By the CWCF Board of Directors
CWCF is pleased to announce the appointment of Christine Clarke (she/her) as its incoming Co-Executive Director. Christine will join our team on September 8, 2026. She is a co-operative developer, educator and advocate for co-operatives and the solidarity economy. She believes that co-operative approaches can build the foundation for just and equitable workplaces and transformative community projects.
She is a Co-founder of Freedom Dreams Co-operative Education, a co-operative development and education hub that shares knowledge and resources about co-operatives and the solidarity economy from a Black, Indigenous and Person of Colour (BIPOC) perspective. She previously served as Director of Operations Strategy at the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet), where she played a leading role in the organization’s strategic and operational development. Recently, Christine co-authored the report Strengthening Equity and Access to Development Supports in Canada’s Co-operative Entrepreneurship Ecosystem for Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, exploring how to increase representation of equity-deserving entrepreneurs in the formal co-operative sector. (French version here).
“From being a farmer curious about how co-ops can build resilience in local communities to a sector leader, who believes this model can bring about transformation as part of the broader solidarity economy, I’m excited to move our collective work forward by joining the team at CWCF,” says Christine.
Active in the solidarity economy and community economic development since 2019, Christine has partnered on co-operative projects and facilitated presentations and workshops for a number of sector organizations, including Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, CoopZone, Canadian Association for the Study of Co-operatives, Ontario Co-operative Association, British Columbia Co-operative Association, Co-operators Young Leaders Award and Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre among others.
On behalf of the CWCF Board of Directors, we welcome Christine Clarke to CWCF as Co-Executive Director. Christine’s grounding in co-operative development and her commitment to equity within the solidarity economy strongly aligns with our membership needs. We look forward to the leadership she will bring to our organization and our members in the years ahead.
Congratulations and Welcome, Christine