NASCO Board of Directors’ Candidate Statements
Molly Breslin
Nominated by Cooperative Roots
Part I: Personal Data & Statement
I’m running for a position on the NASCO board of directors because I believe in co-ops, nonprofit organization, self-reliance, and sustainability. I also think that the interactions between student and non-student elements of the cooperative movement are important, and I would like to see them continue as NASCO builds its diverse membership. Lastly, I think it’s important that large and small members alike have representation on the board—and I have had experience with both.
I lived in the University Students Cooperative Association (USCA) in Berkeley, CA, for 5 years. During that time, I was elected as house president and kitchen manager (3 years total) and was employed at the central kitchen/warehouse for 3 years. I helped with alumni fundraising events, sat on the scholarship committee, instigated the creation of new positions, and wrote proposals for consideration by the USCA board. After graduation, I became involved in a new co-op, the Cooperative Roots, also in Berkeley, where I lived for 6 months. There, I helped build a co-op, both physically and ideologically--working on construction, incorporation, and set-up of all our cooperative living systems. I have attended the NASCO Institute three times, twice as an instructor.
Part II: Questions
1)Are you able to contribute to the organization outside Board meetings? Of the items listed in requirements of NASCO Directors, in what areas do you think you can best aid NASCO in its mission?
2)What is your long-term vision of NASCO? Where do you see NASCO in 10 years? What is important for NASCO's long-term success?
3)Why are you involved in campus co-ops?
4)How would you prioritize NASCO’s services and why? i.e. which services are most useful, which are least effective, etc.
I first got involved with the USCA because I was hungry. I lived in a small apartment, far from the grocery store, and my roommate and I didn’t ever seem to buy food. When I started boarding at the co-op down the street, the dinners came with conversation, social events, new friends, and a window into a new, better (and better-tasting) way of living. Eventually I moved in and was elected as the house president, in which position I recompiled the neglected constitution and bylaws. Later, my elected position as kitchen manager coincided with my work at the central kitchen/warehouse, where, in addition to crunching numbers, I was involved in projects to reduce waste and increase reuse and composting capabilities. My freedom to turn ideas for positive changes into reality in these positions always amazed me. I got more and more involved because
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I was interested in how co-ops work, and because the more I saw of them, the more I was convinced that this was a philosophy of life that I could back wholeheartedly. Co-ops are good. Living together, conserving resources, making community connections on a local level, being responsible for your own living and working environment…all of these things are good.
So, after graduation, I got involved with the new Cooperative Roots, an infant (now 18-month-old) co-op started by other USCA graduates. Because we were hungry for inspiration, direction, and organizational possibilities, five of our twelve members came to the Institute. While we opted not to ask NASCO for funding assistance, our learning at the Institute and our consultation with NASCO staff did help us decide what form our organization should take, make our meetings more effective, and avoid problems that other co-ops had faced. I have carried my USCA, Roots, and NASCO community learning on to my current workplace, a small family-owned outfitter in northern Minnesota whose unique rotating work schedule and weekly consensus-based meetings make me feel right at home.
Education has always been one of NASCO’s priorities, as it should continue to be. It is something that the organization does well, and its prowess is so established that people have come to rely on it as an educational resource. I think that linking campus co-ops to each other and to the greater co-op movement is one of the most important things that NASCO does, and that building and maintaining this connection is vital to NASCO’s survival and usefulness during the coming decade. NASCO’s role in starting co-ops as a partner with NP and CCDC is also vital, not just to the organization, but to the community and nation(s) at large.
I would not come to the board with my own set agenda and expectations. I don’t know the extent of NASCO’s activities and capabilities; I only know what I have experienced. I’m willing to build on that to create, together with other members, a long-term vision and a plan for implementing that vision. I would come to the board with the intention of serving as best I can, in any capacity that is needed. Beyond board meetings and the usual duties of a director, I am available and more than happy to do member visits, member and internship recruitment, fundraising, and help with the publication of the newsletter.
Guy Brown
Nominated by Rochester Co-op
Part I: Personal Data & Statement
I have been actively involved with o-ops for the past five years. Following is a list of co-operative involvement during this time. Housing Co-operatives: Keep Cottage ’00-’01 Oberlin, Black Elk Co-operative ’03-’04 Ann Arbor, Fuller Co-operative ’04-’05 Oberlin. Board Only:
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Keep Cottage ’01-’03 Oberlin, Bike Co-op ’00-’03 and ’04-’05, head mechanic, Oberlin, Good
Foods Co-op ’00-’03, member, Oberlin, OSCA Food Safety Coordinator ’04-’05, Oberlin, OSCA Properties, Treasurer ’04-’05, Oberlin. I became actively involved with co-ops in Oberlin, because of its democratic member control. I attended three NASCO Institutes and became very inspired by co-operative models and their ability to offer alternatives to out current cultural system. I moved to Ann Arbor after college to live and be in a co-op. After a year, I took a job back in Oberlin now working for the co-ops to ensure their food safety and compliance with Health Code. I decided to get more involved and began volunteering for OSCA Properties as Treasurer. This non=profit uses co-operative models to provide low-income housing for the Oberlin Community. I am running for this position because I want to be even more involved with the co-op movement. I want to be a part of a team, to further advance the co-op movement on college campuses, in communities, and in business.
Part II: Questions
1)Are you able to contribute to the organization outside Board meetings? Of the items listed in requirements of NASCO Directors, in what areas do you think you can best aid NASCO in its mission?
2)What is your long-term vision of NASCO? Where do you see NASCO in 10 years? What is important for NASCO's long-term success?
3)Why are you involved in campus co-ops?
4)How would you prioritize NASCO’s services and why? i.e. which services are most useful, which are least effective, etc.
- I am currently involved in several co-op organizations, but I see very little possible time conflicts. Most of the co-ops I am involved with rotate around a semester schedule, so during the summer especially I will be very willing and able to do work outside of the Board meetings. As Treasurer and Board members of OSCA Properties, I am quite comfortable with duties such as budget/cash & funds analysis and propriety setting. I could definitely contribute to write for Co-op Voices and with teaching a course at Institute. I can definitely contribute to meeting with other co-ops in the region and keeping in touch with NASCO’s membership. With the experience I have gained as a Treasurer of a non-profit, I feel I can best contribute to ensuring NASCO’s financial stability.
- My long term vision of NASCO s for it to more efficiently serve its members at low cost and to expand its vision to some how develop the capacity and staff to have more interaction with the co-ops in Central America. I believe that NASCO could develop its staff and resources to better assist non-English speaking regions where there are active and thriving co-ops. In ten years, I would like to see NASCO improve on dues system and on issues of inclusiveness. I would like to see more development of co-op housing in low-income areas where housing co-ops make economical sense. I believe that for NASCO to properly function in the long term it needs to be dynamic and fluid to still meet the needs of a diverse and ever-changing membership.
- I believe hat co-ops provide an alternative solution to our current social and economic system. In an academic environment, where new and intellectually stimulating ideas are being developed everyday, campus co-ops provide people with the opportunity to live their lives by the ethics of their minds. This is why I became involved with campus co-ops in the first place, mainly because the idea of being in control of my living situation appealed to me. I have continued to be involved with co-ops for so long because of the direct economical services to traditionally marginalized groups. OSCA and OSCA Properties do work to provide low-interest loans to groups who could otherwise not obtain capital. In short I am still involved with co-ops because I believe they make the most sense to actively create alternatives to the social, economic, and cultural structures of our current way of life.
- Institute is a very vital resource that provides networks, workshops, participation in NASCO, and is essential for providing co-ops with inspiration. I believe that the training and consulting services that NASCO provides can be very instrumental in helping co-ops develop into stable institutions. The internship network is also a very important aspect of NASCO because of its ability to connect ideals with real life job opportunities and to further help to build momentum for the co-operative movement and for their own resumes. NASCO Properties provides a great resource to developing co-ops and for those whom capital and traditional funding can be difficult to obtain for the purposes of purchasing property. These four services I would argue are some of NASCO’s most crucial. I generally see a lack of enthusiasm among my housemates for Co-op Voices. However, I do believe that this newsletter provides an excellent source for co-op news and a link to the broader co-op movement.
Ann Chrapkiewicz
Nominated by Inter-Cooperative Council Ann Arbor
Part I: Personal Data & Statement
I have been formally involved with cooperatives since May of 2003, when I moved into Black Elk (member house of ICC-Ann Arbor) and joined the People’s Food Coop as an employee and member. Since then, I have served in a variety of capacities in the ICC at both the house level (including House Mediator, Treasurer, and Food Steward) and board level (including work on the Education Committee). In April of 2004, I attended the National Cooperative Business Association’s leadership training seminar (held in Washington, D.C.), and I made connections with people involved in a huge range of economic, residential, social, and services-oriented cooperative organizations that are working to build communities that truly serve their members (and, often, a larger portion of the world!). In addition to my enthusiasm for co-ops, I have many years of experience as a group facilitator and youth coordinator with Hugh O’Brian Youth
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Leadership (HOBY) on the national and state levels, and as a dormitory president and resident
advisor at Duke University. I am running for the NASCO Board in order to deepen and broaden my understanding of cooperative systems, with the ultimate hope of sharing this education with youth and local communities over the long term.
Part II: Questions
1)Are you able to contribute to the organization outside Board meetings? Of the items listed in requirements of NASCO Directors, in what areas do you think you can best aid NASCO in its mission?
2)What is your long-term vision of NASCO? Where do you see NASCO in 10 years? What is important for NASCO's long-term success?
3)Why are you involved in campus co-ops?
4)How would you prioritize NASCO’s services and why? i.e. which services are most useful, which are least effective, etc.
I think that some of my most important work for NASCO will actually occur outside of the Board meetings. In general, I would like my work to focus on communication and education. My personal experience in campus co-ops has been overwhelmingly positive and educational, and I sense that there are countless students and community members in the U.S. and Canada who could benefit from cooperative experiences if they were aware of them.
I recently have been sharing some of the basics of cooperative living with my 76-year-old grandfather; it’s been surprising (and exciting) to hear his responses of support and curiosity, not to mention his continued interest in my living situation. I tell this story to point out the potential I see for continuing to spread cooperative ideas and share cooperative models in the media and other forms of public discussion. I am interested in writing articles for Co-op Voices, but I would also like to write articles for local papers and national publications that describe some of the basics and benefits of co-op life. Spreading the word about ‘alternative’ economic situations seems particularly relevant and necessary in a time when economic and social situations appear to be continually disjointed, competitive, and, often, dare I say, uncooperative. I envision a sharing of co-op experiences with communities not at all limited to university students, and as a NASCO Board member, I would work to gather ideas and organize efforts that would increase links among campus cooperative organizations and the rest of the world. These efforts are at once education- and recruitment-oriented, serving not only NASCO and its members, but also, hopefully, groups and individuals yet to be identified.
In the upcoming year, I hope to be living at a small (non-ICC) cooperative house (Heiwa House) in Ann Arbor, and I foresee that this experience will help me understand some of the realities of a less transient and more community-based cooperative living situation. My long-term vision of NASCO is an organization that attracts people of many walks of life, and that maintains the interest of its alumni. These individuals, who continue (in any number of ways) to support co-ops long after their student days, may be very important to NASCO’s long-term success. I hope to learn about and initiate ways to build and rebuild these connections, so that a
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decade from now, co-ops proliferate and thrive to an unprecedented extent. (theoretical note: this might sound like growth-based economics, but hopefully you will take it as something whose outcomes are potentially very much its opposite—more reasonable use of resources & land, in my opinion, and emphasis on social and cultural tolerance over isolated collections of wealth.)
As far as NASCO’s services go, I would prioritize the following things as equally important: NASCO Institute, Training, Networking, National Systems for Property Ownership, and Development Assistance. I have had the opportunity to visit and work with some of the NASCO Properties co-ops (including Nickel City, in Buffalo, NY) recently, and this experience in particular has led me to believe that awareness of the larger co-op movement, as well as training and support on a regular basis, can be very powerful and positive when new groups are forming. One area of services whose effectiveness I have not seen in the past two years is Co-op Voices and other publicity efforts. I would like to prioritize both an increased level of media presence outside of co-op circles (perhaps by soliciting articles and photos from members) as well as an intensified, year-round focus on education and sharing among NASCO members themselves.
Paul Dabney
Nominated by Inter-Cooperative Council Austin
Part I: Personal Data & Statement
My name is Paul Dabney. I study Spanish and Mexican-American Studies at UT Austin. I have lived in Avalon and Eden Coops where I have served as education and membership officers and as board representative. Groups I participated in restarted both of these communities from scratch. I also maintain friendships and working relationships with members of College Houses Coops, Sasona, Whitehall, and Austin Music Coops.
Tasha Merklein, a fellow ICCer, and I represented the Queer Caucus at the AGM and the Diversity Congress at the NASCO Institute. The caucus is currently working on NASCO’s inclusion statement to make it more queer inclusive. Outside of ICC I work at Wheatsville Food Coop, volunteer at the Women’s Resource Center (UT Austin) and participate in the Gender and Sexuality Center’s advisory and working group. I recently introduced a modified version of consensus to the advisory and working group which we adopted. I learned this model of consensus here at Avalon and then saw an opportunity to introduce it outside of the cooperative movement.