Co-Founders & Advisors

Co-Founders of 1worker1vote

Kristen Barker

Passionate union worker co-op catalyst, mother, community organizer; co-founder of CoopCincy

Christopher Cooper

Committed to empowering people by helping to create economic opportunity; program coordinator at the Ohio Employee Ownership Center

William Generett Jr.

Working to make sure that all communities are connected to the new economy; founding CEO of Urban Innovation21 and now Vice President for Community Engagement, Duquesne University.

Carmen Huertas-Noble

Professor of Law at CUNY Law School; founding executive director for the CUNY LAW Community Economic Development Clinic (CEDC), recipient of the 2020 U.S. Cooperative Community Hall of Fame award

Michael Peck

Executive Director of 1worker1vote, co-founder of The Virtuous Cycle Collaboratory (tvc2) –  a MBE worker cooperative  & social enterprise whose mission is to flatten the curves” with virtuous cycles, former International Delegate (USA) for the Mondragón Co-operative Corporation (1999 –2019), board secretary for the American Sustainable Business Network, and Blue Green Alliance corporate advisory board member

Missy Risser

Public interest attorney committed to social, racial, and economic justice; attorney with the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project, now Professor of Law at CUNY Law School and affiliated with the CUNY LAW Community Economic Development Clinic (CEDC)

Elizabeth Sholes

Union co-op catalyst organizing California progressive faith communities, labor, immigrant groups, and communities of color

Amber Taylor

Communications expert for nonprofits and socially responsible businesses.

Ellen Vera

Co-founder of Coop Cincy and former National Manufacturing Organizing Coordinator for the  IUE-CWA

Rob Witherell

Developer of the union co-op model and union organizer, United Steelworkers

Advisory Board of 1worker1vote

Former International President, United Steelworkers (USW)

International President, United Steelworkers (USW)

Former International President, United Autoworkers (UAW)

Former International Machinists (IAM) Pension Fund executive director

Founder and former CEO, Freelancers Union

Deputy Research Director,  Service Employees International Nurses Union (SEIU-UHW)

Executive Director, Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance

Founder and President, Regionerate

National Vice President for Telecommunications & Technologies, Communications Workers of America (CWA)

Former Chair, Democratic National Committee (DNC)