Cascadia Cooperative Conference 2025
August 25–26, 2025 | Seattle, WA
This summer, cooperative leaders, organizers, visionaries, and values-aligned businesses from across the Cascadia bioregion will gather in Seattle for the first-ever Cascadia Cooperative Conference (CCC)—a landmark event dedicated to deepening the roots and expanding the reach of the cooperative economy in the Pacific Northwest.
Hosted by the Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC), this two-day gathering takes place August 25–26, 2025, at the Parkview Event Space, just steps from the heart of Seattle.
🌿 Why CCC Matters
Cascadia—stretching across British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and parts of Idaho—is home to an abundance of cooperative models that are already reshaping our economy from the ground up. From worker-owned businesses to community land trusts, food co-ops to credit unions, the region is ripe with people-powered innovation.
The Cascadia Cooperative Conference celebrates this momentum. It’s an invitation to strengthen cross-border networks, share knowledge across sectors, and explore how cooperative enterprise can respond to our most pressing challenges—especially in underserved rural and urban communities.
This is more than a conference—it’s a convergence. A place to build solidarity, strategy, and shared vision across the bioregion.
🌊 Featured Session: The Design Pathway for Regenerating Cascadia
🕒 Monday, August 25 at 1:30pm
Presented by Brandon Letsinger (Regenerate Cascadia & Department of Bioregion)
Cascadia is more than a place—it’s a living bioregion defined by watersheds, ecological boundaries, and interdependent communities. This session introduces the concept of bioregionalism—a framework that reconnects people to place by aligning governance, economy, and culture with the ecological realities of the land.
You’ll learn how this place-based approach is being activated through Regenerate Cascadia, a movement and nonprofit program that weaves together regenerative initiatives across British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.
🌱 What You’ll Learn:
The core philosophy of bioregionalism and why it matters now
How Regenerate Cascadia is supporting bioregional cooperation through land-based organizing and funding tools
How the Cascadia BioFi Program is building a regional fund and creating participatory finance tools for regenerative and cooperative economies
Ways to collaborate, invest, and co-create across the cooperative ecosystem
🧭 Who Should Attend:
This session is ideal for:
Co-op leaders & developers
Funders & systems thinkers
Community organizers
Anyone interested in place-based economics, ecosystem restoration, or large-scale cooperation
Whether you’re working in a rural or urban setting, this session will help you imagine how bioregional and cooperative frameworks can work together to regenerate our communities—from the ground up.
🌟 About the Presenter:
Brandon Letsinger is a bioregionalist, open-source advocate, and nonprofit director based in Seattle, Washington. Since founding CascadiaNow! in 2005, he has spent nearly two decades advancing bioregional education, organizing, and place-based regeneration strategies across the Cascadia bioregion.
He currently serves as Executive Director of the Department of Bioregion and is a co-founder of Regenerate Cascadia, a regional initiative launched in 2023 to strengthen bioregional resilience and community collaboration.
Through his leadership, Brandon has helped build networks and resources that support ecological stewardship, participatory governance, and regenerative development. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, Vice, NPR, BBC, and The Wall Street Journal.
🧭 What to Expect
Over two packed days, CCC will feature:
Keynotes and panel discussions
Breakout sessions on housing, land, finance, governance, and tech
Case studies from thriving co-ops across Cascadia
Workshops on regenerative design, non-extractive lending, and regional policy
Evening social gatherings, live music, and connection time
A Seattle-area co-op tour following the event
The program includes topics like:
Designing cooperative housing models for rural communities
Converting traditional businesses into worker co-ops
Building multi-stakeholder and union-aligned cooperatives
Democratizing tech and evicting our digital landlords
Exploring public banking, credit unions, and alternative finance
Developing cross-sectoral education for the International Year of Cooperatives
A full-day track on building a Cascadian Cooperative Network of Networks
Full schedule available here (link optional for blog formatting).
🌎 A Bioregional Vision
Rooted in the watersheds of the Salish Sea and Columbia River, the Cascadia bioregion is uniquely positioned to lead a cooperative renaissance. CCC uplifts this vision—not only by showcasing economic alternatives, but by reconnecting economy to ecology, and community to place.
This conference embodies the bioregional ethos: cross-border collaboration, shared stewardship, and long-term resilience through locally-rooted systems. By aligning with the International Year of Cooperatives, CCC also connects Cascadia to the global cooperative movement.
🤝 Join the Movement
Whether you’re a longtime cooperator or just getting started, CCC offers space to learn, share, and get inspired. Register today and join a growing network of people transforming how we work, build, and care for each other across Cascadia.
💬 Scholarships available; sponsorship opportunities still open!
📍 Parkview Event Space, Seattle, WA
📅 August 25–26, 2025
