Our Team
Christine Clarke
Christine Clarke (she/her) is a co-op developer, educator and advocate for co-ops 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 and a Program Manager for the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet), leading its climate action initiative STARCAP. Christine is a graduate of CoopZone’s Co-op Development Training Program and an instructor, designing and delivering the course, “Introduction to Co-operative Development: Principles, Practices and a Movement toward Transformative Change.”
Aileen Ling
Aileen Ling (she/her) is an interdisciplinary designer, strategist and cooperative developer in-training. She is passionate about understanding how design can be used for activism and societal transformation. She holds a MA in Design for Cultural Commons and has completed CoopZone’s Co-op Development Training Program. In her work she explores how participatory design methods can support collective creativity and agency within the cooperative and solidarity economy. Aileen is currently the Executive Director of Makerspace YK in Yellowknife, NWT.
Aileen is also a developer with the Ontario Co-operative Association’s Internship Program. Some of her other hats include being the co-founder of Makeshift Commons, a design consultancy that offers creative services for values-aligned groups and organizations, and an organizer with the Circular Economy Club chapters of Canada.
Susanna Redekop
Susanna Redekop (she/her) is a Co-Founder of Freedom Dreams Co-op Education and a Project Manager for the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) leading initiatives in social finance. As the former Communications Coordinator at Local Food and Farm Co-ops, she spent 7 years supporting the development of food co-ops and farm co-ops throughout Ontario. Previous roles include Engagement Manager for the federal government’s Investment Readiness Program, Climate Action Coordinator for the National Farmers Union - Ontario, Communications Coordinator for the Fair Finance Fund, and Communications Manager/Floor Manager at the West End Food Co-op, playing a key role in opening Toronto’s first multi-stakeholder food co-op and co-managed the store until its closure in 2018. Susanna holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Toronto and a MES from York University, where her thesis examined the Canadian co-operative sector with an intersectionality and cultural inclusion lens, building on solidarity economy.
