Economic Democracy and Community Wealth in Boston

Saturday, June 7th, 10:15 AM to 11:30 AM
Room 440
Undefined

Exciting New Economy efforts are brewing across Boston neighborhoods. Hear about projects that are modeling democratic alternatives to "business as usual" and are doing it in relation to Boston's grassroots organizing field. Learn about participatory budgeting, community land trusts, green worker co-ops, youth led urban agriculture and local impact investing. Engage with some of Boston's most innovative activists in large panel and breakout formats.

Speakers: 

Aaron Tanaka

Center for Economic Democracy

Aaron Tanaka is a Boston based community organizer and impact
investor. As the founding executive director of the Boston Workers
Alliance in 2005, he helped organize no/low-income workers of color
into one of Boston's leading grassroots economic justice
organizations. After leaving the BWA, Aaron helped start the Boston
Impact Initiative, an impact investment fund making value driven loans

Bio

Ashley-Rose

Participatory Budgeting Project

Ashley-Rose is the Youth Organizer for the first youth participatory
budgeting process in the US, in Boston. She is an educator, artist and
community organizer from Boston who attended Northeastern University.
She has worked in the non-profit field for more than a decade with a
focus in youth work, arts and activism. Ashley-Rose is an AmeriCorps
alum who served at organizations such as PeaceFirst, Local Initiatives

Bio

Aslin Perez

The City School

Aslin Perez is a youth organizer and leader with The City School in Dorchester, and is a Co-Chair of Youth Lead the Change, Participatory Budgeting Boston. As Co-Chair, Aslin has helped lead a Steering Committee of 30 organizations to design and oversee the first youth only participatory budgeting process in the country.

Bio

Timothy Hall

CERO

Timothy Hall is a founding worker-owner of Cooperative Energy
Recycling and Organics (CERO) Co-op, building a multi racial worker
owned recycling and organic composting company in Boston. Tim was one
of the founding members of the Boston Workers Alliance, one of
Boston's most prominent grassroots social and economic justice
organizations. During his at BWA, he helped start Roxbury Green Power,

Bio

Lor Holmes

CERO

Lor Holmes is CERO Cooperative’s start up manager. She leads business
development and capitalization strategies and, like all of the CERO
worker-owners Lor shares a passion for environmental and social
justice, sustainable economic development and democratic models for
community ownership. She worked as a Boston school bus driver and as
an advocate before returning to school for a master’s degree in

Bio

Deborah Frieze

Boston Impact Initiative

Deborah Frieze is co-founder and managing partner of the Boston Impact Initiative, an impact investing fund that partners with businesses and organizations throughout our city to create systemic shifts in opportunities for urban communities.

Bio

Eliza Parad

Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

Eliza Parad has been doing housing organizing in and around Boston
since 2009 after working with grassroots organizations in Chile for 3
years. From 2010-2013 she was an organizer at the Chelsea
Collaborative, working with homeowners facing foreclosure and former
owners/tenants facing eviction to prevent displacement and build power
to achieve racial and economic justice in the City. She is currently a

Bio

Michael Liu

Chinese Progressive Organization

The Chinese Progressive Association is a grassroots community organization which works for full equality and empowerment of the Chinese community in the Greater Boston area and beyond. Our activities seek to improve the living and working conditions of Chinese Americans and to involve ordinary community members in making decisions that affect our lives.

Bio