Executive Director
CooperationWorks!
Alex Stone is the Executive Director of CooperationWorks! and has been deeply involved with cooperatives for over a decade. She discovered the cooperative model through housing co-ops as an undergraduate and spent time as both a house-level manager and a board member. In 2009, she co-founded the Berkeley Student Food Collective and in 2010 became the store’s first Operations Manager and sole employee. During this time, she helped the store develop its market, refine its business plan, and grow into a sustainable business that is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2020. Alex also co-co-founded the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive, a national nonprofit with a founding mission to train students across the U.S. how to open and operate sustainably sourced, student-run grocery stores.
During her time with CW, Alex has overseen the redevelopment of the organization’s flagship cooperative developer training program, coordinated ongoing collaborative projects among CW members, and strengthened the partnerships with other national organizations. She is passionate about the potential for cooperatives to radically transform entrenched systems of inequality and inequity in our society and to create just, joyful and sustainable communities.