CWCF Announces 2024 Award Recipients

CWCF is pleased to announce the recipients of two awards to be presented at the 2024 Conference. The Mark Goldblatt Merit Award will be presented to Juliet ‘Kego Ume-Onyido and the Worker Co-op Best Practices Award will be presented to Sustainability Solutions Group (SSG).

The Worker Co-op Merit Award, named in honour of the late Mark Goldblatt, goes to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to worker co-operation in Canada. Juliet ‘Kego Ume-Onyido, MBA, is one of CWCF’s BIPOC Board advisors and will be facilitating the session Let’s Talk Worker Co-ops: Building Decolonized Co-ops at the Conference. She is a co-founder of Black Women Professional Worker Cooperative, and a Strategist & Visionary of F.L.O.W initiative: Financial Literacy & Opportunities for Women, a syndicated, invitation-only series of experiential sessions, retreats and podcasts for women leaders, professionals and entrepreneurs. Her other activities and accomplishments include:

Co-Founder, Whole Woman Network and i.S.E.R.V.E.2050 social enterprises; Nwanyibuife for women/youth, with a mission to raise up a new generation of Transformational, Ethical & Creative African Leaders.
Founder, POETRY4Change & SEED4Her/SEED4Him Leadership Initiatives for African Youth.
Passionate social justice advocate for Gender Equity, Quality Public School Education, Financial Literacy & Empowerment programs, especially in the delivery of certification trainings, seminars and workshops on Self-leadership, Transformational Leadership, Community Development & Wealth creation.
Dynamic Speaker and Trainer on Social Enterprise, Transformational Leadership and results-based Coaching, with a focus on empowering rural women to build sustainable and resilient cooperatives and communities.
Strategic Interventionist, delivering Experiential workshops for Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs on Work-Life Choices, and how to achieve Excellence & Success in the New Empathy-Driven, Data-Value-Based Economy. Author of upcoming books: “UN-Locking Your HeArt of Leadership”; Collections of Short Stories and Poems: “Conversations With An Amichi GrandMother” & “Today, I Will Not Bow.” She has worked as a Sun Life Financial advisor.

The Worker Co-op Best Practices Award goes to a worker co-operative which has demonstrated best practices in governance and/or operations, including in upholding the values and principles of the co-operative movement within their co-operative, and has shared or is willing to share their experience and learnings with other worker co-operatives in Canada.

SSG is an award-winning climate action planning firm dedicated to creating a decarbonized world in which people and ecosystems thrive. SSG’s approach to developing their worker compensation and benefits package is an example of what can be achieved by soliciting and valuing the collective wisdom of their member-owners, the broader worker co-op community, and expert guidance. SSG will share the findings from their research on compensation in worker co-ops at the Conference.

Both of the awards will be presented at CWCF’s AGM, taking place from 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, November 20. Although only delegates may vote, anyone with an interest is welcome and encouraged to attend, as a means of both showing appreciation for the award recipients and participating in the democratic process of the pan-Canadian worker co-operative movement.