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.

Elise Fernandez (she/her/ella) loves community organizing, collaborating, solidarity economies, and creating a new world with others! She believes that co-ops are a way to bring non-hierarchical practices into our lives & cultures. She loves weaving people together, exchanging tools, and trusting the collective wisdom in the room.

Elise has been living in, exploring, and studying intentional communities for the last 14 years, ranging from student cooperatives to off-grid, rural communities. Currently, she co-runs Finca Morada, a community in Miami for LGBTQIA+ & BIPOC folks, with a focus on reconnecting with land & Caribbean cultures. In her time in Miami, Elise has founded the Miami Time Swap, a local trade-based economy and tool for economic justice; and teaches Horizontal Facilitation workshops. She loves creating art & design for social change, organizing community events, and creating systems that support the weaving of community.

Contact Elise for information about NASCO Properties, governance systems, co-op operational standards, member education & training, and conflict resolution.

Elise's office hours are 8-4 CT, M-Fri

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

Katherine (she/her) discovered her love for cooperatives started in 2011 when she moved into Ad Astra, an UKSHA cooperative and NASCO property in Lawrence, KS. Within her first week at Ad Astra, she knew that she had happened upon something special, but had no way of knowing how big of an impact it would have on her life. Over the next six years, she served on the UKSHA Board of Directors in various roles before becoming one of two Executive Staff. In addition to her work with cooperatives, Katherine's professional experience has focused on food justice and non-profit management. Katherine is an aspiring artist, a dedicated writer, and an accomplished daydreamer.

Contact Katherine for inquiries regarding co-op staff support, NASCO governance, working at NASCO, and the Cooperative Leadership Certification Program.

Katherine's work hours are Monday-Friday 8:30 am to 3:00 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