Thoughts from Lela on Executive Transition

On this May Day, International Workers’ Day 2024, I’m thinking about the seasons of my work with Co-op Dayton, as I plan my transition to my next chapter. Through the 8 years I’ve been in this work, I’ve walked through seasons of struggle, seasons of learning, seasons of implementation, seasons of celebration and seasons of rest and reflection. 

This summer, I will enter a new season, and will be stepping away from the leadership team of Co-op Dayton. My colleagues and I are excited to share that Co-Op Dayton will be shifting to a tri-Executive Director model - stewarded by our new co-Executive Directors Cherrelle Gardner and KeAnna Daniels (our former Programs Director and Board Member, respectively), and my incredible colleague, comrade, co-founder amaha sellasie, who will remain as our third co-Executive Director.  While I plan to remain in our solidarity economy ecosystem as a member of the Gem City Market board and supporting behind the scenes, I am humbled for the opportunity to pass the mantle of leadership of this organization to these colleagues. I know they will steer our team - and our community - through this moment of transformation and growth.

Early this year, when I first heard a voice in my heart saying that it was time for me to seek out new challenges, I went into a bit of a cocoon mode. I struggled with the idea that it would feel like giving up, leaving the work undone, or that I would be letting folks down. Co-founding Co-op Dayton has been the best and most exciting work I’ve ever done.  I felt nervous I would regret leaving it, or feel disconnected from the incredible community I’ve helped build.

It took me time and effort to get my head around leaving, and to tell myself a different story. This work of building a new economy does not have an end point. We will always be building, creating, reflecting and learning. And this work happens outside as well as inside of Co-op Dayton. And so leaving does not mean giving up or letting anyone down, it means starting a new cycle, finding a new place in the work, and being intentional about nurturing a new group of leaders who will carry it forward.  

The May Day holiday recognizes the general strikes and activism of working people in the 1800s who fought (and in some cases died) for the 8-hour work day many of us now take for granted. These visionary activists imagined and fought for a future with a better working life, with time to engage in personal and community pursuits outside of working time. How can we live into their example in our time and imagine a different future for working people now?

In the more prosperous, unionized Dayton of the past, in the working lives of many of our parents, it was common to spend a whole career with one, maybe two employers. Longevity was rewarded (though unequally) with job security, mobility and retirement benefits.  But globalization, union busting and divestment have made precarity the norm, security the exception. I think that part of finding a new social contract for cities like Dayton will be acknowledging that the rhythm of people's lives have changed, and changing jobs, changing career paths, can be a form of renewal, if done with care, purpose, and adequate support. Renewal for the worker, and renewal for the organization. 

Part of the transition process has been to talk honestly about where we are as an organization. This too has been a bit painful. I am proud of the community economic development we have fostered, and the movement we’ve grown up alongside. And as with any big endeavor, there have been things we’ve gotten wrong, or ideas that didn’t quite work. Coming as she does from a background of supporting networks of entrepreneurs, KeAnna has reminded me that failing, or making mistakes, is a part of taking risks and trying new things. 

There were a few years where there were only two or three full time employees at Co-op Dayton, and when resources were limited, we often made things happen through sheer force of will. The work norms of an economy that relies on devaluation of labor, and is grounded in racism and hierarchy, have rewarded some bad habits, like overwork and individualist “heroic” efforts that I know can be commonplace in the nonprofit sector. That work culture doesn’t reflect the flow and abundance we want to see in the new economy. I feel lucky to work with a group of badass and visionary organizers and developers who have named and spotlighted these tendencies and patterns and are actively working to dismantle, unlearn and rebuild. I’ll gratefully take that with me wherever I land next. And an unexpected part of this transition has been to open up space for a transformation closer to the organization we want to be.

I am working to embrace the tension and unease I have been feeling in this season of transition, incorporating these as good and productive feelings. The unknown can be scary, and as I write this, my future truly is unknown to me.  But what I do know and feel very secure in is the future of Co-op Dayton. amaha, Anita, Cherrelle, Kacey, KeAnna and Sidney are a powerful group of changemakers. 

I know that amaha, my brother in this work, will keep the winds of radical and transformative theory and practice in our sails.  Over the past few years, I’ve seen KeAnna and Cherrelle bring deep skills and a commitment to community and worker power, and they have both already been serving as driving forces of the organization. In our staff meetings and planning sessions, these leaders have articulated and are developing a vision of what is next that makes me truly excited about the future. Dayton is my home, this local economy is my economy, so this work impacts me and my family too.  I can envision myself in five or ten years, as a participant in Co-op Dayton’s cooperative network, feeling proud and excited and included in the new economy we are building. 

I know for sure that we at Co-op Dayton, and I in particular, wouldn’t have made it across these years and through these bold projects without the tremendous faith and support of our fellow Daytonians. So in this moment of transition, we’re leaning on you again. I am asking you to hold up and surround the new tri-leadership of Co-op Dayton with your support, your love, and your energy. Please consider volunteering, amplifying our work, shopping at our Co-ops. You can learn more about how to help, details on the transition, and Co-op Dayton’s co-evolution in community here.  And if it’s feasible for you, I humbly ask that you consider making a gift in honor of our transition and our work to build a just economy.  

Thanks to you all and looking forward in Joy and reverence of the beauty to come in our collective next chapters.

In Solidarity,

Lela Klein