Cooperatives and Employee Ownership 101 (Asheville)

Aaron Dawson is the Workplace Development Senior Director for The Industrial Commons where he leads efforts to create and sustain worker engagement programs through open-book management and worker committees in manufacturing plants interested in shifting to a more democratic and millennial-friendly culture. He also assists in Cooperative Development for The Industrial Commons enterprises and employee ownership transition for businesses thinking of selling to their employees. He has 15 years of experience as a worker-owner at Equal Exchange, a Fair Trade Massachusetts company specializing in the sourcing and distribution of coffee, tea and chocolate. For ten of those years, Aaron held the role of Customer Service Manager, overseeing a team of 12. He has many years of experience participating in and facilitating worker committees and developing ideas, policies and practices that create a positive and supportive work environment. In addition, he was elected to serve on Equal Exchange’s Board of Directors for six years and was Chair of the Board for one of those years. Aaron holds a Masters in Management, Cooperatives and Credit Unions from St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada. He served on the Board of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops for four years and served as the Board Treasurer for the Democracy at Work Institute for six years. Aaron is a certified coach with the Great Game of Business.