In October, the City of Saint Paul, Nexus Community Partners, Project Equity, and Living Cities convened local leaders from cooperatives, government, nonprofits, and philanthropy, alongside national partners, for the Saint Paul Shared Ownership Equity Summit. The day was filled with panels, networking, a workshop, and a rousing conversation between Mayor Melvin Carter and Living Cities’ President Joe Scantlebury. Cooperators shared their highs and lows when starting their co-ops and advice for future cooperators and developers. Funders shared how they’ve adapted to the co-op sector and challenged the status quo. After years of primarily online conversations, it was invigorating to be in space with so many talented and dedicated professionals working hard to realize Saint Paul as the co-op capital of the world!
Diana Siegel-Garcia, our program manager for the Shared Ownership Center @ Nexus, reflects, “Changing the face of ownership, to me, means supporting more worker-owners of cooperatives that are community grounded and invested in local ownership. It’s moving toward repairing the harm of centuries of exploitation of Black and Brown bodies by removing barriers and meeting people where they’re at in their cooperative journey. By developing cooperatives, I hope to empower my neighbors and community partners in realizing an interdependent, collaborative, and dignified quality of life. My dream is for there to be a rich, woven network of cooperatives across Minnesota and beyond, but first it starts with building partnerships locally.”
Watch a highlight reel of the summit below!
Want to see more? Watch session recordings and see opening and closing remarks in the City of Saint Paul’s YouTube playlist!