Tune in to WOL 1450 AM or listen online on May 28, at 10:30 am EDT, for Everything Co-op. As the show continues its focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, host Vernon Oaks will interview two leaders in the cooperative community—National Cooperative Bank President Charles E. Snyder and NCBA CLUSA President and CEO Doug O’Brien. Vernon and his guests will discuss how their organizations have responded to the pandemic, and the role they feel cooperatives can play as businesses establish recovery plans to reemerge in a post COVID-19 world.
Doug O’Brien is President and CEO of NCBA CLUSA, where he works with the cooperative community, both domestically and internationally, to deepen its impact on individuals and communities. NCBA CLUSA is the primary voice for cooperatives in the U.S. that use the cooperative business model to empower people in their businesses and communities. Doug has been with NCBA CLUSA since 2016, where he served as the Executive Vice President of Programs before becoming President and CEO in January 2018.
Prior to coming to NCBA CLUSA, Doug led the work of the White House Rural Council and served in top positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, a community economic development agency with over 40 programs and 5,000 employees that annually finances more than $30 billion dollars. Doug has also worked in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House and for two governors. His experience in academia includes teaching, researching and writing at the University of Arkansas Agricultural and Food Masters in Law Program and Drake University Law School.