Welcome! New Leadership at Employee Ownership Centers

The Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership (PCEO) and the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center (RMEOC) each has a newly appointed executive director, signaling a possible revitalization of state/regional employee ownership centers. Kevin McPhillips is the new executive director of the PCEO and Halisi Vinson is the new executive director of the RMEOC.

The PCEO is a subsidiary of the NCEO, and is funded by the NCEO, in-state donors, a member of the NCEO board, and the Employee Ownership Foundation. The mission of the PCEO is to provide business leaders and others information to help them make good choices about employee ownership. McPhillips says, "The message that I have heard so clearly from all of those involved in the founding of the PCEO is one of selfless and enthusiastic desire to change lives in a real, positive, and substantial way in Pennsylvania. To be part of that is a gift, and I'm very much looking forward to making that happen."

The RMEOC's mission is to "stimulate employee ownership opportunities" through awareness, education, and being a contact point for government officials. The chair of its board, Greg Weiss, says "We are thrilled to have Halisi as our first executive director. We are confident that she will take RMEOC to the next level."

These two organizations join the other state programs. The oldest state center, founded in 1987, is the Ohio Center for Employee Ownership. Part of Kent State University, the OEOC is the oldest state/regional center and provides a wide variety of education, an annual conference, peer networking, a succession planning program, support for cooperative development, and extensive research and publications. The Vermont Employee Ownership Center is an independent nonprofit that promotes and fosters employee ownership. The Beyster Institute at the University of California San Diego's Rady School of Business runs the California Center for Employee Ownership. Several other state centers are in various stages of development.

Anyone interested in learning more about a state center, helping launch a new center, or supporting the NCEO's work to provide support and resources for the expansion of the state centers should contact the centers directly, contact the NCEO's Tim Garbinsky, or join a meeting about the state centers during the NCEO's 2016 conference.