CEO succession planning, strategic planning, safety and soundness issues like regulatory burdens, and CEO oversight.

Kevin Smith is publisher at TEAM Resources, based in Arizona, that specializes in credit union education and training. He develops print and digital courses and media, and consults with financial co-ops. He also oversees the TEAM Resources board self-evaluation programs. Previously, Kevin spent 10 years at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). In the Center for Professional Development as director of volunteer education, Kevin developed and oversaw programs for credit union executives, boards, and volunteers, and introduced the CUNA Volunteer Certification Program. Before joining CUNA, Kevin spent several years teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has a master’s degree from DePaul University, Chicago and a bachelor’s from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

SESSION C (Room 162)

Municipal Investment in Cooperative Development as a Tool for Community and Economic Development

Madison, Wisconsin is proposing to spend $5 million in the next five years for cooperative development. Other cities, including New York, are looking to cooperatives to renew their economies and build social engagement. The benefits are clear, but how do we create effective municipal programs? In an era of scarce resources, what partnerships are necessary? Learn how Madison and New York are working to ensure success.

Page 9: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

9

10:45–11:00 MOVE TO YOUR NEW SESSION—coffee served at break

11:00–12:00 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

The Learning/Action Lab: Preliminary Lessons from Two Years of Work with Native Communities

Beginning in July 2013, The Democracy Collaborative, in partnership with the Northwest Areas Foundation, launched an intensive co-learning and co-creation initiative working with five Native American community development organizations—two urban, multi-tribal organizations (Portland, Oregon and Minneapolis, Minnesota) and three rural, reservation-based groups (two Lakota Sioux organizations on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota and the Spokane Tribe in Wellpinit, Washington). Entitled the “Learning Action/Lab for Community Wealth Building,” The initiative’s goal is to help these five groups build and retain wealth in Native communities by anchoring jobs locally through employee-owned businesses and social enterprises. This presentation will provide an overview of highlights of the project so far. In particular, the presentation will address the education process, emphasizing how interaction with American Indian group leaders has altered both the curriculum and the pedagogical methodology. Themes will include: How to co-create curriculum, the role of coaching and relationship building, the role of participant feedback in adjusting program design as you go, how to foster network building and peer-to-peer connections, how to organize “learning journeys” to reinforce learning, and the importance of developing culturally resonant co-op education.

Steve Dubb is Research Director of The Democracy Collaborative. He has led the development of the Community-Wealth.org web-based information portal and has been lead author or co-author of a number of publications including Growing a Green Economy for All: From Green Jobs to Green Ownership (2010). With Ted Howard, Steve has also worked on the development of community wealth building strategies in a number of cities, including Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Washington, DC. Previously, Steve was Executive Director of the North

American Students of Cooperation (NASCO). Dubb received his master’s degree and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Co-operative Innovation Project

Saskatchewan’s Centre for the Study of Co-operatives began the Co-operative Innovation Project in November 2013 through funding from Federated Co-operatives Limited. This session will present information from a series of 30 community meetings held in rural and Aboriginal communities across western Canada regarding challenges facing these communities and the extent to which these communities have the social capacity to collectively address these needs. Included in the discussion will be factors such as trust, authority structures, norms, education, social sanctions, and social stratification.

Dazawray Landrie-Parker is the Aboriginal Community Engagement Coordinator at the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Dazawray’s background is in Native Studies and sociology, specializing in consultation, accommodation, and Traditional Knowledge. In 2014, Dazawray was appointed as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commanding Officer’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee for “F” Division. She contributes her extensive experience working with Métis Nation-Saskatchewan where she held several senior positions relating to program administration and management, research, legislative policy review and development, and community and industrial consultation and engagement.

SESSION B (Room 165)

Co-ops, Students and Faculty Together: UMass Cooperative Enterprise Collaborative (CEC)

How can cooperatives and the academy work together? What needs or goals of the cooperative movement can be met through collaboration between these rarely partnered groups? We’ll discuss the UMass CEC and the Certificate in Co-operative Enterprise, our formation, and our work including co-creating upper and introductory level curriculum and research goals, an internship program inside cooperatives, and voicing support

Page 10: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

10

for the cooperative model on an administrative level. We’ll explore why collaboration between co-ops and the academy is rare or short-lived, and share thoughts on a model of cooperative education moving forward.

Erbin Crowell serves as Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association, a regional federation of more than 30 food co-ops and start-up initiatives with a combined membership of more than 90,000 people. Erbin is Vice President of the New England Farmers Union and serves on the boards of the National Cooperative Business Association and the Valley Co-operative Business Association. He holds a Master of Management: Co-operatives & Credit Unions from Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia and is an adjunct lecturer at UMass, Amherst, where he teaches courses on the cooperative movement.

Nancy Folbre is Professor Emeritus of Economics at UMass Amherst. Her research covers feminist theory and political economy. She has published many works, including a chapter entitled “Women’s Employment, Unpaid Work, and Economic Inequality,” (2013). She is also on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal Feminist Economics. Nancy received her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Texas and UMass, respectively.

Olivia Geiger is a Ph.D. student in the UMass Amherst Department of Economics, and a member of the UMass Amherst CEC and the Center for Popular Economics. Her dissertation fieldwork is in New York City, where she has been working with SolidarityNYC to facilitate action research exploring the potential of cross-sector collaborations to help build NYC’s cooperative economy.

Adam Trott, of the Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives, supports, develops and educates about worker cooperatives. Since 2004, Adam has been a worker/member of Collective Copies, a worker co-op and union print shop. He serves on the board of the Cooperative Capital Fund, the Valley Co-operative Business Association, CEC and the United Electrical Workers for Co-operation.

SESSION C (Room 162)

Puerto Rico’s use of Cooperative Education and Development for Incarcerated Individuals

The Puerto Rican cooperative movement has convinced the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of Puerto Rico to look at worker cooperatives to provide prisoners with jobs skills, dignified work, income, and control over their lives. So far, four co-ops have been established. This presentation will discuss the coalitions and strategies that were needed, and implications for developing similar co-ops elsewhere. Presenters will also explain how they educated everyone from corrections authorities, inmates, public officials, legislators, to their own co-op community about the benefits of cooperation for rehabilitation..Presentations will be in Spanish; interpretation will be provided.

Lymarie Nieves-Plaza is marketing manager and cooperative educator at Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Candel Coop in Manatí, Puerto Rico. She is also the spokesperson, consultant and educator for Cooperativa de Servicios Múltiples ARIGOS, a project that serves male prisoners at the 945 Guayama Penitentiary. Additionally, she collaborates on the development of Co-operativa Taínas Coop at the industrial school in the Women’s Penitentiary at Vega Alta, as well as contributes to educational programs for prisoners at Vencedores Coop at Institución Correccional de Bayamón. With the assistance of Roberto Rodríguez, she is developing Puerto Rico’s first cooperative for ex-prisoners. In 2009, Lymarie received the Cooperativist Leader Medal for her devoted work. She completed an MBA with a major in marketing in 2006.

Page 11: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

11

offered to students at North Dakota State University using online, distance and face-to-face delivery.

Session participants will hear about the effectiveness of the different delivery formats, and students’ sense of academic community across formats.

Gregory McKee is Director of the Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives and Associate Professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. Greg conducts research in support of the operations of existing cooperatives. He is also part of the Community of Practice for Cooperatives leadership team for eXtension, an internet-based platform used to provide science-based information to the community. Greg earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, in agricultural economics.

Shared-Service Cooperatives: Strengthening Local Economies Through Collaboration

There is a need for a deeper examination of shared-services cooperatives. They are formed to meet needs for economies and efficiencies of scale, and are used to provide a number of services and opportunities. The research question is: what has been the experience of these shared-services cooperatives? The study will document what benefits, if any, these co-ops give their members, as well as the impact shared-services co-ops have on the local economies in which their members operate. Key stakeholder interviews were conducted with senior staff of shared-services cooperatives in financial services, watershed authorities and watershed management, a plumbing supply cooperative, an alternative health service cooperative, and public libraries. We’ll report our preliminary findings.

Christina A. Clamp is a professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Cooperatives and Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University. She serves on the board of the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF) and The ICA Group, a national business consulting firm that has been helping worker

Roberto Luis Rodriguez Rosario entered a correctional institution the fourth time when he was 19. While in prison, he completed high school, and in 1998 he started an inmates’ college program where he was able to complete a year and a half of his bachelor’s degree.

During his confinement he served as president of the book club “Lectio”, was an active member of “Grupo Reflexión y Acción”, and developed and managed the magazine, “Despertar”— all created to promote literacy among prisoners. In 2004, Roberto became part of the board of directors of ARIGOS Co-op. In 2009, after serving 14 years and two months of his sentence, he was eligible for parole. In 2010, he was assistant editor of “El Visionario,” and worked on proposals for the development of the Puerto Rican cooperative movement. In 2011 he wrote his first literary work entitled Corazón Libre, Cuerpo Confinado about his experiences in prison.

12:00–1:00 LUNCH—Vern Dosch will be signing books (Marriott Room, 11th Floor)

1:00–2:30 (Choose Session A,B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

WIRED DIFFERENTLY: TELLING THE STORY SO OTHERS WILL LISTEN (WORKSHOP)

Wired Differently was selected in April as the textbook for a new course in the Gary Tharaldson School of Business at the University of Mary in North Dakota. In this workshop, you will discover best practices NISC uses for reinforcing cooperative principles, shared values and a mindset for servant leadership. In addition, session participants will “test drive” and provide feedback on some of the planned activities for students. The workshop will be led by ACE Keynote presenter Vern Dosch (see his biography on page 7).

SESSION B (Room 165)

Student Learning Styles in Three Classes: Online, Distance and an On-Campus Equivalent

An ideal setting in which to observe whether there are differences in learning styles between on-line and students in face-to-face courses is when the same course is offered using the same pedagogy using more than one delivery mode. Cooperatives, a course on cooperative business management, is

Page 12: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

12

Johnnie Fenderson is a community workforce organizer. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, he served eight years in the Army Military Police Corps before settling in Buffalo, New York. He joined PUSH Green, a community-based, energy efficiency program funded by People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH Buffalo) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. There he works with training and education providers as well as contractors to secure jobs for PUSH Green trainees, local workers needing family-sustaining jobs.

Coop Principal (CP) Investment Club

This club is a federation of individual investment clubs (where people pool their money and democratically decide where they will invest) focused on community betterment and investing in co-ops. CP club is a central hub that maintains a data base of individual members, provides accounting and administrative support, and supplies marketing and educational materials, analyses of potential opportunities, and much more.

Margaret Lund is an independent consultant specializing in the areas of community development finance and shared ownership strategies. Before launching her consulting practice in 2008, Margaret spent 16 years as the Executive Director of the Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund, a community development loan fund and multi-faceted development organization for co-ops of all sectors across the Upper Midwest. Margaret is a past member of the board of the U.S. National Cooperative Business Association where she chaired a national task force on cooperative capital formation. Last year, Margaret received the John Logue ACE Award for “acting as a catalyst for innovation and change.”

Cooperating for the Social and Economic Integration of Francophone Immigrants to Ontario

The Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario (CCO) works with more than 40 different groups a year that are interested in starting a co-op. This presentation will offer context for the motivation of

cooperatives and social enterprises grow and succeed since 1977. In her approach to economic development, Chris advances the concept of social entrepreneurship—business activity that is locally owned and builds social assets in contrast to traditional entrepreneurship for private gain. Chris completed her master’s and doctorate degrees at Boston College.

Carol Coren is a principal in Cornerstone Ventures LLC, a business development company that helps clients investigate, build or invest in social enterprises. Much of her recent work has focused on strengthening communities’ food systems through sustainable investments. During the course of a long career that began as a broadcast journalist and proponent for women’s rights, arts and culture, Carol has been engaged in creating jobs and livelihoods for challenged groups. She was a pioneering proponent of Community Development Financial Institutions in the United States where she launched two certified CDFIs.

SESSION C (Room 162)

Empowering Communities: Education for Building Wealth

Last year The Democracy Collaborative reported preliminary findings on the role of education in co-op development and building wealth in communities, based on case studies from 11 groups. This year, the report is complete. Author Keane Bhatt and Johnnie Fenderson, a representative of a group studied, will reveal what was learned. This session will also explore how low-income communities can make wise decisions and do so in a collective manner.

Keane Bhatt is the community development associate at The Democracy Collaborative. He is an experienced activist and organizer, having worked in the United States and Latin America on a variety of campaigns and projects related to community development and social justice. His analysis and opinions have appeared in a range of outlets, including CNN En Español and Truthout.

Page 13: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

13

some immigrants to start cooperatives and provide concrete examples of successful co-ops in rural and urban communities. Finally, it will attempt to show the perspective of this segment of the population, especially around worker co-ops and business succession.

Julien Geremie is Director of Development of CCO, and based in Toronto. He is responsible for providing support in Ontario to startup cooperatives and social enterprises, particularly in agriculture, education, rural development, and health. Julien holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Montreal.

2:30-2:45 MOVE TO YOUR NEXT SESSION—coffee served at break

2:45–3:45 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Lessons in Leadership from Italian Cooperatives

Italy has one of the most advanced cooperative systems in the world: there are more cooperatives per capita in Italy than any other country. Italy has more than 40,000 cooperatives employing 1. 2 million people and generating 127 billion euros of output each year. The cooperative movement contributes 8 percent of Italy’s GDP annually. How is such a system supported, and how could we do it here? Margaret Lund’s research focusses specifically on the issue of leadership in Italian cooperatives—on the member, board and management—and how lessons from Italian cooperatives could be applied in a North American context. See Margaret’s biography on the previous page.

Internal, Ongoing Co-op Education at a Large Worker Cooperative

Most of our worker-owner employees enter our enterprises unprepared. Worker co-ops need worker-owners who are educated in the method, rights and responsibilities and other special challenges and characteristics of worker cooperation. These are knowledge and skills that neither schools, nor society at large, teach. Consequently, our co-op, Equal Exchange, created an in-house education program early. It has

continually expanded and evolved, now serving 150 staff members based in five major work sites spread over 3,000 miles. While not perfect, the program is the most comprehensive that we know. This presentation will outline where the program works and doesn’t, and why. Special emphasis will be given to the remaining weaknesses of the program, which include language and cultural barriers, inconsistent access to the program, and problematic pedagogical styles.

Rodney North serves as spokesperson for Equal Exchange, the worker cooperative best known for pioneering Fair Trade with more than 70 small-farmer co-operatives in 29 countries around the world. After living in Guatemala, Mexico and studying international development economics at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Rodney joined Equal Exchange in 1996. He is one of the co-op’s 126 worker-owners, a former two-term board director, a frequent staff trainer and has served on the co-op’s Education Committee for eight years. He is also a former board advisor to Ottawa’s La Siembra, a worker cooperative and Fair Trade enterprise specializing in chocolate.

SESSION B (Room 165)

Cooperative Educationilient Future (Workshop)

The cooperative business model and cooperative economics are not taught in most undergraduate programs. To address this systemic lack of awareness, our workshop will explore how to launch innovative student-initiated or academically-sponsored courses on the history and significance of cooperatives and how they can be tools for building sustainable, resilient, and socially just communities. We will focus on identifying the obstacles and opportunities to establishing these programs on college campuses and create the space for participants to work together in identifying new ways to embed cooperative education into university curriculum.

Our goal for the workshop is to develop a network of students and educators committed to introducing the cooperative model to a broader audience of young entrepreneurs and changemakers.

Page 14: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

14

Zen Trenholm graduated from UCB with a B.S. in Cooperative Business Development. Concerned with developing new models to cultivate a regenerative economy, he became a Core Member of the USA Cooperative Youth Council and co-founded the student-run course, Cooperative Enterprises for a Resilient Future. He also co-founded SERC and has served as a board member with the Berkeley Student Food Collective and the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive.

Jeff Noven has been involved in cooperative education long before he knew what a “cooperative” was. Jeff got his co-op start at summer camp, where he saw firsthand how intense collaboration fostered unprecedented cohesion—and the funniest campfire skits. His roles as a cooperative scholar, educator, activist, businessperson, and student today emphasize the profound impact cooperatives stand to create in communities. He’ll be graduating from UCB this fall.

SESSION C (Room 162)

Youth Traveling Cooperative Institute: Peer Organizing and Educating in the Upper Midwest (Workshop)

The Youth Traveling Cooperative Institute (Youth TCI) is a program that moves throughout the rural Upper Midwest and uses a peer-to-peer model to educate youth (ages 17-30) about cooperative business development. Traveling training in the Upper Midwest is not a new practice; it follows the organizing and education traditions of the Farmers Alliance and Grange. Many of the agricultural cooperatives in existence today are a result of that work almost a century ago. The two-part curriculum for the program uses democratic education practices, and focuses on building capacity in the communities visited so a traveling trainer is eventually no longer needed. While the content emphasis is cooperative business development, the skills shared focus on assessing needs, applying knowledge, working in a group, and writing. During this workshop, participants will get an overview of the Youth TCI work to date, engage with one of the training activities done out on the road, and discuss what “organizing” means and its relationship to cooperative development. Note: The Youth TCI curriculum is both modular and open source, and is available for adaptation and use.

Emily Lippold Cheney will facilitate. Her biography is on page 17.

The Student Environmental Resource Center

(SERC) mission is to “cultivate a collaborative space to strengthen the collective effectiveness of the sustainability community, and provides resources for students to actualize their visions of a more equitable, socially just, and resilient future.”

SERC leaders, from left, are Megan Svoboda, Zen Trenholm, Jeff Noven, and Roberta Giordano. Photo

by Jonathan Reader.

Megan Svoboda began her work with cooperatives as a member of a vegan and vegetarian housing cooperative at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. While in college, Megan worked with the University of Massachusetts Cooperative Enterprise Collaborative with whom she co-created economic and environmental impact reports for local co-ops and completed a senior thesis on the historic Northampton Association of Education and Industry. Since graduating from college Megan has continued to work with students and cooperatives first at CoFED (the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive) and as the operations manager at the Berkeley Student Food Collective. Megan is a member of the USA Cooperative Youth Council and co-facilitator of the student run course Cooperative Enterprises for Resilient Futures at University of California, Berkeley (UCB).

Roberta Giordano holds a Bachelor in Science in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management with an emphasis in Global Environmental Politics from UCB. She helped students organize across California around environmental justice issues. In 2012, she co-founded SERC. She is actively involved with legislative advocacy in California to halt extreme oil and natural gas extraction, as well as efforts to expand U.S. academic curricula to include cooperative education. Furthermore, Roberta co-facilitates a peer-to-peer course at UCB on cooperative enterprises.

Page 15: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

15

3:45-4:00 MOVE TO YOUR NEXT SESSION

4:00–5:00 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Curriculum for Cooperative Entrepreneurs

Working with a wide range of established co-ops and community practitioners, Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union, recently supported the pilot program, Co-operate Now. The program explores the nuances of creating cooperative businesses, including legal and governance aspects of cooperation. It also encourages co-op leaders and new co-op entrepreneurs to work together. This presentation will highlight Vancity’s approach to building capacity within British Columbia’s co-op sector, detail the development of Co-operate Now, and provide a brief assessment of its success.

Elvy Del Bianco is Vancity’s program manager for cooperative partnerships, developing projects with community organizations, trade unions, governments, and others to support the creation of cooperative enterprises. This work is largely informed by the activities of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, which is the focus of Vancity’s Co-operative Study Tour that Elvy has organized since 2008. Elvy studied theater in London, and economics and politics at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

SESSION B (Room 165)

Banish Your PowerPoints! Embrace Methods for Creative Cooperative Learning (Workshop)

This is an approach to education that adapts to the shifting needs of diverse learners. Workshop presenters will guide co-op educators to explore engaging teaching tools, review different learning styles, look to collaboration to set goals, generate flexible and interactive workshop agendas, and tailor workshops to the needs of participants.

Esteban Kelly is the Co-Executive Director for the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives. As a co-op educator, Esteban is a founder and worker-owner of AORTA, a worker co-op of educators whose facilitation and consulting strengthens cooperatives and social justice

groups. Additionally, Esteban co-founded the cross-sector Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance where he serves as board president. Locally, Esteban is a Mayoral appointee to the Philadelphia Food Policy Advisory Council, which follows his eight years at Mariposa Food Co-op institutionalizing its staff collective and expanding food access in the city. Esteban has served on many cooperative boards, including NASCO, DAWI, and the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network. In 2011 Esteban was inducted into the NASCO Cooperative Hall of Fame.

SESSION C (Room 162)

We Run This: Peer-to-Peer Internal and External Education Mechanisms

We’ll talk about how Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives and Neighboring Food Co-op Association created the UMass Co-operative Enterprise Collaborative (CEC) with university faculty and students. This presentation will explore:

• The definition of peer-to-peer education and peer-to-peer’s strengths/challenges.

• What is important about CEC’s Certificate Program.

• How co-ops create modules and curricula in the academy and conferences.

• How the academy and cooperators build effective partnerships for educating about the co-op movement.

Adam Trott and Erbin Crowell are presenters. Their biographies are on page 10.

5:00–5:10 MOVE TO YOUR LAST SESSION

5:10–6:00 (Room 163)

Lessons from Mondragon and the Worker Co-op Masters Program

Fred Freundlich will describe cooperative ownership education within the Mondragon Cooperative experience, commenting on the range of activities underway in the group’s schools and enterprises, their potential accomplishments, and the substantial challenges they face. Chris Michael will discuss the prospects for a Mondragon-affiliated master’s degree and/or certificate program at the City University of New

Page 16: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

16

York (CUNY). He will also relate this project to New York City government’s recent support for worker cooperative business development.

Fred Freundlich is a professor of cooperative enterprise and coordinator of a master’s degree on cooperative enterprise at the Faculty of Business, Mondragon University in the Basque Country of Spain, where he has lived since 1995. Through its applied research center, Mondragon Innovation & Knowledge, Fred also does research, training and technical assistance projects on shared ownership in the Basque Country, the United States, Mexico, Korea and other countries. Before moving to the Basque Country, Fred worked at the American worker ownership consulting firm, Ownership Associates. He completed his master’s degree at Cornell University.

Christopher Michael, is completing a J.D./Ph.D. in political science at CUNY with emphasis on cooperative finance, community economic development, and labor law. He is General Counsel of The ICA Group, and Executive Director of the New York City Worker Cooperative Business Association. He is a Fellow in the Community & Economic Development Clinic at CUNY Law School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at CUNY Baruch College Zicklin School of Business.

6:00 (Participants have dinner on their own. Note there will be a free session at 6:45 p.m. about Grassroots organizing)

6:45 SPECIAL SESSION (Room 162)

Regional Cooperative/Solidarity Economic Development

A diversity of kindred approaches to alternative political economics is emerging across United States. Many share a regional focus. This shows unusual potential for advancing worker co-op development through inter-cooperative and cross sector training. This potential was discussed at the Eastern Conference on Workplace Democracy

that immediately preceded this Institute. Also discussed were:

• the challenges and opportunities that developers have in their regions

• Resources needed and how they might be acquired

• Ways to work together across regions

Today, Anne Reynolds (see her biography on page 8) will facilitate the discussion following the report from the Eastern Conference on Workplace Democracy.

Tuesday, July 14Meet at the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus

7:00-8:00 BREAKFAST (Amherst Room, 10th Floor)

8:00–9:30 ACE ANNUAL MEETING—EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

9:30-10:00 MOBILE LEARNING SESSION DESCRIPTIONS Adam Trott, Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives

ACE Participants will choose Mobile Learning Session A or B

(Tours leave from the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center and return by 5 p.m. Note: ACE Banquet begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Marriott Room on the 11th floor of

the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus)

Mobile Learning Session A (lunch will be provided on the tour)

Travel from Amherst to nearby communities—Collective Copies (worker co-op), Simple Diaper & Linen (worker co-op), UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, and River Valley Market (food co-op)

Mobile Learning Session B (you will have lunch on the tour)

Travel to Greenfield, about half an hour away from the university— Greenfield Farmers Co-op Exchange (producer co-op), Green Fields Market (food co-op), Artisan Beverage Cooperative (worker-owned brewery), Real Pickles (a small, worker-owned cooperative producing pickled products) and worker co-op PV Squared (Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics)

Page 17: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

17

6:00 ACE BANQUET AND AWARDS CEREMONY (Marriott Room, 11th Floor)

Wednesday, July 15 All sessions will take place in the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center on the University of Massachusetts—Amherst campus

7:00–8:00 BREAKFAST(In the Concourse outside Room 163)

8:00–8:15 OPENING REMARKS (Room 163)

8:15–8:30 MOVE TO YOUR NEXT SESSION

8:30-9:30 (Choose Session A or B)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Cooperative Education Experiences (Workshop)

Nonprofit Aynah strives to reach college and university students who might not have heard of cooperatives otherwise. Through a combination of games, trips, interactive workshops and community development tools, students gain their first understanding. In this presentation, Aynah staff and others who have participated in Aynah’s education programming will recreate their own learning experience. Be prepared to play, listen, and discuss with some of the newest members of the cooperative movement.

Natalie Locke is the Director of Education and Programs at Aynah. In addition to being a co-director of Aynah, Natalie is a director of the USA Cooperative Youth Council and serves on committees of CoMinnesota that promotes cooperative oriented events and an online community of cooperators. Natalie got her start in education at residential outdoor education programs in high school and subsequently spent six years as a curriculum designer and facilitator at a residential summer camp in Oregon. Natalie is a graduate of Macalester College of St. Paul, Minnesota.

SESSION B (Room 165)

Building Communities of Practice: How to Amplify the Worker Ownership Model

Earlier this year the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) launched a new, year-long program for cooperative developers to expand the promise of worker ownership in low-income communities. The fellowship examines key questions for our movement related to scaling cooperatives in order to increase the numbers of cooperative businesses, numbers of community jobs and set high-road standards for industries. To explore these questions, 10 developers from across the United States study best-practices for scale-building including associations of cooperatives, local ecosystem building, and business growth, through study trips to Oakland, California, Winnipeg, Manitoba and New York City. Through on-site gatherings and skills-building webinars, Fellows create a community of practice and test new tools to bring to their work. Rebecca Bauen (see her biography on page 8) will lead this session and help participants see ways to build cooperative developer leadership oriented to scale.

9:30–9:45 MOVE TO YOUR NEXT SESSION

9:45-10:45 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Cooperative Traditions Across Generations (Workshop)

One of the building blocks of cooperative work and process is the MEETING. In small groups according to age and/or sector, participants will outline various aspects of what they think of as a “typical” cooperative meeting. After discussion, participants will try to agree on format, look and feel of a meeting that incorporates many co-op and democratic traditions. It is likely everyone will leave the workshop having learned at least one new tool for better embodying democracy. Join USACYC to build a cooperative tradition across generations.

Emily Lippold Cheney is a founding director of the USA Cooperative Youth Council. She is also the organizer of the Youth Traveling Cooperative Institute that uses a peer-to-peeer education model to have youth work together toward a collective understanding

Page 18: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

18

of cooperatives and their place in communities. Additionally, Emily is a director of CooperationWorks! and Aynah, and from 2011 to 2012, she was Executive Director of NASCO. Emily has studied development, justice, politics and economics at Georgetown University, University of Amsterdam, and Indiana University at Bloomington.

SESSION B (Room 165)

In-house Co-op Education Programs: An Open Conversation and Brainstorm Session (Workshop)

This is an open conversation for cooperators, co-op developers, educators, and others. Participants are encouraged to explain the in-house education programs of their own cooperative organizations, and examine their strengths and opportunities for improvement. Participants may have ideas for new approaches all together. Helpers will collect the cumulated wisdom, experience and ideas for sharing with all participants of the session.

Moderator Rodney North is from Equal Exchange. His biography is on page 13.

SESSION C (Room 162)

Community Self-Directed Education : What is a Discussion Course on Cooperatives? (Workshop)

This workshop will explain the concept of a “Discussion Course,” as it relates to cooperative education and go over the structure and content of A Discussion Course on Cooperatives, published by East End Food Co-op in 2007. This conversational forum will also cover where the idea came from, how and why this Discussion Course was published, how people use the material and how it may fit with popular education or co-op educational programs. Special attention will be given to ideas for making this or other discussion courses more accessible to a wider variety of cooperative communities in the future.

Lisa Stolarski is Co-Director of The Cooperation Group that specializes in helping people to build cooperative enterprises. Prior to starting The Cooperation Group with her partners B. Anthony Holley and Brian Donovan, Lisa worked for the National Cooperative Business Association as Director of Domestic Development, at Keystone Development Center as an

Associate Development Specialist, and at Jane Street Housekeeping as a worker-owner. Lisa has helped to stabilize or launch 12 cooperatives and locally-based enterprises throughout her career. She also organized the publishing of A Discussion Course of Cooperatives in 2005-2007, an effort that won an ACE award in 2008. Lisa has served on the boards of Cooperation Works!, the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and East End Food Co-op in Pittsburgh. She graduated in 2010 with a Master of Science degree in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University.

B. Anthony Holley is Co-Director, community economic development, for The Cooperation Group. He recently graduated from Hampton University School of Business in Virginia.

Nikki Marín Baena serves on the board of the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives. Growing up, she lived in several small towns throughout Appalachia, following textile mills with her family. This personal experience fuelled her interest in international trade policy and its effects on individuals. She has a longtime interest in cooperatives and has worked at a worker-owned cafe and Weaver Street Market, a hybrid co-operative grocery store composed of worker and consumer members, both in North Carolina. She was also part of Cooperation Texas.Nikki holds a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

10:45-11:00 MOVE TO YOUR NEXT SESSION

11:00- 12:00 (Choose Session A, B or C)

SESSION A (Room 163)

Non-traditional Co-op Education: Community Colleges and Prisons (Workshop)

Given the facilitator’s experience teaching in and about co-ops in community colleges and prison, the workshop will focus on these two areas, but is by no means limited to them.

A discussion of the facilitator’s experiences will will be followed by an examination of how to get

Page 19: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

19

involved, best practices, and unique challenges and opportunities that each area provides. Participants will then apply learning to their own environments. Participants will leave with a set of goals and action plans to move forward with co-op education in non-traditional spheres.

Andrew Stachiw, is a co-founder and worker-member of Toolbox for Education and Social Action (TESA). He and co-founder Brian Van Slyke developed their philosophies while they were both students of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Andrew is an advisory board member of Pioneer Valley Workers Center and the Worker Cooperative Peer Mentorship Program.

SESSION B (Room 165)

Relevance and Impact of Cooperative Business Education

The Co-operative Management Education programs at Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business and the Research and Education Institute for Cooperatives and Mutuals (IRECUS) of the Université de Sherbrooke present an international study that assesses the relevance and impact of cooperative business education (CBE). This presentation will focus on the report findings on CBE and its ability to boost cooperative performance.

Claude-André Guillotte is assistant professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, Department of management and human resources. He acts as the Director of the Institut de recherche et d’éducation pour les coopératives et les mutuelles de l’Université de Sherbrooke (IRECUS). His main research areas focus on strategic management, cooperative and mutual organizations and sustainable development. Claude-André completed a master’s degree at the University of Sherbrooke.

Research in Cooperation or Cooperation in Research? The Importance of Links Between Cooperatives

In 1992, during the Symposium of the Annual Conference of the Institute of Research and Education for cooperatives and mutuals from the University of Sherbrooke (IRECUS), Professor Paul Prévost noticed a disturbing finding: “the knowledge that we have developed on cooperatives (has) not followed the dazzling developments that our cooperatives have experienced….As long as there is no conceptual basis for measuring the success of cooperatives, there will be all kinds of inconsistencies…”

Can we hypothesize that research on cooperatives demands coordination between researchers and practitioners, as well as between researchers of various disciplines? The issue becomes more complicated when one thinks that the the relationship between cooperative research, education and practice is fluid (e.g., education may alter the way something is done or create a need for discovering more), and is itself an object of study.

Étienne Fouquet is a master’s student in management of cooperatives and mutuals at the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec. His is interested in cooperative education from a civic and community perspective and cooperative law in Quebec. Since September, Étienne has been a research assistant at IRECUS.

SESSION C (Room 162)

Teaching It Through Living It: Bringing Theater of the Oppressed Techniques into Cooperative Education (Workshop)

Learn about Theater of the Oppressed (TotO) and how drama can be used to teach cooperative values and behaviors through embodying action. After explaining how she has used ToTO techniques in different cooperatives, Caroline Savery will lead a discussion on the attributes and behaviors of a successful “cooperator” and examine scenarios where co-op skills get tested (e.g., in dysfunctional board meetings or management crises.) Three TotO techniques will be demonstrated in depth: Image Theater, and

Page 20: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

20

two types of Forum Theater. Participants will leave this session with a working knowledge of TotO techniques, why and how to use them in their own co-op education, and resources for further learning.

Caroline Savery is a cooperative business development consultant and program manager for the Bike Depot, a community nonprofit enterprise based in Denver. She is also a crowdfunding specialist and part of the Steering Committee of USA Cooperative Youth

Council. For several years Caroline worked on a documentary that looked at different expectations of sustainability. Caroline has a bachelor’s in cinema and digital arts from Point Park University of Pittsburgh.

12:15–1:00 WRAP UP AND LUNCH (Concourse)

ADJOURN

Page 21: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

25

YOUR DISCUSSION NOTES

Please take five minutes to complete an online evaluation of this Institute:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ACEInstitute

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Page 22: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

26

Education is an investment in people. As a cooperative helping to advance education, you must invest in yourself. The Association of Cooperative Educators gives you an opportunity to enrich your work by sharing with others who have goals similar to your own.

Cooperators and social economy champions from Canada, the Caribbean and the United States belong to the Association, contribute to its blog and communications with members and attend the annual ACE Institute as part of their personal and professional development.

Become a member. It is the best opportunity you have to contribute to your organization’s growth.

Fees can be paid in US or Canadian funds, and submitted for one or three years.

Associate Membership ($40/year; $120/three years)Retired professionals, students, overseas contacts, interested persons outside the cooperative or cooperative education sector.

Professional Membership ($65/year; $195/three years) Those actively involved in cooperative education, training and communication.

Organization Membership ($165/year; $495/three years)Allows up to four individuals from an organization to be members under the organizational membership. Additional individuals can be added to an

Organization Membership for $35 each.

Type of Membership: r Professional r Associate r Organization

Language Preference: r English r French r Spanish

(Organizational membership includes up to 4 representatives of an organization):

Name ____________________________________________________________________ Title ___________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone _________________________________________________________________ Fax ___________________________________________________________

E-mail ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name ____________________________________________________________________ Title ___________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone _________________________________________________________________ Fax ___________________________________________________________

E-mail ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name ____________________________________________________________________ Title ___________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone _________________________________________________________________ Fax ___________________________________________________________

E-mail ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name ____________________________________________________________________ Title ___________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone _________________________________________________________________ Fax ___________________________________________________________

E-mail ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

An invitation to join or renew your

ACE MEMBERSHIP

Make Check Payable in US or Canadian Dollars to: Association of Cooperative Educators. Send check and membership form to: Association of Cooperative Educators, 1057 Parkview Lane, Victoria, MN 55386 USA

Questions or comments? Please contact Sarah Pike at [email protected]

Page 23: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

27

ACE AWARDSEvery year, ACE acknowledges the talents of cooperators and their unique programs. Award recipients are honored at the ACE Awards Banquet on July 14.

Consider whom you would nominate for next year’s awards. Nominations can be submitted anytime. See http://s.coop/awardsace.

Outstanding Contribution to Cooperative Education and Training: Award recognizes an individual or organization for their continuing contribution to educating about the benefits, impact, and principles of cooperatives through academic curriculum, publications, marketing campaigns, member communications, and leadership training programs.

The William Hlushko Award to Young Cooperative Educators: Award recognizes an ACE Member, 35 years or younger, for achievement as a cooperative educator.

The Reginald J. Cressman ACE Award: Award recognizes an ACE Member who demonstrates outstanding commitment to staff development as exemplified by long-time cooperator Reginald J. Cressman.

The John Logue ACE Award: Award recognizes an individual or organization whose educational programs, technical assistance or research acts as a catalyst for change by creating innovative cooperatives that promote a democratic work environment and economic sustainability for people and communities.

Outstanding Contribution to ACE: Award recognizes an organization providing special support to ACE.

INSTITUTE PLANNING COMMITTEEEach year, a planning committee for the ACE Institute is comprised of ACE directors, cooperators from the host city, ACE staff, and, when possible, member representatives of United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. If you wish to assist next year’s committee, please contact Sarah at [email protected].

Many thanks to this year’s committee.

Colette Lebel (la Coop fédérée)

Cathy Statz (Wisconsin Farmers Union)

Catharine Chamberlain (CL Chamberlain Communication)

Steve Dubb (The Democracy Collaborative)

Maria Miller (National Farmers Union)

Emily Lippold Cheney (USA Cooperative Youth Council)

Bill Patrie (CEDC)

Margaret Bau (USDA Rural Development)

Jessica Gordon Nembhard, GEO Collective

Adam Trott, Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives

Erbin Crowell, Neighboring Food Co-op Association

Questions?Contact Sarah Pike, 763-432-2032; E-mail: [email protected]

Page 24: (445*7&8.:* *)9(&8...Co-operative Innovation Project Steve Dubb, The Democracy Collaborative Dazawray Landrie-Parker, University of Saskatchewan SESSION B (Room 165) Co-ops, Students

Thank you to our 2015 ACE Institute SponsorsAgradecemos a los patrocinadores del ACE Institute del año 2015Merci à nos commanditaires de l’Institut ACE pour l’année 2015

The Cooperative Foundation

2015 ACE INSTITUTE MAP  

 

 

 

North Residential Hall North Apartment B 58 Eastman Lane Amherst, MA 01003 (0.5 miles/ 0.8 Km to Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center)

Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center & Hotel UMass 1 Campus Center Way Amherst, MA 01003 877-822-2110