Eric DeLuca
Why would you like to serve on the Board of Directors of the Onion River Cooperative?
Co-ops serve and empower communities. Among co-ops of all kinds, and especially food co-ops, Onion River Cooperative is an innovator. The co-op innovates in access for all to good food, in partnering with local farmers, and in supporting community organizations. I have specialized in innovation since 2010, when the VT Secretary of Agriculture appointed me to the VT Agriculture Innovation Center board to bring the food co-op perspective into $1M+ of funding decisions. I enjoy working collaboratively to innovate in service of resilient communities. I have played leadership roles in the US cooperative economy at the local, regional, and national level. As a Richmond resident who spends the majority of my grocery dollars at City Market, I feel inspired to serve my home community by offering my unique depth of expertise in cooperative enterprise and food system development.
The work of the Board is not operational – that is, it does not deal with the daily operations of the store. Instead, the Board deals with the overall policies that identify and guide the mission of the Cooperative. How will you stay focused on the larger vision, without being distracted by the day-to-day operations of the store?
I have four years of experience as a food co-op board member working within the governance framework that City Market uses—Policy Governance. I understand the board’s role as a strategic leadership team. My professional background is in collaborative leadership and I began my career working for four years with a firm, Dialogos, that specializes in catalyzing system-level change. I have helped shape the vision for the US cooperative economy, a network of food co-ops in New England, a local food co-op, and the Vermont food system. In each case, engaging stakeholders has played a central role in vision clarification. I have the capacity to listen closely, synthesize diverse perspectives, and concisely articulate shared goals.
What strengths and skills would you bring to the work of the Cooperative’s Board?
Over the past year, the City Market Board has been getting to know different kinds of co-ops in its neighborhood. As US Program Manager for the UN-declared 2012 International Year of Cooperatives, I catalyzed the development of locally scaled cross-sector cooperative networks across the country in areas like Austin, Seattle, and Philadelphia. I have worked with co-ops of all kinds, including credit unions, housing co-ops, worker-owned cooperatives, and farmer co-ops. I also have four years of experience as a food co-op board member at a New England co-op that partners with City Market within the Neighboring Food Co-op Association, a 35-co-op/startup network I played a leadership role in developing. In terms of local food in Vermont, since 2010 I have participated in over $2M in funding decisions to benefit farmers, value-added producers and the working landscape through 87 projects. I previously served on the board of the VT Agriculture Innovation Center, and currently am on the VT Working Lands Enterprise Board, which will be allocating an additional $1M+ of state funds in the coming year. I play multiple roles in the VT Farm to Plate Network, including chairing a task force focused on strengthening producer and processor associations.