What being involved means to us
The following two interviews, kindly provided to us by the Northeast Federation of Cooperatives (www.cooplife.coop), provide perspectives from two young people who are deeply involved in the American co-operative movement.
Nicholas Herman interviews Katie Brennan
NH: Please introduce yourself and describe what you do.
KB: My name is Katie Brennan. I am 24 years old and am a new member on the staff of Impact Visuals. Impact Visuals is a co-operatively owned photography archive and publication service in New York City. Mostly, we provide pictures to different magazines for publication. What is unique about our archives, and the photographers that own and run Impact, is the focus on social justice and multicultural stories. Most of our archives consist of pictures documenting protests, under-represented minority groups, or other socially charged subjects. Because of our focus, many alternative publications such as feminist and environmental magazines use our archives extensively.
NH: How many members are there?
KB: There are approximately 80 member photographers and six staff.
NH: How did you find out about Impact Visuals?
KB: It was really through chance. I discovered them on the Internet and ultimately was able to arrange for an internship. I can't stress enough the importance of internships. Before I did an internship I did not have a good sense of what I could do with my interest in photography. Internships empower young people by giving them responsibility.
NH: Is there a common mission among the co-op members?
KB: Well yes and no. There definitely is a core value of documenting people and their fight for self-determination. Also the goal is to support the photographers who do this kind of work and are members of the co-op. When I started I didn’t consider myself an activist or anything. I never really considered myself an activist before coming to Impact, nor did I have any experience with co-operatively owned business. I came to NYC from a small town in Pennsylvania. I grew up in a single-parent family environment and have always been sensitive to the lack of support systems both for working mothers and their kids. The first time I ever really brought my interest in photography and social rights together was during college. I got a BFA from Edinburgh University, which is near Erie, Pennsylvania. We had a final project and I produced a photo documentary of single mothers working in service industry jobs – mostly waiting tables. So I guess the politics and the art and the economics all sort of merge in different ways for the different members.
NH: What are your job responsibilities?
KB: When I was an intern I began learning about managing the archives which requires a thorough knowledge of what pictures we have and how to quickly find good images that match the needs of the magazines. We have a detailed system of cataloguing more than two million pictures on file – it's a big job! Now that I am on staff, I work in both the archives and with the new interns. I also help manage our accounts with the different magazines and publications that order from Impact Visuals. One example of what I do is this – just yesterday Newsweek emailed a request for pictures illustrating tension between Lebanon and Israel. So first we went to the International file, then to the Israel and Lebanon files, and finally to the War file.
NH: How does being a young person impact your job?
KB: Well, when I began that photo documentary of workers during college I was really responding to my own standing concern for young people and the lack of opportunities they have in rural, low-income environments. So even though I wasn't well versed in cooperative economics I was seeing the connection between workers being exploited and their lack of education and decision making power. So my desire to empower young people, and workers in general, is partly informed by my being young and feeling a connection with their life and my own.
NH: How does being in a co-op affect your job and the work environment?
KB: I feel that there is a big difference working in a cooperatively owned atmosphere. First off, my co- workers really listen to my ideas. There isn't any strict hierarchy and I am constantly impressed with the level of communication. Also, I have some creative control over what I choose for publication, I guess I feel that there is a level of trust and respect that I haven't felt in other work environments. The actual work environment reflects a more community-oriented approach as well. There are no cubicles!
NH: How does Impact Visuals, as a co-op, serve its members?
KB: It creates a means of distributing their work, which is probably the most important way. Our member photographers believe strongly in the importance of this kind of photojournalism and Impact Visuals supports this mission. As far as the members' roles, they take part in all the major decisions about how the archive will be maintained. For example, our biggest issue now is how to digitize the archive and make it available online. That will be a huge job but will increase visibility and opportunities for our members to be published.
NH: What are your goals for personal development?
KB: Well I guess I would like to improve my own photography and begin to strengthen my own artistic and political voice as well as better serve under-represented communities. I have struggled a lot with my professional direction and how to represent my community. My job has not only helped me learn skills, it has actually encouraged my desire to represent and serve my community! Although it feels a little awkward to say, I feel like I am becoming a role model for other young artists and activists.
NH: How about your goals for co-op development?
KB: I would love to see more young people being exposed to co-ops and learning about how co-ops can work for them. The lack of awareness is just part of the larger problem I see where many young people don’t receive the education and exposure to alternatives that they deserve.
NH: In your opinion how could co-ops better attract and include young people?
KB: Well partly co-ops need to see young people as a new wave of knowledge and skill sets. I do think we are more technologically literate. Also our concerns are often somewhat different and if a co-op wants to attract young people as customers than it should have young people on its staff. I know that as an employee at Impact Visuals I have a young eye and am often able to see a picture that might be more poignant or powerful to a youth audience. This holds true when I am actually taking the picture as well. I know where to go and what to look for when it comes to representing youth issues. Again, I feel like there needs to be more education and exposure – the web is a great vehicle, it worked for me. I don't think I ever would have found out about Impact Visuals without it.
Nicholas Herman interviews Jennifer Gutshall
NH: Please introduce yourself:
JG: My name is Jennifer Gutshall and I am twenty-eight years old.
NH: When did you get involved in Co-ops?
JG: I didn’t get involved in co-ops until 1996 when I moved to Connecticut – I don’t think I even really had a concept about co-ops in college. I started to get involved with a number of groups who were advocating alternative economic systems, such a barter system where we used "community dollars". There I was informally exposed to the concept of cooperatives and more specifically the energy co-op.
NH: What is an energy co-op?
JG: An energy co-op is a consumer cooperative that provides energy – be it electricity, oil, propane, or conservation and efficiency services. We try to provide the spectrum of energy services with an increasing emphasis on renewable energy sources.
NH: Let’s back up, whom do you work for and how did you get started there?
JG: I work for the Connecticut Energy Co-op. My boss is Larry Union, the general manager and CEO who works for the board of directors of CEC. Our board is made up of a diverse group of interests from across Connecticut - from neighbourhood groups to national organizations like the Sierra Club. Basically, anyone who is interested in democratic alternative energy structures where the goal is meeting peoples’ energy needs in a more affordable, environmental, and democratic way.
NH: That sounds like your mission statement!
JG: It is close. Our mission statement is: The Connecticut Energy Co-op was organized to create and maintain an environmental, social and economically sustainable future rooted in Connecticut and responsive to the needs of its members.
NH: Are the staff members of the co-op?
JG: Definitely! We are all totally committed to this cause.
NH: Jennifer you have mentioned that the success of the C.E.C. was largely due to the type of organizing that you did at the outset. Can you explain what that entailed?
JG: You can look at it in stages. The only thing that has made it possible for the co-op to exist as it does now is the support of the diverse group of community leaders and organizations that got involved at the conception. This diverse constituency has given our co-op a dynamic basis on which to grow. Before we started we wanted to insure that we had a viable market. In order to do this we began assessing the needs and desires of the people of Connecticut. It is interesting what happened. There were inevitably disagreements about what kind of energy we should provide. One of the primary issues was whether or not to provide dirty energy; i.e. energy based on fossil fuels. So the co-op had to struggle with the ideals of energy conservation versus the requisite energy needs of the community. We decided that we had to get involved with utilities first and then evolve over time to be environmentally cleaner. Jack Northrup of the New Hampshire Consumer Utility Cooperative used to say that you have to build the boat before you steer it. So the process of starting our co-op was a lesson in democracy and economics as well as ideals.
One of the core goals of our cooperative is to help our members use as little energy as possible so as to both save them money and reduce environmental impact. We can measure the success of these goals through our new I.C.E. program. I.C.E. stands for innovation, conservation, and efficiency.
NH: So one of the things that you are offering, indeed, selling, is education and economic savings.
JG: Yes, a very practical way of appealing to people. The fact is that co-ops don’t have the traditional profit motive so that we have the latitude to really focus on our larger mission. We provide a free energy audit that can catalyze a conversation about how customers can increase their involvement in savings. We also provide an ongoing context for our members to constantly evolve in their pursuit of conservation and efficiency.
The question really is why don’t people who are committed to conservation use the very products that reduce energy consumption, products like compact fluorescent bulbs? In my opinion it is a matter of education.
NH: Are you in the role of an educator at Connecticut Energy Cooperative?
JG: I will be! Right now I am primarily focused on the structures that will give me access to members that in turn will allow me to help provide support and access to their continuing education. Once these structures are in place, the ball really gets rolling. Once the members know what they want, then we in turn must be able to provide the products and services that they request, in addition to financing so that they can afford these services. Clean energy should not only be available to the wealthy.
NH: What do you do, specifically, at C.E.C.?
JG: Well I am the manager of Member Services. This means that on the one hand I manage all aspects of customer services, i.e. providing all levels from enrolment to fulfillment. Any customer questions, concerns, complaints are directed at me. Right now, as I have said, the emphasis is on customer service – making sure they are getting their needs met. When we have built a strong customer base, then my role will shift and I will be more focused on education.
NH: Jennifer how does C.E.C. plan to appeal to young adults?
JG: I would say that the primary way that we reach that market is through the message that we are sending. My hope is that college-aged people and young adults will be attracted to both our offering of savings and energy efficiency. One of the programs that we have gotten directly involved in is this year’s Earth Day. Once we have gotten past the initial stage of start-up, I would like to emphasize our number of new programs that would directly appeal to young people. One of these programs would be to work with Solar Works. Solar Works is one of the primary initiatives behind the Solar on School Program. This school program is a regional effort to bring solar electricity into the schools. There are also a number of Universities such as Tufts where there is an increasing desire to implement Eco-friendly practices on an institutional level. Tufts have actually committed to begin to honour the Kyoto standards for air emissions. So one of the possibilities for our energy co-op would be to build strategic relationships with committed educational and religious institutions – often these institutions have a mission that includes values of stewardship or increasing the value of life. Obviously, if a group is committed to quality of life they can’t ignore the quality of the environment.
NH: I want to ask you if you feel that there are any limitations of the co-operative approach.
JG: I don't believe that there are any limitations to people working together for positive change and innovation. My motto is garbage in garbage out. If we remain positive there is no limitation to human connection and human power. There is a leap of faith when co-ops mobilize and move to revolutionize business practices. In the energy sector we are up against a dinosaur. There are challenges certainly, and ours is an alternative vehicle, but I have first hand experienced that when people work together they really can mobilize and change policy. The fact is that our concepts of space and time are changing so rapidly as a result of travel and technology that the real power is even more in the hands of the individual – that person who makes a lifestyle or value decision to act. If we don't empower ourselves in this way then we risk getting dragged by the current of change.
The energy industry is inherently conservative, a real old boys’ network and there are definitely problems with the old ways of thinking. The fact is that we fight wars to protect our fossil fuel interests. One way to look at the challenges confronting cooperative and alternative energy is not to be overwhelmed by what is wrong but stay focused on what we are doing that is progressive and right. Together we can join, push out, and transform the community. I really feel that the ideas we promote though our co-operative organization are beginning to educate the public about viable alternatives. The change is palpable.
NH: Why are young people important?
JG: Young people have so much more flexibility than most older people do. They are in a rare position to dramatically change the status quo – something we desperately need. They are the leaders of the future after all. But more pragmatically, young people who are committed to social and environmental change will learn quickly that real change requires long-term investment. But this is why young people are essential – we need the next generation to begin to turn back the previous centuries of selfish profit motivated gain – in short, we need some radical youth energy!
NH: What are your personal goals and vision for the future?
JG: My primary long-term interest is creating self-sustainable communities. Now obviously there are different definitions for what communities represent, but I believe that the future is in building inter and intra dependent communities that are working from basic values of environmental sustainability and human needs. This is a bioregional approach and one that is heavily based on working democratic ideals and continuing education. Co-ops are the perfect structures to begin to build these relationships because they are inherently democratic and are not profit driven. I really believe that when people have access to education that they will make the right choice!
