Everything Co-op with Vernon Oakes

June 18, 2026 This episode features an interview with Nathan Schneider, professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Vernon and Nathan discuss the current progress and prospects for cooperatives in Artificial Intelligence, and explores ways in which cooperatives can navigate the rise of AI without losing control of their intellectual property. Nathan Schneider is a professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he directs the Media Economies Design Lab and engages deeply with his students. He has authored books on topics such as online democracy, cooperative enterprise, the Occupy movement, and God, and has edited works on crypto and co-ops. His prolific writing includes articles for both magazines and academic journals, reflecting his commitment to chronicling ideas and exploring the potential of perfect worlds and ordinary imaginations in practice. Schneider views every word as a hypothesis and a test, acutely aware that even the most casual remark contributes to the irrevocable construction of our world. Working with others to build a democratic economy keeps him grounded and accountable.

August 7, 2025 Interview with John Holdsclaw IV, President & CEO of Rochdale Capital On this episode of Everything Co-op, John Holdsclaw IV, President and CEO of Rochdale Capital, explores the challenges and opportunities facing financial institutions and shares exciting new initiatives at Rochdale Capital. Rochdale Capital is a national non-profit community development loan fund advancing cooperative principles and community ownership. The organization provides financing and technical assistance to community-based organizations and cooperatives, with a focus on under-resourced communities, especially those led by women and minorities. In addition to his leadership at Rochdale, John serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at the National Cooperative Bank (NCB), helping to position NCB as a thought leader in public policy, community finance, and cooperative development. A recognized leader in the cooperative movement, John chairs the Cooperative Development Foundation and serves on several national boards. His contributions have earned him major honors, including the Stanley W. Dreyer Spirit of Cooperation Award (2019) and recognition as one of ImpactAlpha’s Agents of Impact (2022). 🎧 Listen now to hear John’s perspectives on building financial systems that strengthen communities and expand opportunities through cooperation.

July 3, 2025 Dr. Andre M. Perry, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and director of the Center for Community Uplift, shares his insights on how community-led approaches can drive investment into historically underfunded neighborhoods. Dr. Andre M. Perry is a nationally known and respected commentator on race, structural inequality, and education. Perry is the author of the book “Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It,” published by Henry Holt. In 2020, Brooking Press published Perry’s previous book, “Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities.” Perry's 2018 Brookings report on the devaluation of assets in Black neighborhoods brought national attention to systemic undervaluation of homes and extended this research to other community assets like schools and businesses. Perry is a regular contributor to MSNBC and has been published by numerous national media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Bloomberg CityLab, and CNN.com. Perry has also made appearances on HBO, CNN, PBS, National Public Radio, NBC, and ABC, and advises policymakers on economic equity. In relation to cooperative development, Perry advocates for community-based solutions such as community land trusts and cooperative investment models. These approaches align with his broader goals of stabilizing neighborhoods, redirecting capital into underinvested communities, and promoting long-term economic empowerment for Black Americans. A native of Pittsburgh, Perry earned his Ph.D. in education policy and leadership from the University of Maryland, College Park.

March 27, 2025 Everything Co-op continues its Women’s History Month series centering on the theme “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations,” set by the National Women’s History Alliance. This episode features Renee Hatcher, Professor and Director of the Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic at UIC Law. Vernon and Renee discuss the vital role of solidarity economy and cooperatives at this moment in history. Renee Hatcher is a human rights and cooperative lawyer and solidarity economy organizer. She is currently a Visiting Associate Professor of Clinical Law at GW Law School in DC. She serves as the Director of the Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic at UIC Law in Chicago, a pro bono legal clinic that provides free legal support to community-based businesses, non-profits, cooperatives, and other solidarity economy enterprises. Recently, Renee served as the Co-Director of Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem at CUPPA’s Center on Urban Economic Development (CUED). Renee has significant experience organizing and providing legal support to worker cooperatives and community-based initiatives to empower workers and community residents. Her work and research focus on legal and non-legal strategies to build power in Black, low-income neighborhoods and other communities of color rooted in solidarity economy organizing and theory. In 2022, the city of Chicago allocated $15 million dollars to support the cooperative ecosystem, including a substantial grant to UIC, as the “hub” organization, to conduct research and convene the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem. Renee co-directs the “hub” with her close colleague, Associate Professor Stacey Sutton. Most recently, Renee served on Mayor Johnson’s Transition Committee on Economic Vitality and Equity. This appointment has been a part of Renee’s long-standing efforts to advance cooperative development in Chicago to improve the lives of Black, brown, and poor communities.

March 13. 2025 - Everything Co-op continues its Women’s History Month series with the theme “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations,” set by the National Women’s History Alliance. This episode features cooperative advocates Stacey Sutton Ph.D., Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, and Assata Richards, founding director of the Sankofa Research Institute. Stacey and Assata discuss the necessary components for building a solidarity economy and share their research findings related to social/economic justice Stacey Sutton Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy. She co-directs the Solidarity Economy Research, Policy & Law Project, which serves as the hub for the City of Chicago’s Community Wealth Building Ecosystem. This initiative aims to promote local, democratic, and shared ownership of community assets to create more sustainable and just economies. Her research focuses on solidarity economy, economic democracy, and racial equity. Stacey Sutton Ph.D. is also a Board member of the New Economy Coalition, a Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, and a Senior Researcher with the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network. She is currently working on a book titled "Real Black Utopias," which explores Black-centered worker cooperatives and solidarity economy ecosystems in various US cities. Stacey Sutton Ph.D. holds a BA from Loyola University, an MBA from New York University, an MS from The New School for Social Research, and a joint Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Sociology from Rutgers University. Her extensive involvement in various organizations underscores her commitment to social justice and economic democracy. Assata is the founding director of the Sankofa Research Institute (SRI), a nonprofit with a mission to “create knowledge to build community” through community-based participatory research. In addition, as a public sociologist, Assata serves as the Board President of the newly formed Houston Community Land Trust, the Third Ward Cooperative Community Builders, and the Emancipation Economic Development Council. Most recently, she was elected as the founding board president of the Community Care Cooperative, Houston’s first home care agency owned by caregivers and the nation’s first community health workers’ cooperative business. Lastly, she is a founding member of We Are The Ones, a cooperative working to build a “Black Solidarity Economy,” enabling community members to define what success is for them and hold accountable institutions that claim to act on their behalf and develop economic enterprises that fairly compensate workers and build community wealth.

February 27, 2025 - This episode marks the conclusion of Everything Co-op's Black History Month series, focusing on the 2025 theme set by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH): "African Americans and Labor." This theme examines how different forms of labor—free and unfree, skilled and unskilled, vocational and voluntary—have shaped Black experiences throughout history. Vernon Oakes continues this discussion alongside three leaders from VOLTS (Village of Leaders Thriving in Solidarity): Camille Kerr, co-founder of Upside-Down Consulting, Edrinna Bryant, co-owner of ChiFresh Kitchen and Jumpstart Housing Cooperative, and Sharon Hopkins, co-owner of 6ix-cess Foods. VOLTS is a newly formed non-profit that builds on years of cooperative development work to create lasting economic justice for formerly incarcerated individuals, particularly Black women. By formalizing and expanding its model, VOLTS provides the structure and support needed to scale worker-owned businesses and cooperative housing initiatives. Through this ecosystem, it creates pathways for dignified employment, stable housing, and community wealth-building, ensuring that those most impacted by incarceration have ownership and decision-making power in the businesses and homes they create. Its ecosystem includes: ChiFresh Kitchen, a worker cooperative offering institutional meal services, Jumpstart Housing Cooperative, which provides affordable homeownership opportunities, and 6ix-cess Foods, an emerging worker-owned food manufacturing business. Through these initiatives, VOLTS demonstrates how cooperative ownership can drive long-term economic security, self-determination, and systemic change in Chicago.