Building the cooperative ecosystem:
presenters & Workshops
maggie cohn
loan & outreach officer – cooperative fund of the northeast
Maggie Cohn joined CFNE in 2010 as a loan and outreach officer covering Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts. She has served as executive director for various local non-profits working with small businesses and a broad array of community organizations, institutions and municipal agencies. She left a job at Red Sun Press, a worker-controlled commercial print shop in Boston to pursue a degree in Community Economic Development. She holds a B.A. from UMass Boston in Studio Arts and a Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University.
sarah speare
Co-founder & CEO – Tootie’s Tempeh
tyler Adkins
Ceo- maine community power cooperative
Tyler Adkins is CEO of the Maine Community Power Cooperative, a consumer-owned cooperative that develops, owns and operates small scale community solar projects on behalf of its members, who are primarily low to moderate income households. He previously served as Chief Revenue Officer at UGE International, a national community solar and energy storage developer.
Jagos medenica
general coordinator – fedco seeds
Jagos Medenica is the General Coordinator at Fedco Seeds, a Maine-based cooperative serving growers and gardeners across the Northeast. He is a business development and operations leader with a track record of driving revenue growth, strengthening cross-functional execution, and building high-performing teams. His experience spans cooperative and mission-driven organizations as well as global markets, including a General Manager role at Panasonic in Europe, where he helped build a business from the ground up and expanded market share year-over-year. Jagos brings a practical, relationship-driven approach to financing, cost control, and sustainable growth.
Jamie Cermak
marketing manager – belfast community co-op
Jamie Cermak (he/his) is Belfast Community Co-op’s Marketing Manager, following management roles at Middlebury Co-op (VT) and Viroqua Food Co-op (WI). Jamie is honored to serve his co-op and community by using his passions for the cooperative movement!
heather q hay
it manager – belfast community co-op
Heather Q Hay (she/her) is Belfast Community Co-op’s IT Manager and has been with the co-op since 2015. She uses her background in project management and data analytic to uplift the core values of community and food accessibility for all.
gina ferendo
store operations manager – belfast community co-op
Gina Ferendo (she/her) is the Store Operations Manager at the Belfast Community Co-op and holds an MBA from Husson University. Since starting at the co-op in 2017, Gina has led a team through a large expansion project and dedicated herself to improving operational efficiencies that better serve the co-op community.
doug johnson
general manager – belfast community co-op
Doug Johnson (he/him) has served as the Belfast Community Co-op’s General Manager for the past ten years. He started his career in cooperatives in Pittsburgh, PA and has served on two food co-op Boards and the CMBA steering committee. He currently sits on the nominations committee for the National Co-op Grocers Board of Directors and is a member of the MOFGA Certification Services Management Committee.
brad sherwood
business owner – Professional Home Projects
Brad Sherwood grew up on a farm and received a degree in Economics from Michigan State University. Brad has taught Adult Education, is a founder of several organizations, participated in conferences and workshops, and has been promoting cooperatives and employee ownership for the past decade.
craig saddlemire
development organizer – raise-op housing cooperative
Craig is the Development Organizer for the Raise-Op Housing Cooperative, Maine’s oldest urban multi-unit housing cooperative.
hannah harm
co-founder – bally fox housing cooperative
After growing up an Air Force brat with no roots, Hannah (she/her) decided Maine is the way life should be and settled in the Midcoast after graduating from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 2019. She’s always liked the idea of intentional community and was all in when friends started talking about forming a cooperative to sustain land access and housing. Hannah is one of 6 co-founders getting Bally Fox Farm Housing Cooperative up and running and is looking forward to growing the project. She enjoys taking care of goats, working with clay, and any crafty thing in her free time.
nick bakelmun
co-founder – rabbit hole housing
Nick is an enthusiast of autonomy, collective power, and consensus-based governance as well as a co-founder of Coco Housing and Rabbit Hole Housing.
lake phillips
co-founder – bally fox housing cooperative
Lake (he/him) comes from a long line of Mainers, and after a decade of national and international travel settled back into the coast of Maine. A long time community organizer and activist, founding and living in a cooperative community was simply the logical extension of politics into everyday life. When he’s not farming, Lake is organizing in the community, working on the local planning board, studying, and of course collaborating with the other co-founders of Bally Fox Farm Cooperative.
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