The Democracy Collaborative’s work is as essential today as it was when Gar Alperovitz and I founded it 22 years ago as an academic research center at the University of Maryland, College Park. Both Gar and I are immensely proud of TDC’s accomplishments and enthusiastic about its future as we turn the organization over to a new generation of brilliant, talented leaders who are poised and ready to take TDC into an exciting new phase of its work. We know that TDC’s brightest days are ahead. 

Much has changed in America and the world since we founded TDC in 2000. Democracies are challenged and authoritarianism is on the rise, including at many levels in the United States. Wealth inequality and the climate crisis have escalated with no end in sight. A new level of racial reckoning has come to America in recent years. The Covid pandemic disrupted lives and economies on a global scale.

TDC, a relatively small action-oriented think tank – or as we call it, a learning laboratory for the democratic economy – has consistently punched above its weight to catalyze new ideas, new thinking, new policies, and on-the-ground action and impact. We created novel concepts and frameworks that have been disseminated widely and adopted by others, including community wealth building, the anchor (institution) mission, the democratic economy, the extractive economy, democratic public ownership, impact capital and capital bias, and many others. Our demonstration projects – from Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperatives to the Preston Model in England – have inspired people worldwide.

While we have accomplished much since we began in 2000, in many ways, TDC’s work has just begun. Given our mission to catalyze a new system and political economy beyond capitalism as we know it, TDC will need to expand its reach and scale, and that will require new resources, greater capacity, and most importantly new leadership with reinvigorated energy, commitment and clarity of vision.

As TDC moves into its third decade, the time has come for its founders to step aside and for a new generation of leaders to come to the fore. I’m particularly excited to know that we are moving into a new leadership structure – a CEO and a President, working closely together in a powerful partnership. Stephanie McHenry, our incoming CEO, and Joe Guinan, our new President, represent a new generation of leaders for our organization. They bring diversity and a wealth of new experience and talent, and a deep and abiding commitment to the organization’s work. 

I cannot wait to see the incredible advances TDC will make under its new leadership team and the impact it will have.