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Governance

BOARD OF TRUSTEES and STAFF

MARILYN SCHOLL, Board President, Putney, Vermont. A 2018 Co-op Hall of Fame inductee, Marilyn has managed CDS Consulting Coop (and its predecessor) since 2000. In addition, she has provided consulting services to numerous food co-ps since 1996 specializing in cooperative governance. She is former food coop General Manager at two coops (Wheatsville and Gordon Park) and worked for 9 years at the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives where she helped organize CCMA. Marilyn has a Master's degree in adult education from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

BONNIE HUDSPETH, Board Vice President, Putney, Vermont. Bonnie is Membership & Outreach Manager for the Neighboring Food Cooperative Association (NFCA), a network of more than 30 food coops and start-up initiatives with a combined membership of over 90,000 people across Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  Prior to joining the NFCA, Bonnie served as Project Manager for the Monadnock Food Coop, creating the founding organizational structure and overseeing pre-operational development and fundraising to create a cooperatively owned grocery store in Keene, NH.  She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont, and Masters in Sustainable Community Development from Antioch University New England. Bonnie has been a board member since 2015 and serves on the governance committee.

ANDREW DANFORTH, Board Treasurer, Foxborough, MA. Andy is a financial consultant, specializing in social enterprise, cooperatives, alt energy and affordable housing. He has almost 40 years of diverse experience in real estate, lending, finance, M&A, and IT. He was founding Director of the Cooperative Development Institute’s NEROC Program, which assists manufactured housing cooperatives in the purchase and operation of their communities. He is co-founder and Managing Director of Circinus Group, which is a portfolio social lender and commercial conduit and provides financial and systemic consulting services to the international residential finance community. During his career, he has been an executive of two public companies, worked with 12 of the 20 largest US banks and Wall Street brokerages, served as a Liquidating Officer of the FDIC, and has assisted local lenders, government agencies, Indian tribes and regional non-profits. Internationally, he has worked on projects in Canada, Australia, the UK, and in several South Asian countries. Andy is a CPA and has been a board member since 2003.

MATTHEW FEINSTEIN, Board Clerk, Grafton, Massachusetts (Nipmuc territory). Matt is the Co-op Clinic Program Manager with the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and Co-Director of Global Village Farms, a center for land-based education, farming and co-op development. He is of ashkenazi jewish and european ancestry and is based in Central Massachusetts. For over ten years he was the co-director of Worcester Roots, a grassroots co-op organizing group that focuses on urban worker cooperatives with a social justice lens. He is also co-founder of Stone Soup Community Center. Matt is passionate about social and environmental justice organizing, worker cooperatives and supporting youth to become agents of change. Using documentary film as a tool for connecting social movements worldwide, Matt speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese and French and has collaborated on film projects with groups in Argentina, Brazil and Worcester, MA. Matt joined the Fund board in 2013 and serves on the Racial Equity and Governance Committees.

CLARK ARRINGTON, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clark R. Arrington is an experienced attorney and educator who has supported socially responsible businesses around the world, currently serving as legal counsel for The Working World. Clark has taught and practiced Business Law in Tanzania and Tunisia. A 2021 Co-op Hall of Fame inductee, Clark served as Chair, General Counsel and Capital Coordinator of Equal Exchange and in addition to the Cooperative Fund of New England has served on the boards of the ICA Group, and the Social Venture Network.

ALFRED "DUKE" BOUCHARD, Albany, NY. Duke is the CFO at River Valley Food Cooperative, Northampton, MA. From 2002-2016 he was employed by Honest Weight Food Cooperative in Albany, NY, first in the role of Assistant Financial Manager and then as Chief Financial Officer & Co-General Manager. In 2013, the Albany Business Review named Duke “CFO of the Year.” He is an active participant in the National Coop Grocers Association, working on the Risk Management committee to review financial performance and proposed expansion projects for NCG member cooperatives. He has a B.S. in Finance from Siena College in Loudonville, NY.

AMETHYST CAREY, Jamaica Plain, MA. Amethyst is a Boston based co-op advocate, organizer and solidarity economy practitioner. As the Co-Op Organizer for Center for Economic Democracy (CED), Amethyst coordinates the Coalition for Worker Ownership and Power (COWOP), a multi-stakeholder racial and economic justice initiative advancing policies, financing and technical assistance to grow worker ownership across the state. Before joining CED, Amethyst served as an Associate and Consultant for Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative's nationally recognized Community Land Trust, Dudley Neighbors Inc., where she supported resident and community engagement. Amethyst is a Board Member for CoFED, a national nonprofit supporting young Queer and Trans people of color in the practice of cooperative economics and values through food and land. She is an avid gardener, music lover, and is passionate about envisioning new futures with the poor and working class Black communities that raised her.

SUSAN ELLIS, Spruce Head, Maine. Susy served on the CFNE board from 1982 to 1996 and served for many years as the Board President. She returned to the CFNE board in 2012. She provides accounting and management services to small businesses across Maine. Management services include personnel, business planning and financial analysis. She also provides Coast Guard documentation for commercial fishermen and yachtsmen throughout New England. Susy was formerly President of the Federation of Coops and was co-author of "A Comparative Financial Analysis of Maine Coop Stores". She has a BA from St. Lawrence University, is a member of Good Tern Coop in Rockland which she managed for eight years. Susy serves as chair of the CFNE loan committee.

JONAH FERTIG-BURD, Durham, Maine. Jonah Fertig-Burd joined the Sewall Foundation in 2020 as a Community Partner providing leadership for Food Systems Programs. Over the past 18 years, Jonah has built deep, collaborative relationships; developed new nonprofits, cooperative businesses, and collaboratives; worked in restaurants, food pantries, and farms; advocated for food and farm policies; and helped to grow racial equity in the food system. During the past 6 years at the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), Jonah worked with farmers, fishers, cooks and food producers to form cooperatives, particularly New American farmers in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine and the Northeast. He helped start New Roots Cooperative Farm, Maine’s first New American owned co-op, and Maine Farm & Sea Cooperative, the first multi-stakeholder foodservice co-op in the country. Jonah has consulted with co-ops in Maine and across the region, assisting them in developing democratic governance and management, business plans, raising funds, and more. Prior to CDI, he co-founded Local Sprouts Cooperative, a worker-owned cafe and catering business. He’s also on the board of Land in Common Community Land Trust. He was a 2018 BALLE Local Economy Fellow, 2016 Democracy at Work Institute Worker Cooperative Developer Fellow, Food Solutions New England Network Leadership Institute graduate and Sustainable Food System Leadership Institute graduate. He loves to cook, make art, play music and walk in the woods. He is also a farmer and co-owner of Celebration Tree Farm & Wellness Center a multi-stakeholder cooperative in Durham, Maine, where he lives with his wife and two children.

KIMBERLY R. LYLE, Roxbury, MA. Kimberly R. Lyle is the Director of Strategy and Development at Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation. She leads strategic initiatives and planning, resource development, and communications. Prior to her work in community development, Kimberly worked in several capacities in financial services, tech, and higher education. Perpetually curious about humanity and human societies, Kimberly received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Rutgers University, and she completed graduate coursework in social anthropology at Harvard University. A proud native of the Roxbury neighborhood in Boston, Kimberly is committed to building collective power in her community. She previously served on the board of the Roxbury Neighborhood Council and is active in other advocacy efforts. Kimberly also serves on the board of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC).

JON RESKE, West Springfield, Massachusetts. For the last 20 years Jon has been a senior manager and Vice President of Marketing at the UMass Five College Credit Union, which has 34,670 coop members and assets of $412 million. He has skills in marketing and strategic planning. Jon has a B.S. in Business Administration from American International College and an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

DANIEL ROSS, Holyoke, Massachusetts. As CEO and principal of DAISA Enterprises LLC, Daniel specializes in supporting development of sustainable and equitable food & environmental enterprises, working with entrepreneurs to strengthen strategies and access capital, as well as the mission-driven investors and funders wanting to maximize their impact.  He is co-founder and Director of eKutir Global, scaling cutting-edge mobile technology proven to increase yields and sustainability for 60,000 smallholder farmers India to partners worldwide.  Daniel is Visiting Assistant Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Hampshire College and as Chief Operating Officer at Wholesome Wave he launched the Investments program, connecting “food hubs” with impact investment capital, developed new collaborations and strategies to support the scaling of the Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program into the health system. Daniel was Executive Director of Nuestras Raíces, a grass-roots organization to promote economic, human and community development in Holyoke, Massachusetts through projects relating to food, agriculture and the environment. He has helped community members start over a dozen small food and agriculture businesses, launched Energía worker and NGO-owned energy-efficiency services company employing formerly incarcerated young people. He holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, MIT Sloan Fellow for Innovation and Global Leadership, MIT Legatum Fellow for Development and Entrepreneurship.  

LUCAS TURNER-OWENS, Boston, MA. Lucas Turner-Owens is the founding partner of The Sankofa Group, where he specializes in supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs and impact investors interested in social and environmental equity.  Previously, he served as the Fund Manager for the Boston Ujima Project where he was responsible for launching the fund, raising capital, underwriting investments, and providing technical assistance to entrepreneurs. Prior to joining Ujima, Lucas worked as an Economic Policy Analyst for Operation HOPE, a nonprofit focused on consumer financial education; a Loan Officer for Cooperation DC, providing technical assistance and loan packaging for women-of-color-led worker-owned co-operatives; and a Senior Analyst at Next Street Financial, supporting clients making impact investments and strategic growth decisions. Lucas holds a BA from Wesleyan University and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at the Georgetown McDonough School of Business.

ADVISORS

REBECCA DUNN, Wilmington, North Carolina. Rebecca served as CFNE's Executive Director from March 1986 until February, 2019. She has extensive experience as a business consultant and as a commercial bank loan officer for Barclays American. She was formerly a bank examiner for the State of Connecticut. Rebecca has also worked as a consensus process trainer and nonprofit advisor to many groups. These include her local food coop, an urban grocery store project, a symphony orchestra, an artist collective, and Dance New England. She has served on the boards of the Cooperative Development Foundation, Opportunity Finance Network, Temple of Israel, the Wilmington YWCA, New Hanover County Human Relations Commission, WHQR public radio, and Tidal Creek Food Coop. She has a BA in economics from Trinity College and an MBA in finance. In 2013 Rebecca was inducted into the National Cooperative Business Hall of Fame. Rebecca sits on the Cooperative Fund's Board of Trustees.

DANIEL FIRESIDE, Somerville, Massachusetts. Daniel is the Capital Coordinator at Equal Exchange, a worker-owned Fair Trade food and beverage company in West Bridgewater, MA. Daniel is in charge of managing relationships with over 600 individual and institutional investors who have collectively purchased over $16 million in preferred stock in the company. As part of this work he also facilitates the private placements of preferred stock and related compliance issues, and also works to with other cooperative based lending and financial relationships. Daniel is a board member of Namaste Solar, a worker-owned solar power company in Boulder, CO, and frequently advises other cooperative enterprises. He is a co-founder and co-director of VertoTrack, an investor relations database company. He earned a B.A. from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University.

LINDA GALLAGHER, Manchester, New Hampshire. Linda Gallagher started her 30 year career in lending in Canada in the late 1970’s. She has analyzed, underwritten, structured, and managed portfolios of real estate, business, community facilities, cooperatives, and affordable housing loans.  For the last decade, Linda’s consulting practice focused on teaching, evaluation and advisory work, servicing an impressive client list including the CDFI Fund, Southern New Hampshire University, Opportunity Finance Network, Calvert Social Foundation, ROC USA, and NeighborWorks America. Linda is now employed as a Sr Manager of Assessments at NeighborWorks America, Organizational Assessment Division, based in Boston.

CORY GREENBERG, Shutesbury, Massachusetts. Cory has been advising businesses and non-profits on financial, management, planning, real estate and negotiating for over 30 years.  During this time he has been active in business and non-profits as an owner, managing partner, investor, chief financial officer, treasurer and board member.  Cory is Treasurer and board member of Ten Directions, Inc. and is on the advisory board of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society. He has been CFO at a publicly traded company as well as a financial manager of a worker cooperative, and is a graduate of Hampshire College.  Cory is the chairperson and a founding board member of the Cooperative Capital Fund.

MARY HOYER, Amherst, MA. Mary is a former CFNE board member and staffer.  She currently serves on CFNE’s Racial Equity Committee.  She is a member of the executive committee of the UnionCo-ops Council of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops, the treasurer of the Wellspring Co-op Corporation board, and a member of the Wellspring Labor Committee.  She is a community, labor, and co-op organizer, and holds degrees from Occidental College, University of Kentucky, and University of Massachusetts Amherst.

D. MAURICE ("Don") KREIS, Concord, New Hampshire. Don is the head of New Hampshire's Office of the Consumer Advocate, which represents the interests of residential utility customers at the state public utilities commission and elsewhere. He has been active in cooperatives since 2003 as a longtime board member at the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society and as an attorney with expertise in the law of cooperatives.

GLEN OHLUND, Montague, Massachusetts. Glen is the Director of Community Development at the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority. He oversees their CDBG Program and also coordinates development of affordable housing for the organization. His prior work experience as Community Development Manager for TD Bank involved sourcing and negotiating community development loans. From 2008-2011 he served as Northeast Loan and Outreach Officer for the Cooperative Fund of New England. He has 25 years of experience providing real estate, business, community revitalization, planning. and financing solutions for public, private, and non-profit entities. To stay in touch with his inner-child, Glen loves fly fishing and cycling. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development, both obtained at Southern NH University. Currently, Glen serves on the loan committee.

PHEBE QUATTRUCCI, South Freeport, Maine. Phebe began her career in banking and has 22 years' experience working with and for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and mission-based organizations throughout the country. She is the principal of Quattrucci & Company, a consulting practice that specializes in developing and implementing comprehensive, multi-faceted capitalization strategies for CDFIs and other mission-based organizations. Quattrucci & Company also provides strategic and operational planning, market studies, and Board development services to its clients. Phebe is a successful grant writer and is nationally recognized for her work with Native American CDFIs. She worked as an Outreach Coordinator for CFNE for four years and served on the board for three years. She earned her B.A. from Middlebury College. She serves on the development committee.

LIONEL ROMAIN, Florence, Massachusetts. Board Clerk. Lionel served on the board from 2013 to 2016. He works for Community Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) and has substantial experience in commercial banking and community development. He has worked as a banker and for Local Initiative Support Corp (LISC) and the Institute for Community Economics (ICE).

MARC REICH, Avon, Connecticut. Marc is President of Ironwood Capital  a private equity firm with over $500 million of capital under management which invests in middle market companies throughout the eastern half of the U.S. with a particular focus on businesses owned by women and people of color and businesses located in low- and moderate-income areas.  He has 15 years of investment banking experience and was a private placement lender with Aetna for five years. He started his career as a bank examiner with the FDIC.  He is a long time food coop member. He holds a B.A. from UCLA and an M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut.

L.J. TAYLOR, Orange, Virginia. L.J. is a worker-owner at Equal Exchange, in West Bridgewater, MA, a worker-owned cooperative marketing fairly traded coffee, tea and chocolate from small farmer coops. He has worked at Weaver Street Coop in Chapel Hill, NC.He currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors at Equal Exchange. L.J. helped in the formation of the Independents Coffee Cooperative in Philadelphia, which consists of café owners who support Fair Trade. He has a BA in mathematics from the University of Virginia where he specialized in business development and raised funds through the UVA Development Office.           

TIM WINGATE, Ludlow, Vermont. Tim is the CFV (Chief Financial Visionary) at Hunger Mountain Cooperative, a natural food grocery and deli consumer coop in the state capital of Montpelier.  He has been with The Coop for 14 years (1 as General Manager) managing  the financial operations through two major expansions, growing from a small 3,000 square foot store with less than $2 million in sale and 30 employees,  to its current size of 20,000 sq. ft., $20+million in sales and 170 employees.  Prior positions include a four and half year stint in public accounting with a focus on tax and non-profit audits, associate director of a ski trade association and ten years of management experience in the alpine ski industry.  Tim is a CPA with a CGMA designation and holds a BA from the University of Maine at Machias and an M.B.A. from Plymouth State University.  He is a member of the AICPA; the Vermont Society of CPA’s serving on their CPE task force, the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives and past director of United Way of Windsor County and former treasurer of the Cooperative Fund of New England.

CFNE BYLAWS

CFNE's most recent bylaws can be found here.