Rodney North, Host of the “Why Worker Co-ops” Podcast
Rodney North is host of the “Why Worker Co-ops” podcast who served for 20 years at the award-winning worker cooperative Equal Exchange. At Equal Exchange Rodney served in leadership positions including board vice chair and worker owner coordinator. He has also served as advisor to worker cooperatives including Namasté Solar, Planet Bean (Canada), and La Siembra (Canada).
He is a frequent speaker on worker cooperatives at colleges at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and has spoken for example to classes at Yale University, Cornell University, Mary Washington University, George Washington University, Babson College, and Boston University.
He often speaks about the benefits of worker cooperatives to employees, businesses, and communities; misconceptions about worker cooperatives; and how workplace democracy can lead to more successful, resilient businesses.
Speaking Topics Include
- Economics of worker co-ops
- Building and sustaining an ownership culture
- Benefits of worker co-ops to the worker, to the firm, to the community
- Management styles among worker cooperatives
- How worker cooperatives can raise capital and remain independent
- How worker cooperatives can scale
- Finance
- Strategy
- Human resources
- Introduction to business
- Entrepreneurship
- Organizational behavior
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