In this workshop we focused on the topic of community wealth building:

"A system-changing approach to community economic development that works to produce broadly shared economic prosperity, racial equity, and ecological sustainability through the reconfiguration of institutions and local economies on the basis of greater democratic ownership, participation, and control (community-wealth.org). "

During this workshop, we discussed the process of building community wealth via social entrepreneurship, specifically the cooperative business model. Following the 'mini-lecture,' we introduced the panel of Arizona-based knowledge sharers who spoke to how community wealth building seeks to empower local communities with democratic ownership, shared prosperity, and equitable opportunities.

Panelists include:

Kalila Martinez (Coldwater Coffeehouse & Bakery)

Dionne Washington (Project Roots and Phoenix Food Co-Op)

Michael Langley (Greater Phoenix Leadership)

Dave Castillo (Native Community Capital)

Vida De Jesus Lopez (Local First Arizona)