Cascadia Cooperative Conference 2025

August 25 & 26 | Seattle, WA

The Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC) will host our first bi-annual Cascadia Cooperative Conference (CCC) on Monday, August 25, and Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at the Parkview Event Space in Seattle, WA, which is within walking distance of many hotels. Thank you so much for your interest in attending.

CCC will celebrate the incredible diversity of the cooperative economic model in the bioregion of Cascadia (connected to the Salish Sea and the Columbia River), which includes communities throughout British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. States of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The conference aims to leverage the strength of co-ops in these communities to create a stronger and more resilient cooperative ecosystem and to advance the goals of the International Year of Cooperatives.

There will be presentations, panel discussions, and workshops that explore the co-op model in the Cascadia bioregion with special attention to how co-ops empower underserved communities in both rural and urban contexts. 

Additional areas of focus will be in building solidarity within and between communities, engaging in sustainable development goals, and aligning governance and operations with the Statement on the Cooperative Identity and the Cooperative Enterprise Model.

We also plan to curate a conference that allows for both learning and connection, with good food and breaks to pause and talk with your colleagues across the bioregion.

Register Today

Parkview Event Space
200 8th Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109
https://parkviewseattle.com/

Monday, August 25th

8:00a – Doors & Registration Open |  Breakfast Available

9:00a – Opening Plenary – People’s Keynote

10:15a – Morning Break-Out Sessions – 75 Minutes Breakouts: 

A1DesignBuild, a Worker-Owned Cooperative, is Born. 3 Perspectives on its Conversion

Land and Housing

• Overview of Cooperative Housing and Land Sharing Arrangements

• Cooperative Land Stewardship and Community Building

Co-ops & Technology

• Evicting our digital landlords: How we liberate our tech and build sustainable, democratically-run software

• Cooperation in Mobility–ZEV Co-op

Financial Support for Cooperatives

• Who are CDFIs and how they finance cooperatives

• Let’s Talk About Non-Extractive Lending

A Co-op Law Primer

Central Co-op’s Journey to the Solidarity Model: A Retrospective Case Study

12:00noon – Lunch

1:30p – Afternoon Break-Out Sessions – 90 Minutes Breakout Topics

Food Co-ops

• Grocery Co-ops in Rural Communities: What Works, What Doesn’t

• How Farmer-Owned Food Hubs are Changing the Food System Landscape Through Cooperative Networking

Engaging New Co-op Pathways in Cascadia

• The Promise of Social Co-ops

• The Design Pathway for Regenerating Cascadia

Co-ops at the End of Life: Meeting Human Needs with Co-op Funeral Home and Washington Homecare Cooperatives

Understanding Public Banking and Credit Unions

Building a Self-organizing Cascadian Cooperative Network of Networks: A Multi-Track Workshop

3:00p – Break

3:15p – Closing Plenary

3:30p – Seattle Co-op Tour

6:00p – Social Hour at Conor Byrne Pub Cooperative – Snacks will be served, and there will be a live Irish band!

Tuesday, August 26th

8:00a – Doors Open & Breakfast Available 

9:00a – Longer Form Facilitated Strategy Sessions:

A Cooperative Response to the Housing Crisis

BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union) Principles

Case Study: Measuring and Communicating the Cooperative Difference

Building a Regional Network

Building a Scalable Statewide Network for Sustainable Housing Co-ops

Seeing the Elephant: Cross-Sectoral Cooperative Education in the International Year of Cooperatives

WSMA  & The Role of Cooperatives in Helping Support and Save Microenterprises, Especially in Rural Communities

11:30a – Closing Plenary

12:30p – Conference Ends