Everything Co-op with Vernon Oakes

Everything Co-op
  • 4.8 (17)
  • Business
  • Updated Daily

Podcast by Everything Co-op

  1. 2d ago

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute:  Honoring Kevin Still's Cooperative Legacy

    September 3, 2026 This episode continues our tribute to the 2026 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees with a special conversation featuring Kevin Still, cooperative leader and agricultural innovator. Vernon and Kevin discuss his cooperative journey and his leadership in growing cooperative enterprises, serving farmers, developing people, and strengthening rural communities. Kevin Still’s cooperative journey began growing up on a farm in west-central Illinois and working for a farmer-owned cooperative early in his career. He went on to become President and CEO of Keystone Cooperative, Inc., where his leadership helped guide the integration of nine cooperatives and transform Keystone into a major agricultural cooperative serving more than 20,000 farmer-members across Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. Under Still’s leadership, Keystone expanded its services in agronomy, fuels and propane, swine and animal nutrition, and grain marketing, while growing from 35 employees to approximately 2,000. His approach to cooperative leadership has emphasized strategic growth, innovative governance, strong financial management, and developing employees who can carry the cooperative forward. Still has also provided significant leadership to the broader agricultural cooperative system through his 23 years of board service with CoBank, where he has served as chair since 2020. He has been active with the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) and other agricultural and cooperative organizations. A 46-year veteran of the cooperative movement, Still has been recognized for his contributions to cooperative business, agricultural policy, education, and rural communities. His commitment to giving back is reflected in Keystone’s support for agricultural education, food security, and farm and energy safety initiatives.

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute:  Honoring Kevin Still's Cooperative Legacy

  2. 2d ago

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute:  Honoring Crystal Long's Cooperative Legacy

    September 17, 2026 This episode continues our tribute to the 2026 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees with a special conversation featuring Crystal Long, past President and Chief Executive Officer of GECU in El Paso, Texas. Vernon and Crystal discuss her cooperative journey, leadership, and commitment to serving her members and community. During her tenure as CEO, Long led GECU to become El Paso’s largest federally insured, independently owned financial institution, with more than $4.4 billion in assets, 25 branches, more than 800 employees, and over 439,000 member-owners. A strong advocate for community service, Long has served on numerous local, national, and international boards and committees, including the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the United Way of El Paso, the Borderplex Alliance, and the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions. She has also been actively involved in efforts addressing financial health, food insecurity, and community development. Long’s leadership and service have earned numerous honors, including the 2024 Greg Inman Servant Leadership Award, the 2024 Credit Union Making History: Herstory recognition, the Junior Achievement of El Paso Business Hall of Fame, the Credit Union House Hall of Fame, and the Herb Wegner Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement. She was also recognized as a Distinguished Alumna by the University of Texas at El Paso.

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute:  Honoring Crystal Long's Cooperative Legacy

  3. 2d ago

    Jessica Gordon Nembhard Honors the  Cooperative Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer

    October 1, 2026 This episode continues our tribute to the 2026 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees with a special conversation featuring Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, Ph.D., Professor at John Jay College and social justice advocate. Dr. Gordon Nembhard discusses the life and legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer, who will be posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame as an Unsung Hero, including Hamer's commitment to cooperative economic development. Dr. Gordon Nembhard and Vernon also discuss how Fannie Lou Hamer's legacy lives on today. Fannie Lou Hamer was a powerful civil rights and voting rights leader who also recognized economic independence as essential to community empowerment. In 1969, she established the Freedom Farm Cooperative in Sunflower County, Mississippi, purchasing 40 acres to create a cooperative farming project. The initiative sought to provide food, land, and economic opportunity for Black families in the Mississippi Delta. The Freedom Farm Cooperative became an important expression of Hamer's belief that political freedom and economic self-determination were interconnected. Dr. Jessica Gordon-Nembhard is the author of Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, and a 2016 inductee into the U.S. Cooperative Hall of Fame. A political economist specializing in cooperative economics, community economic development, racial wealth inequality, and Black Political Economy, she is a Professor at John Jay College, City University of New York. Dr. Gordon-Nembhard is also a member of the Cooperative Economics Council of NCBA/CLUSA and the ICA Committee on Co-operative Research, an affiliate scholar with the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan, and a past board member of the Association of Cooperative Educators.

    Jessica Gordon Nembhard Honors the  Cooperative Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer

  4. 2d ago

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute:  Honoring Mike Toelle's Cooperative Legacy

    September 24, 2026 This episode continues our tribute to the 2026 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees with a special conversation featuring Mike Toelle. Vernon and Mike discuss his leadership in the creation and growth of CHS, the role of education and innovation in strengthening the cooperative system, and his cooperative journey. For more than 40 years, Mike Toelle has dedicated his time, energy, and vision to supporting cooperatives—from the farm fields of Minnesota to the international stage. A lifelong farmer and committed cooperative leader, Mike began his career with Harvest States Cooperatives before returning to his family farm and becoming one of the youngest directors elected to the Cenex Inc. Board of Directors. He later served on the core committee that helped create CHS Inc. in 1998 through the merger of Harvest States Cooperatives and Cenex. Mike went on to lead the boards of both CHS and the CHS Foundation, championing innovation, cooperative education, and the importance of connecting local cooperative leadership with the broader agricultural community. His leadership has extended beyond CHS to Cooperative Network, the Agriculture Council of America, CF Industries, and CIBO. Today, Mike serves as vice-chair of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, where he draws on his extensive experience in cooperative leadership, risk management, regulatory issues, and monetary policy.

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute:  Honoring Mike Toelle's Cooperative Legacy

  5. Sep 8

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute: Honoring Margaret Bau's Cooperative Legacy

    August 27, 2026 This episode launches Everything Co-op's tribute to the 2026 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees with a special conversation featuring Margaret Bau, a legendary figure in rural economic development who spent a decades-long career at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Vernon and Margaret discuss her cooperative journey and the lasting impact of her work to expand cooperative development, strengthen communities, and create economic opportunities across the country.  After discovering the power of cooperatives during her Peace Corps service in Costa Rica, Bau joined the USDA just as its Rural Development program was forming. She started as a state-level cooperative development specialist in Wisconsin, where her unconventional approach expanded the agency’s reach far beyond traditional agriculture. Throughout her career, Bau has been a powerhouse of community impact, delivering incredible stats: o Incorporated more than 40 cooperatives. o Trained over 500 cooperative development specialists. o Presented to over 9,000 conference and meeting attendees nationwide. One of her most notable achievements came in 2001, when she helped found Cooperative Care, the first new worker-owned home care cooperative organized in 15 years. Her quiet persistence replication model transformed this single grassroots effort into a massive movement. Today, that model has grown to include 25 worker-owned home care cooperatives across 12 states. Recognized by peers as a "national treasure," Bau has bridged the gap between federal resources and local needs, leaving a lasting legacy across the U.S. and Canadian co-op ecosystems.

    Co-op Hall of Fame Tribute: Honoring Margaret Bau's Cooperative Legacy

  6. Sep 4

    Vernon Oakes Road to Cooperation: A Lifetime of Learning

    August 13, 2026 Vernon Oakes takes listeners on a personal journey through the experiences that shaped him into the cooperative advocate and leader, he is today. Rather than simply reflecting on a distinguished career, Vernon shares how each chapter of his life became a steppingstone that ultimately led him to embrace the cooperative business model and dedicate himself to advancing it. From teaching mathematics at York College and marketing at Howard University, to leading Cummins de Puerto Rico and launching his own property management company after discovering a passion for real estate, each experience provided valuable lessons in leadership, education, and community. It was while managing a limited equity housing cooperative that Vernon first encountered the cooperative business model. True to his analytical nature and lifelong love of research, he immersed himself in learning everything he could about cooperatives. What began as a professional responsibility soon became a personal passion. Vernon also reflects on the people, experiences, and principles that transformed not only his approach to management and leadership, but also his vision for building stronger businesses and more resilient communities through cooperation, and the importance of how cooperation can be used to impact lives. Vernon Oakes is a dedicated advocate for cooperatives who was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in 2024. He is the Past President of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives and has served on numerous boards and committees advancing cooperative interests. His contributions also extend to the Limited Equity Cooperative Task Force, initiated by Anita Bonds, an At-Large Member of the Council of the District of Columbia. As an MBA graduate of Stanford University, Vernon has applied his business expertise to serve the community, championing the benefits of the cooperative business model.

    Vernon Oakes Road to Cooperation: A Lifetime of Learning

  7. Jul 19

    Journalism, Housing Justice & Building Stronger Communities with Steve Dubb, Shelterforce Editor

    July 9, 2026 In this segment, Vernon welcomes Steve Dubb, Strategic Initiatives Editor at Shelterforce, an independent nonprofit newsroom that has spent five decades reporting on affordable housing, community development, and housing justice. Together, Vernon and Steve will explore how independent journalism helps shape public understanding of affordable housing challenges, elevates community voices, and informs policies that promote equitable, sustainable, and cooperative approaches to building stronger communities. Before joining Shelterforce, Steve Dubb served as Senior Editor of Economic Justice at Nonprofit Quarterly. Prior to that, he worked at The Democracy Collaborative, where he authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports, facilitated national learning cohorts, and helped advance the growing field of community wealth building. Earlier in his career, Steve served as Executive Director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation), a U.S. and Canadian association of housing cooperatives that supports cooperative housing and leadership development on college campuses. Steve has authored and edited numerous books on community wealth, economic justice, and democratic ownership. Most recently, he co-edited (with Raymond Foxworth) Invisible No More: Voices from Native America (Island Press, 2023), a collection highlighting Indigenous perspectives on economic and community development. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Steve remains actively engaged in local economic justice initiatives through his volunteer work with several community organizations. Founded more than 50 years ago, Shelterforce is a trusted nonprofit news organization dedicated to advancing healthy, equitable communities. Through in-depth reporting and partnerships with readers, practitioners, and other newsrooms, Shelterforce provides timely analysis of affordable housing, housing justice, community organizing, and community development—equipping advocates, policymakers, and community leaders with the information needed to create lasting, positive change.

    Journalism, Housing Justice & Building Stronger Communities with Steve Dubb, Shelterforce Editor

  8. Jul 19

    Tony Pickett on Cooperative Housing & Doug O'Brien on America's 250th Through a Cooperative Lens

    July 2, 2026 In this segment, Vernon interviews Tony Pickett, Chief Executive Officer of Grounded Solutions Network. Vernon and Tony will explore how community land trusts and shared equity housing are creating pathways to affordable homeownership and stronger, more resilient communities. Before Vernon's conversation with Tony Pickett Vernon welcomes Doug O'Brien for a timely discussion on his article, At 250 and Beyond – Cooperatives’ Role in Our American Story, exploring how cooperatives have strengthened communities and democracy throughout our nation's history. With more than 35 years of experience in community development, Tony has been a leading voice in creating permanently affordable housing, advancing equitable housing policies, and expanding the use of community land trusts to promote racial and economic equity. Under his leadership, Grounded Solutions has launched several nationally recognized initiatives, including the Catalytic Land Cohort, ForEveryoneHome, and Homes for the Future, which combine public, philanthropic, and private investment to preserve affordable homeownership opportunities in growing communities. Tony also serves on the boards of the Up for Growth Coalition, the Center for CLT Innovation, and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, and is a founding member of the National Community Development CEOs of Color Circle. A graduate of the Cornell University School of Architecture, Art and Planning, he is a passionate advocate for holistic, equitable community development. Doug O'Brien is President and CEO of the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA), where he leads the organization's efforts to advance the cooperative business model in the United States and around the world. Since joining NCBA CLUSA in 2016, Doug has helped strengthen the cooperative community's impact on businesses, families, and local economies, serving as Executive Vice President of Programs before becoming President and CEO in 2018.  Prior to NCBA CLUSA, Doug led the work of the White House Rural Council and held senior leadership positions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, overseeing programs that supported rural communities nationwide. He has also served in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and for two state governors. A native of a family farm in Iowa, Doug holds degrees from Loras College, the University of Iowa College of Law, and the University of Arkansas. His lifelong commitment to cooperative principles continues to shape his work advancing community-centered economic development.

    Tony Pickett on Cooperative Housing & Doug O'Brien on America's 250th Through a Cooperative Lens
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