Exploring Community Economics

We are in a time of intense transformation. In this session, Rhinebeck Responds invited locals to imagine a brighter future and consider new ideas from guest speakers.

This event was originally on Zoom on June 25, 2020.

This event was an experiment in imagining Rhinebeck’s future through the lens of economics and community. Attendees participated in a group activity to focus on what we cherish about this place and how that relates to our values. Guest speakers presented real life examples of new business models and economic programs, and discussed why values-led decision making is so important.

Note: It’s an intense time. This session was meant to be an outlet for folks interested in generative visioning workshops. We understand this moment is distressing in a very real way and that now may not be the time for you. We invite you to join whenever/if ever you want to.

Guest Speakers: Michael Slaby is a strategist interested in technology, politics and saving the world in various combinations. He works for the nonprofit Harmony Labs, which has a focus on media systems that support democratic culture and happy people. He was the Chief Technology Officer for Obama for America in 2008, and rejoined as Chief Integration and Innovation Officer in 2012. He’s a volunteer firefighter here in Rhinebeck, where he lives with his wife and cats.

Iridian Lucas-Garcia is a graduate of Rhinebeck Central Schools, a DACA recipient and member of Culture Connect’s College Connect program. She is currently interning at Antonio Delgado’s office and advocating for the immigrant experience in the 19th district.

Leanne Ussher is a visiting Professor at Bard College and teaches Economics and Finance and helps design local currencies for grassroots community organizing. Her research focus is on monetary theory, cryptoeconomics, local currencies and the history of economic thought. Leanne is also a grassroots activist and works as the Economist for the Hudson Valley Current, a local currency platform that operates out of Kingston. Leanne has a PhD in economics from the New School for Social Research. In her spare time she likes to bake bread, compost, and nurture a garden for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

Alexander Kolokotronis is a PhD candidate in political science at Yale University, and Director of Policy for the Justin Farmer State Senate campaign. He is formerly a Worker Cooperative Development Assistant at Make the Road New York and Student Coordinator of NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives.

Amelia Legare began her journey into the field of garden-to-institution education, fulfilling the role as garden educator at Mill Road Elementary School in Red Hook, NY. Amelia has also been owner and operator of Avant-Gardens since 2015, a horticultural design and maintenance business. Most recently, she opened O Zone, which presents community members with the opportunity to learn about their options as well as engage in sustainability practices, whether through her bulk refill store, Community Compost CSA program, or various workshops.

Host: Vanessa Bertozzi is on the Rhinebeck Responds Steering Committee and is the Environmental Specialist for Rhinebeck Village, where she is running in an unending, unopposed campaign for Village Trustee. She works as a freelance consultant with a heart, with her most recent stint at The New York Times. She lives in the Village with her two small children and filmmaker husband.