David J. Thompson, President, Twin Pines cooperative Foundation

David J. Thompson has worked for the national cooperative organizations of the United States, Britain and Japan as well as the United Nations. David specializes in funding the capital needs of the cooperative development sector. David was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in Washington DC in 2010. David was one of the co-op activists who worked with Ralph Nader and Mitch Rofsky to create the National Cooperative Bank.

David began work with the US food cooperative sector in 1969. He was one of the founders of Co-opportunity, Santa Monica, California. David is President of the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation where he initiated the Cooperative Community Fund (CCF) program. There are now almost 50 food co-ops throughout the USA which operate a CCF. The CCF program is the largest equity funder of co-op development organizations in the USA. www.community.coop

David is the author of “Co-opportunity: The Rise of a Community Owned Market”, “Weavers of Dreams” and over 400 articles about cooperatives. He lives in Davis, California.