2023 California Co-op Conference

Date: 
Friday, June 2, 2023 - 8:00am to Saturday, June 3, 2023 - 5:30pm
Mexican Heritage Plaza
1700 Alum Rock Avenue
San Jose , CA

Info

Register

Thanks for joining us in San Jose on June 2-3, 2023!

Workshops

FRIDAY / VIERNES, JUNE 2 / JUNIO 2

8:15 am:

Check-ins Begin / Inicio de registro
Registration & Light Breakfast / Registro & Desayuno ligero

9:00 am:

Welcome! / ¡Bienvenida!

Keynote Address: Cooperation for Collective Liberation

Keynote Speaker: Gopal Dayaneni, co-founder of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project

The Coop Movement is well positioned to play a critical role in the larger movement for social and ecological justice. Cooperation, care, consent and commons are animating principles and essential practices for living into the world we know we need and deserve. However, extractivism, exploitation and the enclosure of wealth and power will not simply evaporate under the warmth of our beautiful alternatives. We must continue to focus not only on building coops, but also on building power to intervene in unjust systems and assert our right to redefine the economy and lovingly-self-govern our communities.

9:45 am - 10:15 am:

Panel: Grassroots Initiatives to Strengthen the Co-op Movement

Panelists: Lydia Lopez, CA Community Land Trust Network; Bernadette King Fitzsimons, Worker-Owned Recovery California (WORC) Coalition Coordinator; and Shannon Ratliff, SunCoast Market Co-op

10:15 am - 10:25 am:

Break / Receso

 

CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS / TALLERES CONCURRENTES

Designed for, or is about Consumer Food Coops
Designed for, or is about Farmer Coops
Designed for, or is about Housing Coops
Designed for, or is about Worker Coops
Multi-Sector - Content is applicable to different types of Coops
Workshop is conducted in Spanish
Workshop is presented in English with simultaneous translation in Spanish
MCLE - This workshop has been approved for 1.5 MCLE credit hours by the State Bar of California

10:30 am - 12:00 pm:

SESSION 1 / SESIÓN 1

 

Herramientas de Comunicación Efectiva para Nuestras Cooperativas

Cómo integrantes activas en el sector laboral de este sistema capitalista muchas veces las personas miembras de nuestra comunidad inmigrante y de habla hispana nos encontramos situadas en la producción directa o en la entrega de servicios donde lo que más importa es la eficiencia y calidad de nuestra obra, delegando las habilidades de comunicación en un solo sentido, y guardando nuestra inmensa experiencia que atesora sabiduría que haría una diferencia extrema para el beneficio humano de todas y para el éxito de cualquier. Claudia Arroyo y Ana Castaño, Prospera Community Development

 

 

Addressing Tough Questions in your Housing Cooperative

includes a legal panel that discusses how housing cooperatives can address tough issues, including how to preemptively plan to address the issues and what to do when there is no blueprint to proceed. Topics will include membership termination and eviction; transfer of shares upon the death of a member; what to do with abandoned units; what to do when the corporation is no longer in good standing with the state; getting the cooperative's financial books in order; and how to address legal claims by shareholders. Erin Lapeyrolerie, Breanne Martinez, and Karen Tiedemann, Goldfarb Lipman LLP
This activity has been approved for 1.5 MCLE credit hours by the State Bar of California

 

 

Introduction to Sociocracy: Getting Things Done Together

presents a solid process for inclusive decision-making, productive meetings, and a clear way to divide up who does what. Join this experiential session on the basics of the Sociocratic Circle-organization Method (SCM), and learn how everyone's voice counts without taking all day and all night. Organizations of all sizes worldwide use the method, which can scale as an organization grows. We’ll engage in small-group exercises and a demonstration to experience some meeting processes of the SCM, including making a decision by consent. Sheella Mierson, Sociocracy Consulting Group

 

 

Elements for Successful Worker Co-op Conversions

offers a guideline to execute a successful business transition to employee ownership utilizing the Cooperative Conversion Readiness Framework. The framework cuts through the many moving parts of conversion by breaking it down into three components: General Business success, Supportive Ecosystem, and Internal Change Preparedness. The action steps in each component are to execute a successful conversion. Kateri Gutierrez, University of Michigan

 

 

Investing in Cooperation

offers examples of how cooperatives and individuals are investing their financial resources directly into the cooperative economy. We will look at loan funds, investment clubs and other forms as we try to balance our requirements as investors with our needs as cooperative borrowers and explore how debt and credit work within a cooperative economy. This session will include presentation, discussion, and a small group activity. Mark Fick and Esther West, Shared Capital

 

12:00 pm - 12:55 pm:

Lunch / Almuerzo

 

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm:

SESSION 2 / SESIÓN 2

 

Finanzas Cooperativas

En este taller les participantes reflexionan sobre su relación con el dinero y aprenden herramientas para organizar sus finanzas personales y practicar la responsabilidad colectiva en el manejo de las finanzas de la cooperativa. Daniella Preisler y Mayerling Castillo, Colmenar Cooperative Consulting

 

Cooperative Businessing

Business is often seen as a fixed pie or zero-sum game which can isolate companies, stifle industries, alienate employees and ruin partnerships. We'll use our time to discuss concepts like integrative negations, cooperative marketing and strategic collaborations using Echo Adventure Cooperative as a case study. We'll focus on the following topics: Redefining success; Using community and industry development to benefit your cooperative or organization; Harnessing competition to drive innovation; Expanding the pie in negotiations to achieve a win/win outcome. Elisabeth Barton, Echo Adventure Cooperative

 

 

Building a Liberatory Cooperative Movement for our Collective Tomorrows

discusses strategies for advancing the cooperative movement that are rooted in the deep legacies of intersections and connections of Black and Brown people globally. Inviting lessons from our work with QTBIPOC-led cooperatives in the food and land justice realms, we will introduce a systems-lens to understanding and advancing the cooperative movement, while acknowledging the larger container of existing oppression. Ayano Jeffers-Fabro and Suparna Kure, Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFED)

 

 

Emerging Opportunities for Co-ops and Community Land Trusts

explores exciting new developments that are laying the groundwork for the expansion of housing co-ops and community land trusts (CLTs), as well as combinations of the two, in the immediate future. Panelists will introduce the FIHPP and CAPP programs, state initiatives that hold the potential to support the conversion of rentals into limited equity coops as well as a new statewide philanthropic initiative that promises to support the development of community owned housing. Jacky Rivera, South Bay Community Land Trust; Jen Collins, Oakland Community Land Trust; and Lydia Lopez, CA Community Land Trust Network  

 

 

Compensation in the Cooperative

presents the ins and outs of coop finances, including the initial buy-in and wages, and a deep-dive on the fundamentals of profit-sharing: patronage. Discussion will cover patronage allocation approaches, record keeping, disbursement, and strategies that protect the cooperative in the long-term while equally sharing profits to members. Strategies such as recognizing the contributions of founding members are also covered. The workshop is designed for worker co-ops but is also applicable to consumer and other cooperatives that include patronage. Pedro Maturana, Aldo de la Mora, E. Kim Coontz, Deborah Yasher, and Katie Carulli, California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD)

 

2:30 pm - 2:55 pm:

Break / Receso

 

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm:

SESSION 3 / SESIÓN 3

 

 

Cómo Incorporar la Magia de la Educación Popular para Prácticas Liberadoras en Nuestra Cooperativas

El objetivo de este taller es traer la magia liberadora de la educación popular a la realidad de las cooperativas. En este taller expondremos de manera interactiva la doctrina de Paulo Freire, fundador y pedagogo libertador de Brasil. La educación popular debe facilitar un pensamiento que promueva la liberación y el poder colectivo. Es decir que seamos capaces de hacer conexiones entre les individues que permitan la integración de poblaciones que han sido históricamente discriminadas y olvidadas, que vincule lo local con lo global. Claudia Arroyo y Ana Castaño, Prospera Community Development

 

Legal Overview: Starting a Limited Equity Housing Cooperative

This workshop provides a roadmap to starting an LEHC. This will begin by distinguishing it from a market-rate cooperative, then describe the essential elements of an LEHC and an overview of the legal start-up process. The application to various classes will be addressed: new construction, conversions, and manufactured home communities. Karen Tiedemann and Erin Lapeyrolerie, Goldfarb Lipman LLP
This activity has been approved for 1.5 MCLE credit hours by the State Bar of California

 

 

Facilitation: Fundamental Skills and Structures

From routine meetings to high-stakes conflict management, to strategic planning - having a Facilitator can make things easier. In this workshop, we cover a variety of contexts which benefit from facilitation as we explore what facilitation is, what it is not, and share tips and tactics to grow your skillset as a Facilitator. Participants are encouraged to bring in real-life experiences for troubleshooting and will walk away with additional resources to hone their skills and stock their toolboxes. Kate ‘Sassy’ Sassoon, Sassy Facilitation

 

 

 

Worker-Owned Recovery California (WORC)

Join us for a workshop discussion of WORC: learnings on coalition-building & statewide legislative advocacy for employee ownership. We will share the history, achievements, and current objectives of our coalition, discuss the advantages and challenges of coalition-building, and facilitate discussion on how all we can continue to build advocacy power for cooperatives in California. Kirk Vartan, A Slice of New York; and Bernadette King Fitzsimons, WORC Coalition Coordinator

 

 

Economic Liberation - Panel with Worker Owners & Future Co-op Residents in San Jose, Part 1

This roundtable panel shares the advancement of cooperatives in San Jose through the voices and lived experiences of worker-owners and future resident-owners in the community. Rooted in racial and economic justice, they tell a vivid story that amplifies the power of cooperatives, names the existing landscape challenges, and provides an introduction to the collective regenerative economic vision that is flowering in East San Jose. Victor Vasquez, SOMOS Mayfair; Guadalupe Perez, SOMOS Fuertes; Maria Teresa Muñoz, Vecinos Activos; and Olivia Ortiz, META

 

4:40 pm - 5:55 pm:

SESSION 4 / SESIÓN 4

 

 

Introduction to Limited - Equity Housing Cooperatives

will cover the history and lessons learned from UHAB's 50 years and 1,300 housing co-ops experience. Andy Reicher, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board - National Cooperative Community Services

 

 

Economic Liberation - Panel with Worker Owners & Future Co-op Residents in San Jose, Part 2

This roundtable panel continues the discussion, centered on how to move forward--building an ecosystem in San Jose and Santa Clara Counties. In this roundtable conversation, we will dream together and discuss concrete resources, funding, and policies that can seed and sustain cooperatives as a source of economic resilience and stability in the South Bay. This interactive workshop will cultivate small group discussion, model collective decision-making practices, and use both play and critical mapping tools to identify specific next steps. Ariadna Morales Corazon y Pueblo Consulting

 

Diversifying Fundraising by Aligning with Local Officials & Organizations

SunCoast Market, a food co-op start-up in San Diego, has led the way in creative fundraising strategies through building relationships with government officials and other likeminded organizations. Learn how SunCoast has broken the mold and paved a path to open their $3.8 million grocery cooperative without any debt. Lessons are applicable to all types of cooperatives. Shannon Ratliff, SunCoast Market Co-op

 

Cooperative Adaptations to Climate Change

All co-ops face uncertainty in the years ahead. Muriel will present some general ideas with a specific focus on how natural food consumer co-ops can adapt and survive the challenges of the coming decades. How can competition and cooperation, sustainability, and profit, be balanced and integrated for success as co-ops co-evolve with climate change? Muriel Strand, Ecological Engineer

 

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm:

Co-op Social! / ¡Cooperativa Social!

It has been a full day of learning, let’s wind down together with a social! Enjoy snacks, great company, and a silent auction where proceeds go toward 2024 co-op scholarships!

Ha sido un día completo y de aprendizaje, ¡vamos a relajarnos juntos con una actividad social! ¡Disfrute de refrigerios, excelente compañía y una subasta silenciosa donde se obtendrán becas cooperativas para 2024!

 

SATURDAY / SÁBADO, JUNE 3 / JUNIO 3

8:30 am:

Check-ins Begin / Inicio de registro
Registration & Light Breakfast / Registro & Desayuno ligero

9:00 am:

Welcome! / ¡Bienvenida!

Plenary: Latinx Co-ops in The US
Panel: Grassroot Voices from Co-op Leaders!

 

Esther West, Shared Capital, is co-author of Latinx Co-op Power. The report was published in 2020 by the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (Latinx_Report_092020.pdf (wisc.edu)) and shares the results of research conducted by Esther and co-author Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, a professor at City College of New York. Esther will provide an overview of findings from her 2020 study, along with subsequent research.  A panel of Latinas will share information about their cooperatives.

Additional panelists: Lourdes H Garcia, Cooperativa Santa Elena (housing co-op): Eva Carrillo, Yolo Eco-Clean Cooperative (worker co-op); and Angélica Flores, DeColores Collective Consulting (worker co-op)

10:10 am - 10:20 am:

Break / Receso

 

10:25 am - 11:55 am:

SESSION 1 / SESIÓN 1

 

Compensación en la Cooperativa de Trabajadores

presenta los entresijos de las finanzas cooperativas, incluida la participación inicial y los salarios, y una inmersión profunda en los fundamentos de la participación en las ganancias: patrocinio. La discusión cubrirá los enfoques de asignación de patrocinio, el mantenimiento de registros, el desembolso y las estrategias que protegen a la cooperativa a largo plazo mientras comparten las ganancias entre los miembros. También se abordan estrategias como el reconocimiento de las contribuciones de los miembros fundadores. El taller está diseñado para cooperativas de trabajadores pero también es aplicable a cooperativas de consumo y otras cooperativas que incluyen patrocinio. Pedro Maturana y Aldo de la Mora, California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD)

 

 

Designing an Organizational Structure that Works

presents strategies that lead to increased employee engagement and member satisfaction with the intention to develop company and brand loyalty. Discussion will include a focus on strategic thinking, differentiation, and long-term success. Jeffery Boian, Morrison

 

 

Orientation to East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative

provides an overview and insights into the development, community, and structure of the East Bay PREC. Learn about this platform for taking properties off the speculative market for good by building a system of permanently affordable land and housing for the community. Cooperative organizing, financing, and stewarding land to create a future of Land without Landlords will also be discussed. Ojan Mobedshahi and Princess Robinson, East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative

 

 

Setting up a Governance Structure for Conflict Resolution

shares the basic elements of designing an effective governance structure for your co-op. Panelists share how power flows through different governance bodies within a democratic decision-making structure. Participants will take away the basic components of a governance system and best practices for how to set up a system that addresses member grievances effectively. Workshop includes worker-owners from the Bay who share their experiences addressing conflict through their co-op’s governance structures. Tehmina Brohi, US Federation of Worker Cooperatives; Kels Jones, Arizmendi Emeryville; Amelia Ahl, Hypa Collective; Samantha Fu, Urban Institute; Christina Manalansan, Rainbow Grocery; and Lilly Alvarez, Dig Co-op

 

 

Managing the Meeting Monsters

challenges the notion that monsters that can derail a meeting are primarily because of individual personalities or personalities that clash. There are simple processes and practices that can improve any meeting and keep those monsters at bay. The result can be deeply satisfying meetings – in-person and virtual – where new and creative ideas emerge and people leave energized. Through interactive discussions, skill-sharing, and group breakouts, this workshop will show different ways to manage people talking over each other, a few voices dominating the meeting, lack of clear agenda and clear outcomes, and other monsters. Sheella Mierson, Sociocracy Consulting Group

 

12:00 pm - 12:55 pm:

Lunch / Almuerzo

 

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm:

SESSION 2 / SESIÓN 2

 

 

California Cooperatives and Governance – A Legal Perspective

This CLE will be a deep dive on cooperative governance and legal advising. Topics include: (1) reflecting on the role of legal governing documents; (2) the roles of the cooperative, co-op developer, and attorney in facilitating governance design; (3) background rules in the CA cooperative corporation law and CA limited liability company act. This workshop is geared towards worker-owned cooperatives but will be interesting for anyone seeking to learn more about co-ops, the law, and governance & decision-making design. Alex Glancy, Gundzik Gundzik Heeger LLP; and David Gray, Project Equity
This activity has been approved for 1.5 MCLE credit hours by the State Bar of California

 

Herramientas para la Comunicación y Prevención del Conflicto

Esta sesión invita a les participantes a practicar la autoconciencia para reconocer sus respuestas al navegar conversaciones difíciles, utilizando herramientas que cultivan el respeto y la comunicación regeneradora en sus espacios de trabajo democrático. Mayerling Castillo y Daniella Preisler, Colmenar Cooperative Consulting

 

Loan Readiness for Cooperatives

helps participants learn: 1) what kind of money they might need for their business, 2) how lenders and investors evaluate a loan request, 3) how to be sure that the member-owners maintain control of their capital, and 4) how the cooperative can best prepare for and represent themselves through the borrowing process. We will explore healthy lending practices and how debt has been used historically to extract wealth from communities. This session will involve presentation and facilitated discussion. Mark Fick and Esther West, Shared Capital

 

 

Farmer Cooperatives / Cooperativas de Agricultores

features a panel of small producer members who will share their co-op development journey founded on abundance, courage and integrity, and how they are working together to reduce costs and increase efficiencies and income. Members will walk us through some of the legal aspects of getting set up and raising funds to get established. Learn how this co-op is distributing produce to local schools and institutions by sharing land, services, marketing, and equipment. Guillermo Lazaro, Celsa Ortega, and Mireya Gomez Contreras, 9 Organic Farms Co-op; and Deborah Yashar, California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD)

Cooperativas de Agricultores presenta un panel de miembros de pequeños productores que compartirán con nosotros su viaje de desarrollo cooperativo basado en la abundancia, el coraje y la integridad, y cómo están trabajando juntos para reducir sus costos mientras aumentan la eficiencia y los ingresos. Los miembros nos explicarán algunos de los aspectos legales de recaudar fondos para poder establecerse. Conozca cómo esta cooperativa está distribuyendo productos a las escuelas e instituciones locales al compartir terrenos, servicios, mercadeo y equipos. Guillermo Lazaro, Celsa Ortega, y Mireya Gomez Contreras, 9 Organic Farms Co-op; y Deborah Yashar, California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD)

 

Empowering Your Workforce

offers ways to support and empower your employees, candidates, and members through: 1) Learning how to navigate generational changes in communication to make frustrations and promote positive change. 2) Using Advisory Boards and Committee assignment, and. 3) Learning how to incentivize the right actions and behaviors for your workplace. Elisabeth Barton, Echo Adventure Cooperative

 

Increasing Participation and Leadership: Building Century Cooperatives

Keeping a cooperative running for the long haul is not just a marathon, it's a relay race! So how do we ensure we can keep passing that baton to new Members, and build 100-year organizations? In this workshop we discuss how to increase and maintain Member participation in critical "co-operational" activities - like voting, serving on Committees and running for the Board - as well as other pathways to participation that keep our cooperatives working and this relay race running. Kate ‘Sassy’ Sassoon, Sassy Facilitation

 

2:35 pm - 2:45 pm:

Break / Receso

 

2:50 pm - 4:20 pm:

SESSION 3 / SESIÓN 3

 

 

Voces de Mujeres Latinas Cooperativistas: Los Retos y las Oportunidades

Cuántas veces no hemos escuchado la frase "Si yo pude, tu también debes de poder"? Para algunas personas puede significar la motivación necesaria para lograr alguna meta, para otras un desasosiego estresante que a veces no es posible de entender, sin embargo la realidad de las mujeres en un sistema de luchas feministas, de logros feministas, es aún patriarcal, mayormente en el ámbito del emprendimiento. En este panel, escucharemos de primera voz, la experiencia real de mujeres latinas, representantes de una comunidad de millones de mujeres que desarrollan roles de heroínas, cual es su secreto? ¿Cuál es la verdad detrás del emprendimiento cooperativista? Claudia Arroyo y Ana Castaño, Prospera Community Development

 

Immigrant Owned Cooperatives

Immigrant workers, many of whom are undocumented, are some of the most exploited workers in the United States. Worker cooperatives provide a ready alternative for foreign nationals to break away from the chains of exploitation in the workplace. Our overview of immigrant owned cooperatives provides practical steps in starting and operating immigrant owned cooperatives including the particular benefits and challenges that immigrant workers face in forming their own cooperative businesses. Ricardo Nuñez, Sustainable Economies Law Center

This activity has been approved for 1.5 MCLE credit hours by the State Bar of California

 

 

Different Way to Lead: Panel on Collaborative Leadership in Worker Co-ops

shares the experiences of several senior managers at co-ops who lead collaboratively rather than having one CEO/GM. Hear about the successes, the struggles, and why this model is a great idea anywhere, especially in worker-owned co-ops. Deborah Farrell, Katherine Cronin, and Leslie Sanders, Alternative Technologies Cooperative

 

 

Building Worker-Owned Business Structures: Futuro Co-op Program Model

describes the training program for entrepreneurs which creates a wealth-building vehicle for rural, low-income, Latino, immigrant workers. Futuro positions an umbrella co-op entity that supports other industry-specific co-ops (childcare, food, house cleaning business, e.g.), all of which are owned and managed by co-op representatives. Maria Cadenas, Ventures

 

 

Working with Radical Purpose

will discuss how understanding our radical purpose as individuals can help us build organizations that serve us, our communities, and life. Jose Leal, Radical

 

4:25 pm - 4:50 pm:

Closing Plenary / Plenaria de Cierre

Speakers

Keynote: Gopal Dayaneni

Gopal Dayaneni has been involved in working for social, economic, environmental and racial justice through organizing & campaigning, teaching, writing, speaking and direct action since the late 1980’s. He is a co-founder of Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project (MG), which inspires and engages in transformative action towards the liberation and restoration of land, labor, and culture. MG is rooted in vibrant social movements led by low-income communities and communities of color committed to a Just Transition away from profit and pollution and towards healthy, resilient and life-affirming local economies. MG is a founding member of the Climate Justice Alliance, and Gopal serves on the staff-collective where he is active on the Planning Committee and Board.

Currently, Gopal supports movement building through his work with organizations including The Climate Justice Alliance, ETCgroup, NDN Collective, the Center for Story-based Strategy and People’s Solar Energy Fund, among others. He was a Fellow with the Center for Economic Democracy from 2019-2022. Gopal teaches Ecological Systems Thinking and Social Justice Frameworks for Sustainability in the Masters of Arts in Urban Sustainability program and Climate Justice and Environmental Justice in the undergraduate program at Antioch University in Los Angeles. Gopal also teaches Race, Activism and Climate Justice; Asian Americans and Environmental Justice; and South Asians in the United States at San Francisco State University in the Race and Resistance Studies and Asian American Studies Departments. At SF State, Gopal is also on the steering committee for Climate Justice Leadership Initiatives and the Certificate in Climate Change Causes, Impacts and Solutions.

Studies and Asian American Studies Departments. At SF State, Gopal is also on the steering committee for Climate program and Climate Justice and Environmental Justice in the undergraduate program at Antioch University in Los Angeles. Gopal also teaches Race, Activism and Climate Justice; Asian Americans and Environmental Justice; and South Asians in the United States at San Francisco State University in the Race and Resistance Studies and Asian American Studies Departments. At SF State, Gopal is also on the steering committee for Climate Justice Leadership Initiatives and the Certificate in Climate Change Causes, Impacts and Solutions.

Arroyo, Claudia serves as the Executive Director of Prospera. She has been an active leader in immigrant rights, bringing in a necessary perspective having been undocumented herself for 12 years. She has also been active in movements of gender and violence prevention, gay and queer rights, and health promotion for underserved communities for more than 15 years. Claudia is also a certified Coach who firmly believes in the untapped potential within every individual. Her life is enriched by engaging with practices rooted in solidarity economy, popular education, and community liberation. She cherishes the opportunity to connect her personal story with those of countless other women who, like her, strive to raise their voices and claim the space needed to manifest their dreams and co-create a just and deserving world. (Workshop(s): Herramientas de Comunicación Efectiva para Nuestras Cooperativas, Cómo Incorporar la Magia de la Educación Popular para Prácticas Liberadoras en Nuestra Cooperativas, Voces de Mujeres Latinas Cooperativistas: Los Retos y las Oportunidades)

Barton, Elisabeth is a founding member and the CEO of Echo Adventure Cooperative, a socially and environmentally sustainable worker-owned cooperative operating in Yosemite National Park. Since moving to the Yosemite region in 2009, Elisabeth has been instrumental in working with nonprofit organizations, government agencies and other local companies to support small business, promote sustainable tourism and expand worker rights. (Workshop(s): Cooperative Businessing, Empowering Your Workforce)

Boian, Jeffrey holds a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership, along with a Graduate Certificate in Organizational Development & Change, and has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership studies, organizational psychology, and career development since 2008. His areas of expertise are strategic planning, leadership development, and organizational culture. (Workshop(s): Designing an Organizational Culture that Works)

Brohi, Tehmina is the Membership Director at the US Federation of Worker Cooperative. She is a Pakistani-born, NYC-cultivated, citizen of the world. She has experience as a community organizer, cooperative developer and a small business owner. Currently, she is also on the steering committee of Happy Family Night Market, a recently-converted multi-stakeholder cooperative which celebrates the Asian diaspora through food, art, and education. In NYC, Tehmina also sits on the board of the NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives. Tehmina is inspired by the methods of exchange and relationship building that the solidarity economy presents and is excited to move this work forward by adding her perspective and skills to the worker-cooperative sector. In all that she does, Tehmina values and upholds collaboration, creativity, joy and authenticity. (Workshop(s): Setting up a Governance Structure for Conflict Resolution)

Cadenas, Maria is the Executive Director at Ventures, a nonprofit that works with California Central Coast’s rural Latino working class families to ensure a shared and prosperous economic future for all. For over 20 years, Maria has focused on developing local and global social, business, and philanthropic models that foster equity and community engagement. This includes the launch of Semillitas, a universal children’s savings account program serving Santa Cruz County that focuses on creating a positive impact on early childhood development, educational aspirations, and financial capability of families. Under her leadership Ventures also launched UndocuFund Monterey Bay to support undocumented workers in need of emergency relief and is currently overseeing an effort to build worker-cooperatives in the Salinas Valley. Born in Mexico and raised in California, Maria is Steering Committee Chair for the California Asset Building Coalition. (Workshop(s): Building Worker-Owned Business Structures: Futuro Co-op Program Model)

Carulli, Catherine (Katie) is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at BEST Consulting Inc. and is currently serving an internship with the California Center for Cooperative Development. Catherine received a Master in Arts degree in Psychology with a focus in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2019, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 2015, both from California State University, Sacramento. Catherine has been assisting with the SEED Microgrant project at CCCD, connecting funding to groups interested in forming or growing worker cooperatives in California. (Workshop(s): Compensation in the Cooperative)

Castaño, Ana started her relationship with Prospera in 2014. She worked as a worker-owner in a cooperative business project for the production and sale of of popsicles for two years. Later, due to her love and respect for the training and education of people from an early age, she began a new cooperative project called Luna y Sol, focused on child care. Motivated by the need and trust that families with children have in child care suppliers and her conviction that corporativism is a vehicle for the economic and professional sustainability of humanity, Ana continued to participate with Prospera. She was a member of the Board of Directors, then became the President of the Board, always attentive and engaged in the programs and opportunities that Prospera offered. Later, Ana supported Prospera’s programs as a contractor. In January 2023, she joined the staff as an Entrepreneur Success Coordinator. (Workshop(s): Herramientas de Comunicación Efectiva para Nuestras Cooperativas, Cómo Incorporar la Magia de la Educación Popular para Prácticas Liberadoras en Nuestra Cooperativas)

Castillo, Mayerling is a business consultant dedicated to support the development of social entrepreneurships and worker-owned cooperatives. Mayelring, originally from Chile,  is the co-founder of Colmenar Cooperative Consulting, a company that provides education for the sustainable development of worker-owned cooperatives, and her roles include marketing, finances and sales. (Workshop(s): Finanzas Cooperativas, Herramientas para la Comunicación y Prevención del Conflicto)

Collins, Jen is currently the Operations and Stewardship Manager at the Oakland Community Land Trust and secretary of the board for the California Community Land Trust Network. She and her family are also OakCLT homeowners. Prior to joining OakCLT's staff, Jen served as a resident representative on the OakCLT board of directors. (Workshop(s): Emerging Opportunities for Co-ops and Community Land Trusts)

Coontz, E. Kim is the Executive Director at California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD). She has been working with cooperatives for more than 30 years, including 14 years with the Center for Cooperatives at U.C. Davis. Kim's experience includes assisting groups in the start-up of cooperatives, teaching cooperative board governance seminars, providing technical assistance to cooperatives, conducting research, writing and endeavoring to find new ways to strengthen cooperatives. She has authored and co-authored more than 12 publications about cooperatives and written numerous articles. (Workshop(s): Compensation in the Cooperative)

de la Mora, Aldo worked with migrant coffee farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, mainly from Guatemala. He carried out pest control and biodiversity studies and simultaneously interviewed coffee farmers about their management decisions regarding pest control, conservation practices, and climate change. Currently, he is collaborating with BIPOC small farmers in California to increase farmer resilience. He is interested in the emancipation process of vulnerable communities, including Latinx immigrants or historically oppressed communities. (Workshop(s): Compensation in the Cooperative, Compensación en la Cooperativa de Trabajadores)

Farrell, Deborah's first job was helping progressives use technology was as a Technical Support Representative at the pioneering Institute for Global Communications. Helping harried activists around the world check their email on dial-up connections proved to be all the inspiration she needed to make it her life’s work. After four incredible years at IGC in roles including Operations Director and Executive Director, Deborah pivoted in early 2001 to providing more general technology infrastructure advice and consultation to local progressive nonprofits and small businesses. In 2004 she found a home at Alternative. In her 18 years here, she has worked as a field technician, consultant, account manager, and managing director. In each of these roles, the common thread has remained the same: make technology accessible to the people who need to use it to make a difference in local and global communities. (Workshop(s): Different Way to Lead: Panel on Collaborative Leadership in Worker Coops)

Fick, Mark is a Senior Loan Officer with Shared Capital Cooperative where he works with the business development, loan underwriting and portfolio management functions of the organization.  As a cooperatively owned loan fund, Shared Capital works to build economic democracy by providing financing to cooperative enterprises throughout the United States including consumer, worker, and producer owned cooperatives.  Prior to joining Shared Capital, Mark was the Director of Lending Operations with the Chicago Community Loan Fund where he was responsible for providing financing and technical assistance to affordable housing, social enterprises and community-based organizations in the Chicago land area. Over the past 25 years Mark has been an active leader with a variety of community-based and cooperative development organizations with a focus on building economic systems that are democratic and radically inclusive.  This has included serving in volunteer leadership roles with the Partnership in Property Commercial Land Trust, Black Lives Unitarian Universalism, the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, the Chicago Mutual Housing Network, NASCO Development Services, Organization of the Northeast, and the Northside Community Federal Credit Union. (Workshop(s): Investing in Cooperation, Loan Readiness for Cooperatives)

Glancy, Alex is a partner and founding attorney at GGH LLP, where she practices transactional law. Alex advises startups, impact-oriented companies, cooperatives, and creatives. She focuses in the areas of corporate structuring and governance, fundraising, business transactions, and intellectual property. Alex has supported the formation of over a dozen worker-owned cooperatives in California. (Workshop(s): California Cooperatives and Governance – A Legal Perspective)

Guiterrez, Kateri is a former co-founder of Collective Avenue Coffee, a start up worker cooperative in Southeast Los Angeles (2015-2019). She then volunteered at Project Equity in summer 2020, where she published articles around cooperatives such as: Latinas Are Equipped for the Cooperative Movement, Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy 31, 85-88, and Identifying Key Metrics for Successful Conversions to Worker Cooperatives through the University of Michigan. Most recently she co-authored a chapter on cooperatives in Bleeding-Edge Entrepreneurship: Digitalization, Blockchains, Space, the Ocean, and Artificial Intelligence. (Workshop(s): Elements for Successful Worker Co-op Conversions)

Jeffers-Fabro, Ayano is a community weaver who is bi-coastally rooted in Waialua, Hawai`i and Oakland, CA. She was born and raised in rural Waialua, and politicized in the Bay Area. This has given her the insight and experience to bridge urban-rural connections to land, food and the people. Her work centers Black, Brown and Indigenous leadership, technology, and wisdom. It also supports community self-determination and interconnectivity. Ayano is currently the Education and Curriculum Developer with CoFED, where she facilitates spaces for knowledge exchange guided by decolonial and re-indiginizing praxis. Outside of her work with CoFED, she's an independent community development consultant, dog-mama, child of the waters, food grower and people nourisher. (Workshop(s): Building a Liberatory Cooperative Movement for our Collective Tomorrows)

King Fitzsimons, Bernadette is the Coordinator for the Worker-Owned Recovery California (WORC) Coalition, a statewide legislative advocacy coalition advancing worker ownership. Bernadette first became active in worker cooperative policy during her time as a New York City Urban Fellow within the Office of New York City Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson, where she worked as part of a team advancing municipal policy to create more worker-owned cooperatives in New York City. Bernadette is on staff at SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) and has a particular interest in solidarity and collaboration between the labor movement and the worker cooperative movement. She is a co-author of A Union Toolkit for Cooperative Solutions, a resource for labor unions interested in incubating and supporting worker cooperatives.

Kure, Suparna is a decolonial educator and immigrant mother living in unceded Kumeyaay lands. She brings with her over 15 years of experience imagining and breathing life into educational programs and leading organizational development. Suparna believes in the power of unraveled unlearning to shift narratives, heal trauma, and transform systems. She is guided by ancestral re-visioning, abolitionist and decolonial praxis, and manifesting collective dreams. Suparna responds to the call to return stolen wealth as the Choreographer of Collective Change by moving money where it can have a critical impact on building a beautiful regenerative food system – into the hands of young cooperators of color. (Workshop(s): Building a Liberatory Cooperative Movement for our Collective Tomorrows)

Lapeyrolerie, Erin is an attorney at Goldfarb & Lipman LLP. Her practice emphasizes affordable housing, land use, cooperative corporations, and real estate transactions.  She represents numerous public agencies and nonprofit housing developers on subjects such as affordable housing requirements, real property transfers, land use entitlements, and compliance with federal and state fair housing laws.  She further assists public agencies in complying with planning and land use laws, including new state housing laws.  Ms. Lapeyrolerie advises housing cooperative corporations on compliance with the Davis-Stirling Act, the Corporations Code, and other laws and regulations impacting cooperatives. (Workshop(s): Addressing Tough Questions in your Housing Cooperative)

Leal, Jose has founded six traditional companies. Autonet, his third startup, was acquired by a Canadian media conglomerate, where he became the vice president and GM of the English online division. During that time, Jose was also the vice-chair of the Canadian Interactive Advertising Bureau and was highly involved in the industry. After 13 years of working in a dysfunctional organization and industry, Jose realized that he could no longer live or contribute to the dysfunction brought about by the systems of force. He has spent the last seven years researching human motivation and organizational environments, leading to the Radical Purpose Dynamic, Collaborative Canvas, and Collaborative Agreement and co-authoring Radical Companies. (Workshop(s): Working with Radical Purpose)

Lopez, Lydia joined the CA CLT Network in 2022, supporting the network’s curriculum, policy, convening, and technical assistance programs to members, who include several housing coops statewide. Prior to this role, she was Executive Director at La Raza Centro Legal, where she supported access to affordable housing and civil rights through legal programs. She has worked with both tenants and homebuyers, and designed and implemented Habitat for Humanity’s Credit Repair Program for the San Francisco Bay Area. Lydia has also worked with immigrants seeking asylum and family reunification in the US, and conducted Flores Settlement monitoring of detention conditions at the US/Mexico border, documenting conditions at private for-profit detention centers. She believes in strategic partnerships and consulting Indigenous populations to create a lasting impact by promoting mutual education and change. Lydia grew up in Guatemala and Belize, where she learned about cooperatives early on through her grandfather, who founded the country's first Fishermen's Co-op in Caye Caulker, Belize. (Workshop(s): Emerging Opportunities for Co-ops and Community Land Trusts, Grassroots Initiatives to Strengthen the Co-op Movement [Panelist])

Maturana, Pedro has been a cooperative business specialist at the California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD) for over two years. His role has been to support CCCD’s worker cooperative development. He serves as the facilitator and mentor for the center's homecare and green cleaning worker cooperatives and provides advice in the development and operation of worker cooperative farms. Pedro’s experience also includes 7 years of worker-cooperative membership where he was involved in member recruitment, orientation, training, and scheduling. As well as two years of technical assistance for the Arizmendi Association, an innovative worker cooperative incubator program in the Bay Area that brings worker cooperatives to scale through replication and providing networking and support services. With the association, he developed procedures, systems of accountability, as well as coordination and facilitation support to member cooperatives. (Workshop(s): Compensation in the Cooperative, Compensación en la Cooperativa de Trabajadores)

Mierson, Sheella is a founding member of The Sociocracy Consulting Group helping to build organizations that are responsive, inclusive, and transparent. She is also a certified facilitator of the Blueprint of We Collaboration Process to help design and create relationships built on trust. Sheella has a longtime interest in the cooperative movement, and is a member of the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) Cooperative Hall of Fame. (Workshop(s): Introduction to Sociocracy: Getting Things Done Together, Managing the Meeting Monsters)

Mobedshahi, Ojan is the Finance Director and a Staff Owner at the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC), a democratic, BIPOC-led cooperative that takes land and housing off the speculative market to create permanently affordable, community-controlled land and housing. A certified permaculture designer with a background in economics, sustainable land use, and real estate development, Ojan strives to bring the financial and strategic know-how to help visionary organizations build their capacity and long-term sustainability, to support a just transition to a regenerative economy. (Workshop(s): Orientation to East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative)

Morales, Adriadna was born in Oaxaca, Mexico and grew up in East San José. She has over ten years experience working in movements for racial and economic justice as a community organizer on policies that put workers first. In 2022, she seeded Corazón y Pueblo, a social justice consulting business, that supports organizations to foster deep relationships, develop leaders, and empower collective and individual agency. Her expertise and passion is in providing opportunities for economic liberation and sustainable, healthy lives. Corazón y Pueblo supports organizations and businesses to embrace families as a whole and to honor the multiple identities they hold. Corazón y Pueblo is currently working with SOMOS Mayfair to accompany and build the next phase of FUERTES, the community-led economic justice that has incubated two successful worker-owned cooperatives. (Workshop(s): Economic Liberation - Panel with Worker Owners & Future Co-op Residents in San Jose, Part 2)

Preisler, Daniella brings extensive experience as a cooperative development consultant since 2017, community coach, trainer and facilitator, graduate of Next Economy MBA, and former board member for the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives for two periods. She launched her second cooperative business, Colmenar Cooperative Consulting in 2020, that provides consulting services to the Latinx community through educational programs and tools for start-up and existing co-ops. In addition, Daniella currently is a Peer Advisor for the Co-op Clinic and co-chair of the International Council at the USFWC, Vice President of Cicopa Americas, and President of Cicopa North America. Her experience in finances started at her first cooperative, an eco-cleaning service in San Francisco, where she was in charge of the Admin and Finances Committee of the cooperative for 7 years. (Workshop(s): Finanzas Cooperativas, Herramientas para la Comunicación y Prevención del Conflicto)

Ratliff, Shannon is the Vice President and Outreach Manager for SunCoast Market Co-op, a grocery cooperative opening in Imperial Beach, CA. Since organizing in 2015, SunCoast Market has grown to over 1000 invested owners, with a lease signed for their store location and a plan to open in 2024. They will be the second grocery cooperative in San Diego County, the first in the South Bay, the first to open in a predominantly Latino community, and plan to be the first to open debt free. They've encountered challenges opening in a low to middle income neighborhood and have been creative with their outreach and fundraising efforts so they can improve access to healthy and locally grown foods and products. Shannon holds a Masters degree in Health Psychology and works as a health counselor for Kaiser Permanente. (Workshop(s): Diversifying Fundraising by Aligning with Local Officials & Organizations, Grassroots Initiatives to Strengthen the Co-op Movement [Panelist])

Reicher, Andy is the Executive Director of UHAB for over 40 years until retiring earlier this year. During that time UHAB developed over 1,000 limited-equity housing co-ops in New York City with over 30,000 household members. Andy now works with UHAB’s National Co-op Community Services which trains co-ops, community land trusts (CLTs), and other non-profit partners through out the country to develop permanently affordable housing co-ops, and support organizations, in their regions. (Workshop(s): Introduction to Limited-Equity Housing Cooperatives, Grassroots Initiatives to Strengthen the Co-op Movement [Panelist])

Rivera, Jacky is a founding member, and currently the Operational Co-Director, of South Bay Community Land Trust in San Jose, CA. She participated in local tenants rights advocacy as a renter herself in San Jose from 2014 - 2020 and in issues of food sovereignty and food access through her paid work in La Mesa Verde at Sacred Heart Community Service for seven years. She has also organized in San Jose around the issues of immigration and worker’s rights - and has led unionization efforts at two of her work sites. A graduate of Cornell University, Jacky's passion for land-use, community development and justice is inspired by her upbringing in the agriculturally dense areas of Ventura and Madera, California. (Workshop(s): Emerging Opportunities for Co-ops and Community Land Trusts)

Having participated in a wide variety of innovative member-and-mission-driven organizations for over 20 years, Sassoon, Kate "Sassy” has a wealth of experience in organizational culture, change management, education and training, community organizing, mission-driven strategic planning, decision making process design, conflict management, and mediation. She has served on boards of directors large and small, teaches at numerous conferences across the U.S., and holds two degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Kate is passionate about supporting innovative organizations committed to building a better world. (Workshop(s): Facilitation: Fundamental Skills and Structures, Increasing Participation and Leadership: Building Century Cooperatives)

Strand, Muriel served on the Board and as Treasurer of the San Jose Natural Foods Co-op, as Chair of the Finance, Management & Planning Committee of the Consumers Cooperative of Berkeley, and on the Board of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. She has a background in energy analysis, mechanical engineering, economics, cooking, and permaculture. (Workshop(s): Cooperative Adaptations to Climate Change)

Tiedemann, Karen is a partner with Goldfarb & Lipman, where she practices law in the areas of real estate transactions, affordable housing, nonprofit organization, and environmental law. Karen advises public agencies and nonprofit housing developers on affordable housing matters and represents numerous agencies and nonprofit corporations on the development, financing, and management of low- and moderate-income projects and programs. She has formed many limited equity cooperatives, and represents numerous housing cooperatives, providing advice on compliance, limited equity cooperative law, HUD financing, and Department of Real Estate regulations. (Workshop(s): Addressing Tough Questions in your Housing Cooperative)

Vartan, Kirk is a native New Yorker, NBC technologist, former hi-tech professional, community activist, and small business owner of two pizza shops in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. In 2006, he and his wife created the first A Slice of New York shop, eventually adding a second location a few years later. As the business grew an empowered workforce emerged. The prospect of transitioning to a worker-owned business seemed the obvious choice. In 2017, A Slice of New York became the first brick-and-mortar worker-owned cooperative in the South Bay. Kirk continues to advocate for employee ownership as an option for business owners, working with local, state, and national resources to grow the co-op movement. In 2019, Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor appointed Kirk as the Special Advisor to the Mayor. (Workshop(s): Worker-Owned Recovery California (WORC), Grassroots Initiatives to Strengthen the Co-op Movement [Panelist])

Vasquez, Victor was born in Mexico and migrated to Oakland, CA as a child. Growing up in Oakland he experienced the harsh conditions of racialized poverty, the beauty of community resistance and found his love for community organizing. As a high school student, he organized against unjust discipline practices and pushed for alternatives to suspension that resulted in the creation of the One Land One People Youth Center at Skyline High School. He joins SOMOS Mayfair with experience working as case manager for East Side Youth, after school coordinator, and a grassroots community organizer. He is excited to work with the SOMOS Mayfair staff and community to build power, implement alternative solutions and create a thriving and sustainable East San Jose. Victor holds a master’s degree in Mexican American/Chican@ Studies from San Jose State University and a BA in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. (Workshop(s): Economic Liberation 1 [Panelist])

West, Esther joined Shared Capital as a Loan Officer in Autumn 2022. They underwrite, support cooperatives in navigating the loan process, and connect cooperatives to resources. Esther has nearly two decades of cooperative and community-rooted experiences. She was a worker-owner at Equal Exchange and The Ajani Group, has researched and mapped cooperatives with Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard and as a Cooperative Development Specialist at the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, and has been on the boards of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops, MadWorC, and Listen Up Youth Media. They have a BA from Xavier University, as well as two masters degrees from Cleveland State University in Environmental Studies and Urban Planning, Design and Development, as well as a Masters GIS Certificate. She has also conducted urban planning and trails analysis, teaches Environmental Studies at San Francisco State University, and works on climate justice issues. (Workshop(s): Investing in Cooperation, Loan Readiness for Cooperatives)

Yashar, Deborah has dedicated her career to supporting the resiliency of ecological farmers and the organizations that support them, including the Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm), Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), and Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA). Deborah led the development of farmers markets, business and marketing education, and increased access to healthy, organically-produced foods both on the ground and through policy advocacy. She has launched a variety of impactful campaigns and events, such as the annual EcoFarm Conference–the largest sustainable agriculture conference west of the Mississippi. Trilingual in Spanish and Portuguese, Deborah holds a BA in Agroecology & Sustainable Agriculture from UC Santa Cruz. She serves on the board of directors of her local and nationally recognized BriarPatch Food Co-op and joined CCCD as Ag & Food Co-op Development Specialist in early 2013. (Workshop(s): Farmer Cooperatives / Cooperativas de Agricultores)

Hotel & Transportation

Accomodations

CCCD has reserved rooms at the following hotel with a group rate of $119 USD+ tax daily. The hotel is about 5 miles from the conference location.

Sonesta Select San Jose Airport
1727 Technology Drive, San Jose, CA 95110
Phone: (408) 441-6111

Mention California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD) when making your phone reservation or click here when making your online reservation:

-Group rate of $119 USD+ tax daily for reservations between June 1 - June 3, 2023 for Deluxe - King or Two Queens.
-Reservations must be received by the Hotel on or before Thursday, May 18, 2023, for the special group rate.
-Complimentary internet access in all guestrooms.
-Discounted parking for overnight conference guest at $9.00 per night (normally $18.00 per night).
-Complimentary shuttle service to and from San Jose International Airport.

Be a Sponsor

Become a 2023 California Co-op Conference Sponsor

Showcase your organization as an innovative leader in the cooperative movement! Sponsor the California Co-op Conference to promote your commitment to local economic development and community while also getting your name out there among statewide cooperators.

Additional ways to support the conference include opportunities to directly connect with conference participants by tabling, donations for the scholarship fund, donations of raffle items or food or food and beverages.

Contact CCCD today about sponsoring or tabling: (530) 297-1032 or vdomier@cccd.coop.

Sponsorship Tiers

Cooperative Superstar - $10,000+
This premier tier offers all of the benefits of the Cooperative Hero level in addition to a special “thank you” in call out in public news articles and campaigns. It also earns a placard on each meal table at 2 lunches and the evening social.

Meal Sponsor - $5,000+
This important tier offers all of the benefits of the Cooperative Champion level, “thank you” call out, and a placard noting meal sponsorship on the lunch table or on the spread of the social (your choice).

Cooperative Hero - $3,500
Your organization / co-op's name and logo will receive prominent recognition at the conference:

  • Website
  • Social media content (3x)
  • Email & print promotions
  • Printed agenda & promo materials in participant folder
  • Signage at registration, the podium, & main conference hall
  • Verbal recognition
  • Three complimentary conference registrations
  • Complimentary Tabling (if desired)

Cooperative Champion - $2,000
Your organization / co-op's name and logo will receive distinct recognition at the conference:

  • Website
  • Social media content (2x)
  • Email & print promotions
  • Printed agenda & promo materials in participant folder
  • Signage at registration, the podium, & main conference hall
  • Verbal recognition
  • Two complimentary conference registration
  • Table space for promotional materials

Cooperative Accelerator - $1,000
Your organization / co-op's name and logo will be included in the conference:

  • Website
  • Social media content (1x)
  • Email & print promotions
  • Printed agenda & program
  • Signage at registration

Cooperative Sparkplug - $500
Your organization / co-op's name will be listed in the conference:

  • Website
  • Social media content (1x)
  • Printed agenda & program
  • Signage at registration

Cooperative Enthusiast - Donation of any amount welcomed to support the Co-op Scholarship Fund!

Tabling

We invite organizations that want to directly connect with statewide cooperators to share their resources, products, and services at an exhibitor table during the conference. Tabling for the entire duration of the conference costs $250. Alternatively, organizations may opt to table at our evening social and fundraising raffle during the first day of the conference. Tables during the social cost $100 for full tables and $50 for half tables. No sales are permitted.

Donations

We offer a variety of other ways to support our statewide cooperative community at the conference:

  • CCCD Scholarship Fund: Contribute to the scholarship fund allowing students and those in financial need to attend the conference at a discounted rate. Donations of any amount are welcome.
  • In-Kind:
    • Raffle: Contribute items valued at $50 or more to the raffle held during the evening social. All proceeds are directed toward the conference scholarship fund.
    • Food & Beverage: Help feed conference attendees by donating food, wine, beer or other beverages for the evening social or one of our conference meals.

Many Thanks to Our Conference Sponsors!

USDA Rural Development Destination: Home
Silicon Valley Community Foundation The Sobrato Family Foundation
City of San Jose - Economic Development American Tax Cooperative Corporation
National Cooperative Bank Santa Clara County Housing Authority
Si Se Puede Collective SOMOS Mayfair
Bay Area Regional Energ United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives
Veggielution Capital Impact Partners
Richard Hobbs Immigration Law Center Shared Capital Cooperative
Sustainable Economies Law Center Anza Electric Cooperative
City of San Jose - District 3 - Councilmember Omar Torres
Human Agenda North Coast Co-op
SV@Home Working Partnerships USA