Preserving Main Street & Small Businesses

Preserving Main Street & Small Businesses
RMEOC
January 3, 2017

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HALF DAY WORKSHOP & Convening: PRESERVING MAIN STREET & SMALL BUSINESSES

Join Democracy at Work Institute, Denver’s Office of Economic Development, and the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center for a convening to learn how employee ownership can be used for succession planning, economic development, and community development.

Calling all estate planners, community developers, financial consultants, CPAs, corporate attorneys, small business owners! Spend the morning learning how to help businesses convert to employee owned. This is a suggested prerequisite to our April PreConference sessions.

Register here

GUEST PRESENTERS

Camille Kerr, Associate Director
Camille joined the ICA Group as its Associate Director in June of 2016. She is a lawyer, business consultant, speaker, writer, and advocate for the various forms of employee ownership.

Previously, she worked at the Democracy at Work Institute, developing and directing Workers to Owners, a national collaborative aimed at scaling worker cooperatives through transitions of existing businesses to worker ownership. She has also served as the Director of Research at the National Center for Employee Ownership, launching the organization’s outreach initiative and managing its various research projects. Camille speaks frequently about employee ownership and has produced and contributed to publications on a variety of topics related to alternative ownership structures. Camille also serves as a director for Prospera, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the economic and social wellbeing of low-income women through cooperative business ownership. She earned a J.D. from the University Of Cincinnati College Of Law, where she was an Arthur Russell Morgan Fellow for Human Rights and graduated cum laude.

Shevanthi Daniel, Co-Director of Workers to Owners

Co-Director of Worker Cooperative Conversions at the Democracy at Work Institute. A National organization dedicated to building the field of worker cooperative development. She is passionate about the intersection of sustainable business and economic development. Her work spans over two decades in community and labor organizing, and strategic capacity building with nonprofits and small businesses. She is a co-founder of the O’Dell Education Center, a leadership academy in Washington State. Shevanthi also serves as the President of Board at the Center for Women and Democracy.

PANEL PARTICIPANTS

Blake Jones, Founder of Namaste Solar

Blake Jones is Co-Founder of Namaste Solar, an employee-owned cooperative and solar electric company with offices in Colorado, New York, and California. Founded in 2004, Namaste Solar is democratically owned and governed by its employees and is a certified B-Corporation. Among its business practices are a 6:1 cap for highest-to-lowest pay, donating 10% of after-tax profits to the community, and being 100% transparent with all company information (including salaries). Due to its unique business model, Namaste Solar has earned widespread recognition including a “Best Place to Work” award from Outside Magazine (2013-2016), a “Best for the World” designation from B Lab (2012-2014), a “Most Democratic Workplace” award from Worldblu (2010-2014), and a #56 ranking on the “Inc. 500” (2009). Blake is a cooperative enthusiast and is also a co-founder of the Amicus Solar Cooperative, a purchasing cooperative with 40+ member-companies, and the Clean Energy Credit Union (federal charter pending). Blake is an Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award recipient (2010) and has a BE in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University.

Jose Esparza, Executive Director, BUCU West

Jose’s work in the community is holistic and ultimately aimed at bringing together people of different backgrounds, fostering relationships and helping the owners and residents of the Morrison Road Corridor to recognize a common interest in the prosperity of Westwood.

Michael Miera, Community Development Representative, Denver’s Office of Economic Development

Michael Miera has over 33 years of community relations experience in the city of Denver. Currently, he serves as a Community Development Representative with the Denver Office of Economic Development, where he collaborates with stakeholders in select low-income neighborhoods to advance economic and neighborhood development. Working closely with nonprofit organizations serving Denver’s low-income populations, Miera assists in the acquisition of Community Development Block Grant resources. He is currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Community Wealth Building Network and is a member of the Denver Foundation’s Economic Opportunity Committee.

Breakfast and light lunch will be provided.

Cost: free for RMEOC members, suggested donation $10 for non-members (to cover breakfast and lunch)