Staff and Board

Syd (she/her) has spent 11 years living in, working for, and spreading the cooperative movement, and feels that living collectively has added incalculably to her well-being and worldview. She has personally lived with over 150 people, across six community houses, and currently resides in a community house she formed in Detroit, Michigan, where she’s plugged into spreading the community movement locally. She’s also traveled to over 80 communities of all types around the U.S. and Canada.
Syd has worked with cooperatives in a variety of settings; as a NASCO board member and executive committee representative, campaign fundraiser, intern, officer, new collective liaison, and informal visitor. Some of her favorite co-op work has been in alumni organizing, which she believes is imperative to the success and reach of the movement. In addition to her work with cooperatives, Syd’s professional experience has included fundraising, canvassing, organizing, directing outreach campaigns, and training for issue advocacy organizations supporting a variety of human rights initiatives.
As a supporter of inclusive economy and collective liberation, Syd believes that co-ops offer an alternative to exploitative models of housing and workplaces. She’s confident that with the right stewardship, support, and advocacy, collective housing will be much more commonplace and ultimately contribute significantly to the battle against inequality, the ever-worsening housing crisis, and the loneliness epidemic.

Syd's office hours are Monday - Friday from 8am - 4pm CST.

Rebecca Fisher-McGinty (she/her) is a cooperative advocate who envisions a world where people have agency over their life, work, and neighborhood. She believes that cooperatives can be a tool to actualize that agency. She sees co-ops as a powerful tool for racial and economic justice and collective liberation.

Since 2016, Rebecca has been immersed in the cooperative movement. For seven years, she was a worker-owner at a cooperative that provided training and consulting to other co-ops and collaboratively led organizations. She completed her Master’s of Cooperative Management from St. Mary's University, where she was particularly drawn to the power of cooperative systems and networks. Additionally, she is a steering committee member of Cooperation New Orleans, where she has learned about fostering a cooperative ecosystem. In her free time, you can find Rebecca lifting weights, doing jigsaw puzzles, and spending time with her partner, family, and friends.

Contact Rebecca for inquiries regarding your NASCO membership payments, board governance, and working at NASCO.

Rebecca's work hours are 9am - 5pm CT

In her work for NASCO, Katherine (she/her), combines her love for cooperatives with over 13 years of dynamic non-profit experience. Her journey began while living in Ad Astra, part of POOCH (formerly UKSHA), where her service in AmeriCorps ignited her passion for food justice and community empowerment. Since joining our staff in 2017, Katherine has worn many hats—navigating finances, supporting governance, and developing educational programming. Most recently, she’s taken the lead as the organizer for NASCO Institute, where she fuels her commitment to cooperative education and leadership development.

With a background in creative writing and art, Katherine is deeply inspired by movements that seek to dismantle systemic inequalities and advocate for a fairer economy. She is dedicated to promoting equitable access for all, believing that transformative change is possible through collective action and creativity.

Contact Katherine for inquiries regarding co-op staff support, NASCO Institute, cooperative leadership development, and the Cooperative Internship Network.

Katherine's typical work hours are Monday-Thursday 9:00 am to 2:30 pm CT

Maggie’s cooperative journey started young—even younger than they previously thought when they learned about the co-op preschool they once attended! Long after that, Maggie knowingly entered the cooperative space when they joined the Inter-Cooperative Council, Ann Arbor in 2016. Since then, they have loved & learned through co-op life in a variety of roles, including officer and staff positions, plus a recent stint on the NASCO board. Maggie believes in the co-op's power for radical change, both in the world and in ourselves. Much like the co-op preschool, things that are hidden in plain sight often play important roles in shaping our views of the world. Maggie would like to see the cooperative movement play a strong role in developing leaders and mobilizing people towards collective liberation and people-centered infrastructure.

In their free time, Maggie enjoys rollerblading, tromping around in the woods/near bodies of water, looking at pictures of rats online, and reading Wikipedia articles.

Maggie is a NASCO staff liaison to the NASCO Properties Board and the NP Executive Committee.

Contact Maggie for inquiries regarding NASCO Properties, co-op staffing issues, budgeting, or concerns about housing discrimination and fair housing.

Maggie’s office hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm CT

Joe (they/them) first experienced communal housing while studying abroad in Germany. They quickly recognized how cooperative living could not only improve their life, but their community as well. Soon after returning, they moved into the local co-ops in Lawrence, Kansas where they have lived for the past six years. In that time Joe has lived in 3 co-op houses as they transitioned through resets or system collapse. Though their early experience with co-ops was difficult, through the hardship they have learned to rebuild and create investment in person-centric systems essential to co-op housing.

In their time at POOCH, Joe has served as head of logistic and occupancy committees, house board rep, NP co-op coordinator, and eventually as local staff. In 2024, they were inducted into the NASCO Cooperative Hall of Fame as a Leader for their work demonstrating that co-op members can rebuild after experiencing crisis. Joe is passionate about how co-ops, both on the micro and macro scale, create venues for stronger communities where individuals can exercise greater autonomy over their lives.

Contact Joe for information about NASCO Properties, co-op operational standards, occupancy and member recruitment, labor systems, as well as general co-op management.

Joe’s work hours are 9-5 CT, Monday - Friday