About Us
We are a worker, self-directed non-profit co-op development center rooted in community organizing.
We provide organizing support in English and Spanish for startup co-ops and co-op conversions, as well as ongoing training and technical assistance for existing cooperatives.
We believe in a worker-led approach to cooperatives and community economic development. Communities of color and working class communities provide the organizing strength to mobilize resources, workers bring skills, experience, and a drive for self-determination, and BCCO brings the right tool at the right time so that those workers and communities can create the future they envision.
We are members of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Cooperation Works!, the Greater Boston Chamber of Cooperatives, the Massachusetts Coalition for Worker Ownership and Power, and the Association of Cooperative Educators.
Our Approach
We are part of the field of Cooperative Development, but we’re different from other Co-op Development organizations.
Our work is rooted in community organizing, and we see ourselves as Co-op Organizers, more than Co-op Developers. Our process always begins with the workers. We learn about your needs and aspirations, and help build trust and solidarity among your team. We bring information and resources to the table, but understand that the process of researching, designing, and launching a co-op will be most effective when carried out by the future co-op members for their own benefit.
Staff & Board
We're Hiring!
Stacey Cordeiro
A grassroots organizer and technical assistance provider for groups of people forming cooperative businesses.
She subscribes to the principles articulated by Cooperation Works! that cooperatives must both be market-driven and member-led. To that end, she guides groups of cooperators through a development process that uses popular education methods to draw on the knowledge and experience of the members; includes team building and leadership development to build personal and collective power; and translates complex business and economic concepts into plain language so that co-op members can be responsible and savvy entrepreneurs.
Since earning a Masters’ Degree from MIT in Community Economic Development in 2000, Stacey has worked as an organizer and consultant for co-op development organizations such as Cooperative Economics for Women, the Cooperative Development Institute, and the Vermont Center for Employee Ownership. In addition, she has several years of experience working in the day to day management of small businesses, including financial management, sales & marketing, and personnel management. Consulting with a wide variety of worker, consumer, and producer owned cooperatives throughout New England, she has had the pleasure of learning about many different industries, including restaurants & catering, garment manufacturing, coin operated laundries, grocery co-ops, housing co-ops, home and office cleaning, value-added manufacturing, weatherization, and biofuels processing. With a deep commitment to social and economic justice, much of Stacey’s experience as a Co-op Organizer has been in support of workers with barriers to employment, including women, youth, immigrants, and former prisoners. She has worked on co-op development projects with immigrant groups from Eritrea, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Haiti, El Salvador, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, as well as US-born cooperators in both urban and rural settings.
Eulalio Guevara
A grassroots organizer and technical assistance provider for groups of people forming cooperative businesses.
She subscribes to the principles articulated by Cooperation Works! that cooperatives must both be market-driven and member-led. To that end, she guides groups of cooperators through a development process that uses popular education methods to draw on the knowledge and experience of the members; includes team building and leadership development to build personal and collective power; and translates complex business and economic concepts into plain language so that co-op members can be responsible and savvy entrepreneurs.
Since earning a Masters’ Degree from MIT in Community Economic Development in 2000, Stacey has worked as an organizer and consultant for co-op development organizations such as Cooperative Economics for Women, the Cooperative Development Institute, and the Vermont Center for Employee Ownership. In addition, she has several years of experience working in the day to day management of small businesses, including financial management, sales & marketing, and personnel management. Consulting with a wide variety of worker, consumer, and producer owned cooperatives throughout New England, she has had the pleasure of learning about many different industries, including restaurants & catering, garment manufacturing, coin operated laundries, grocery co-ops, housing co-ops, home and office cleaning, value-added manufacturing, weatherization, and biofuels processing. With a deep commitment to social and economic justice, much of Stacey’s experience as a Co-op Organizer has been in support of workers with barriers to employment, including women, youth, immigrants, and former prisoners. She has worked on co-op development projects with immigrant groups from Eritrea, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Haiti, El Salvador, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, as well as US-born cooperators in both urban and rural settings.
Recent Clients
Have an idea for a new co-op? Or would your organization would like to support its members?
We partner with individuals, grassroots membership organizations, and municipalities to transform co-op ideas from vision to reality – No matter what stage of development you are in!