email:
nstephens@democracycollaborative.org
Manager, Anchor Collaborative Network (ACN)
Nate joined the Democracy Collaborative as manager for the Anchor Collaborative Network (ACN) in June, 2019. As manager of ACN, Nate's work aims to develop and grow a nation-wide learning network of anchor institutions, collaboratives, and communities working to create inclusive and equitable local economies. This nascent network encompasses many of TDC's research areas and will explore how anchor collaboration can multiply the effects of individual democratization strategies. Prior to joining The Democracy Collaborative, Nate worked at Root Change as a senior technical officer, managing and facilitating programs to build systems capacities in diverse organizations and sectors. In that role he managed USAID-funded programs in Latin America and Africa while overseeing a strategic transformation process with a child and youth development organization working in 10 countries.
As a Peace Corps volunteer in western Cameroon, Nate helped found a rural entrepreneurship training center/rabbit-raising cooperative which now has 150 members, more than 300 people trained in micro-enterprise development, and four satellite campuses. He has an MPA with a concentration in Power in Development Systems from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a BA in Anthropology/Sociology with a concentration in Educational Studies from Carleton College in Minnesota. He grew up on a cattle ranch in the Black Hills of South Dakota where his passion for local ownership and cooperation began.