Author

Michelle Camou researches imaginative approaches to economic development for a more just economy at the Imagined Economy Project, a new applied research and education nonprofit recently launched near Cleveland. She is the author of Cities Developing Worker Co-ops: Efforts in Ten Cities that is the basis for this article.

Abigail Savitch-Lew wrote this article for YES! Magazine. Abigail is a reporter based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in City Limits, Dissent Magazine, Jacobin, and The Nation.

After completing my PhD in Rural Studies focusing on co-operatives as an alternative distribution system for local foods in 2015 I accepted the position as Business Chair of Co-operative Enterprises at the University of Winnipeg. As an Assistant Professor I hope to introduce students to new economic systems, including co-operatives, to better prepare them for the working world. I completed my PhD on a part-time basis while I worked at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as a Research Analyst. I completed my Masters of Business Administration at McMaster University where I specialized in Finance, while working as the Senior Advisor for Major Projects within the Office of Research Services.

My work and educational background is eclectic with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Prince Edward Island in Biology as well as a Medical Laboratory Technology Diploma from Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. This mixed background has served me well as I understand the need for different approaches when presented with various situations.