Remaking the Economy: Building Regional Solidarity Economies

How do we build regional economies rooted in community ownership? As Stacey Sutton wrote to introduce an NPQ article series last fall on “Solidarity Economies—Building Community Power,” the growth of solidarity economy organizations across the country over the last decade has been “somewhat astounding.” In this webinar, cosponsored by the New Economy Coalition, we build on the contributions from that series and take a deep look at movement growth and ongoing challenges—with participants from New Orleans, Los Angeles, Oakland (CA), Buffalo and Washington DC sharing their perspectives.

Our panelists are:

Andrew Delmonte is executive director of Cooperation Buffalo.
Gilda Haas is a senior advisor and cofounder of L.A. Co-op Lab in Los Angeles.
Gregory Jackson is cofounder and lead steward for Repaired Nations in Oakland, California.
Maya Pen is an artist and a member of the steering committee of Cooperation New Orleans.
Felix Macaraeg is co-director of Beloved Community Incubator in Washington, DC.

This webinar explores:

What do we mean by a solidarity economy?
How do you build a community-owned solidarity economy at the local and regional levels?
How do solidarity economy businesses develop viable and sustainable business models?
What does an incubator do and how does that help community-owned businesses generate living wages and earnings?
What is the ecosystem that is needed to support cooperatives, community land trusts, and other tools of community economic ownership?
What is the role of culture and the arts in the solidarity economy?
How can community economic organizing build on African and Indigenous cultural traditions?
How do solidarity economy activists join forces with labor unions, racial justice groups, and other social movement organizations?
What can public policy do to support solidarity economy development?

Whether you’re a social movement activist, nonprofit leader, board member, or engaged in community-based organizing, this webinar will provide you with real-life examples and lessons learned that can inform your work in your own community.

Resources

Andrew Delmonte, “Building Economic Resilience in the Rust Belt: Buffalo’s Growing Co-op Network,” NPQ, December 13, 2023.

Latowa Giwa, in collaboration with Susan Sakash, “Building an Arts Solidarity Economy,” NPQ, December 6, 2023.

Gilda Haas, “How the City of Angels Can Become a City of Worker-Owners,” NPQ, December 13, 2023.

Gregory Jackson, “Building the Solidarity Economy by Boosting Black-Owned Co-ops,” NPQ, December 20, 2023.

M. Felix Macaraeg and Bianca Vazquez, “Building the Spokes in the Wheel of a Solidarity Economy: A DC Story,” NPQ, December 20, 2023.

Stacey Sutton, “Seeding Solidarity Economies: What’s Behind the Emerging Ecosystems,” NPQ, December 6, 2023.

About the authors

Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

Andrew Delmonte

Andrew Delmonte is executive director and cofounder of Cooperation Buffalo and serves on the board of directors of Seed Commons. Andrew is an organizer, facilitator, and business developer who believes in the power of communities and workplaces to govern themselves. A lifelong resident of Buffalo, they have a background in advocating for and advising cooperatives, social enterprises, independent small business owners, and frontline community organizations with planning and management decisions, financial strategy, governance, group dynamics, and conflict resolution.

Gilda Haas

Gilda Haas is an educator, organizer, and economic development planner who lives in Los Angeles with her mystery-writer husband, adult son, and eight-year-old grandson. She is a cofounder of several organizations, including L.A. Co-op Lab, Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, UCLA’s Community Scholars Program, and the national Right to the City Alliance.

Gregory Jackson

Gregory Jackson is cofounder and lead steward for Repaired Nations. In 2020, following his Equal Justice Works Fellowship with the Sustainable Economies Law Center, Gregory was named Cross-Sector Champion of the Year by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives. In 2021, he was also named an Echoing Green Fellow.

Maya Pen

Maya Pen is an artist and a member of the steering committee of Cooperation New Orleans.

M. Felix Macaraeg

As the organizing director of the Beloved Community Incubator in Washington, DC, M. Felix Macaraeg brings over 25 years of organizing experience in community and labor organizing to the work of regional ecosystem building. They have played many roles in social justice and social change organizations across the country, from statewide coalition and base building to door-to-door tenant and resident organizing.

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