ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many minds and many hands go into the work of building the democratic economy, without whom this book and our work would not be possible. We owe a special debt to Gar Alperovitz for his vision for The Democracy Collaborative and the next system. We’re grateful to publisher Steve Piersanti for his encouragement and for pushing our prose toward greater clarity and directness, to copyeditor Rebecca Rider for her impeccable review and fine-tuning, to Maureen Forys for an elegant interior design, and to all the Berrett- Koehler staff for being fabulous to work with. We also offer deepest gratitude to Naomi Klein and Aditya Chakrabortty for generously agreeing to grace these pages with their elegant foreword and afterword. A warm thanks from Marjorie to Sarah Stranahan, who was there assisting with research from the very start, and with checking facts at the very end; you’re a gem, Sarah, and a dear friend. Isaiah Poole made the introduction sing with his skillful, brilliant edits, and generously rescued this manuscript in many other ways. Karen Kahn’s masterful changes to the title were a godsend.

Warmest thanks to all those we visit, interview, and quote in this book, whose work is the substance of it all. At the Evergreen Cooperatives, thanks to John McMicken and Brett Jones for how they continue to grow and evolve these vital businesses modeling a democratic economy, a beacon to so many. Also hats off to our colleague Jessica Rose for her work with Brett and John on the creation of the Fund for Employee Ownership; you’re all taking Evergreen’s work to inspiring new levels. For Ted, helping in the development of Evergreen was a highlight of a lifetime, working arm in arm with India Pierce Lee, Ronn Richard, Lillian Kuri, and all the anchor leaders and the business development team, including Tracey Nichols. Special thanks, too, to Chris Brown for sharing news of his path, and to Dale Maharidge for making us aware of Chris.

Evergreen and The Democracy Collaborative itself wouldn’t haven’t happened without our former colleague Steve Dubb, whose wisdom and insights shine through every page of this book. Both of us and the whole organization are so grateful to you, Steve.

We thank all the participants in the Learning/Action Lab for giving us the kick in the pants we needed and teaching us about co- learning and co- creation. Kisses to Sarah McKinley and Jill Bamburg for leading that life- changing project, and making sure we had fun along the way. Huge thanks to Justin Huenemann and Karla Miller for setting it all in motion. We have the most profound admiration for Nick Tilsen, Karlene Hunter, Mark Tilsen, Sharice Davids, Jo White, and others we met at Thunder Valley and on Pine Ridge; we feel privileged to have walked with you. Rae Tall, Stephanie Gutierrez, and Kristen Wagner of Hope Nation, thank you for the gift of your Lakota translation and embrace of community wealth building.

We’re grateful for Tyrone Poole, Kimberly Branam, Katherine Krajnak, and other staffers of Prosper Portland who graciously took time with us to share their insights, and to review the chapter in draft form. Thanks to Erin Kesler for research and drafting assistance on this chapter and her leadership of a memorable trip to Portland. In Cleveland, many thanks to Daniel, Kim Shelnik, Staci Wampler, and Yvette Herod for welcoming Marjorie so warmly. And a shout- out to The Democracy Collaborative board member Walter Wright for his care in commenting on this chapter and his leadership of GUCI.

Our CHCA visit and research was rewarding, thanks to Adria Powell, Michael Elsas, Rick Surpin, and Peggy Powell. Warm thanks to our colleague Ronnie Galvin for his wisdom, which caps off this chapter nicely.

To our new friends at EA Engineering, Loren Jensen, Ian MacFarlane, Mike Chanov, Bill Rue, Peter Ney, Barb Roeper, and Erin Toothaker—it’s been a blast getting to know you and your incredible company. Can we come work there? Warmest thanks to our colleague Carla Santos Skandier and the funders of the Climate Breakthrough Project for leadership on the breakthrough idea of QE for the planet. Big hug to Johanna Bozuwa for taking that chapter in hand and polishing it. Special thanks to Thomas Hanna for his fast work in pinpointing accurate key statistics, which he seems to keep at the ready in his pockets every moment.

For the Preston chapter, huge admiration to the astonishing person of Matthew Brown, and warm thanks to everyone Ted has been meeting there, including John McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyn, Jules Peck, Neil McInroy, and others at CLES and the New Economics Foundation. Howard Reed of Landman Economics, you bailed us out of a tight data spot at the last minute, and Marjorie owes you a pint. For Joe Guinan, no thanks are enough for who you are, but a special tip of the hat for providing the intellectual frame for the ethical finance chapter—and for your brilliant leadership in our organization. Others for whom we are grateful include Dick May of American Working Capital and Joseph Blasi for their research and ideas on employee ownership. Also warm thanks to Sandy Wiggins, BALLE, and RSF Social Finance, Kelly Ryan of Incourage Foundation, and all the community foundation leaders Marjorie got to know at that first CF Circle.

Members of our board of trustees are deeply woven in our work, and in this book. Stephanie McHenry made one of the first loans to Evergreen. Allan Henderson helped with the title, and also pushed us to uncover what was missing in our earlier analysis. Dayna Cunningham and Tamara Copeland offered generous board training that deepened our understanding of race, which they’ll find reflected in this book. Mary Emeny, Walter Wright, and Charles McNeil have supported The Democracy Collaborative in many ways, including with thoughtful comments on this work in progress.

The work of The Democracy Collaborative wouldn’t be possible without our funders, including these individuals and foundations: Diane Ives, Diana Blank, and Dena Kimball of Kendeda; Peter and Jennifer Buffett of NoVo; Leslie Harroun of Partners for a New Economy; Phil Henderson and Shawn Escoffery of Surdna; Loren Harris and Taina McField of Nathan Cummings; Charles Rutheiser of Annie E. Casey; India Pierce Lee, Lillian Kuri, and Ronn Richard of the Cleveland Foundation; Laurie and Julie Schecter of Shift; Karla Miller of Northwest Area; David Bright and Robin Varghese of Open Society; Darryl Young of Summit; Jeanne Wardford of Kellogg; Dana Bezerra and Amy Orr of Heron; Beth Versten and Brittany Andersen of New Visions; Mariah McPherson of New Belgium Family Foundation; Amy Slonim and Paul Tarini of Robert Wood Johnson; Chris Kabel and Katie Byerly of Kresge, plus other generous organizations and individuals.

John Duda has shepherded this process in more ways than we can count, in addition to being the most productive human being on the face of the earth. Dana Brown, thanks for the great addition on public pharma, so timely, and for all your work on Next System. Hats off to Peter Gowan for important new research on Inclusive Ownership Funds. Much appreciation to Adam Simpson for help in thinking what’s next with technology and jobs in a next system. Deepest gratitude to Katrina Bukovac, who makes all our work possible, and does so with limitless grace and poise. And Rhonda Coleman, what would we do without you, lady?

We wish also to thank key people in the field with whom we have worked and from whom we have learned what we know, including Melissa Hoover, Camille Kerr, Ira Harkavy, Randy Royster, Ashleigh Gardere, Gary Cohen, Tyler Norris, Deborah Ellwood, Michelline Davis; Hilary Abell and Alison Lingane of Project Equity; Mikel Lezamiz and Ander Exteberria of Mondragon; David Korten and Fran Korten of Yes!; Thad Williamson, Reggie Gordon, and Evette Roots from Richmond; Lovely Warren, Henry Fitts, and Kate Washington from Rochester; Angela Glover Blackwell from PolicyLink; Denise Fairchild and Tara Marchant from Emerald Cities; Repa Mekha, Elena Gaardere, and Theresa Gardella from Nexus Community Partners; Lee Anne Adams, Geraldine Gardner, Lucy Kerman, Kurt Somers, Patrick Horvath, and Carla Javits.

Many thanks to those who gave a careful reading to an early draft and offered valuable critiques, including Tom Kruse, Michelle Lam, Sarah Modlin, Shonali Banerjee, and Meera Velu. And a final thanks to Shelley Alpern for her reading of the manuscript, her impeccable grammar, and her patience (most of the time) during the long disappearance that was the writing of this book.