In an economy where many feel they’re trading their well-being just to get by, how do we build systems that actually generate lasting, collective prosperity?

In this episode of The Wealth We Build, host Yessica Holguin is joined by Jervis DiCiccio to explore the untapped potential of anchor institutions: the hospitals, universities, and government entities rooted permanently in Metro Denver.

Jervis breaks down why shifting the massive economic engines of these "eds and meds" through local procurement and impact investing isn’t just altruism, it’s a win-win strategy for building resilient supply chains, strengthening local businesses, and shifting ownership back into the community. From the hurdles of complex RFP processes to visionary models like converting security firms into worker-owned cooperatives, this conversation provides a practical roadmap for closing the racial wealth gap from the ground up.

Key Topics Covered:

• Defining community wealth: common interest, abundance, and fair distribution
• What makes an institution an "anchor" (and why sports teams and airports count)
• Overcoming procurement barriers for historically underutilized local businesses
• Lessons from Washington DC’s Anchor Partnership on local supply chain resilience
• Turning institutional capital into local cooperative ownership

Connect with Us: 

https://www.communitywealth.org/

https://www.instagram.com/ccwdenver/

https://www.facebook.com/ccwdenver

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ccwb

Produced by the Center for Community Wealth. Recorded at Denver Community Media. 

In this episode of The Wealth We Build, host Yessica Holguin is joined by Michaela Holmes and Joel Newton from the Center for Community Wealth to explore how worker-owned cooperatives are transforming economies, fostering dignity, and closing the wealth gap.

Discover what worker cooperatives are, how they empower employees through shared decision-making and profit-sharing, and why Colorado is quickly becoming a national hub for cooperative enterprise. From incubators and back-office technical assistance to transitioning traditional businesses into worker-owned models, learn how shared ownership is building long-term community wealth.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

*What is Community Wealth?
*What is a Worker Cooperative? (Shared Power & Profits)
*What Types of Businesses Make Ideal Cooperatives?
*How Employee Agency & Ownership Drives Innovation
*The Worker-Owned Cooperative Academy: How CCW Helps Startups
*Technical Assistance & Back-Office Boost for Existing Co-ops
*Colorado's Co-op Peer Network: Stronger Together
*Business Conversions: Retiring Owners & Employee Ownership
*Overcoming Barriers & Mindsets Around Co-op Ownership
*Why Colorado is the "Delaware of Cooperative Law"
*4 Ways You Can Support the Cooperative Ecosystem Today

KEY TAKEAWAYS & WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Educate & Spread the Word: Share the power of shared ownership with neighbors and fellow business owners.

Convert a Business: Explore worker ownership as an exit strategy to keep local business legacies alive.

Shop Co-ops: Support immigrant-led and local worker cooperatives directly in your community (ranging from home cleaning to maternal wellness). https://www.communitywealth.org/get-involved/buy-local/shop-co-op

CONNECT WITH CENTER FOR COMMUNITY WEALTH

Website: https://www.communitywealth.org/

Shop Co-op Directory: https://www.communitywealth.org/get-involved/buy-local/shop-co-op

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccwdenver/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccwdenver

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ccwb

EPISODE CREDITS

Produced by: Center for Community Wealth

Host: Yessica Holguin

Featured Guests: Michaela Holmes & Joel Newton

Director, Producer & Editor: Julie Jackson

Crew Support: Jameson Johnson & Tara DeCluette

Music & Graphics: Motion Array , Theme Song: "Playa Trip" by Diego Martinez

Special Thanks: Patrick Jackson, Elena Vasconez & CCW Board of Directors

Recorded at: Denver Community Media 

According to 2024 census data, minority-owned businesses represent approximately 22.6% of US employers, totaling around 1.3 million businesses. Yet, traditional economic development often prioritizes attracting massive multinational corporations over supporting the homegrown entrepreneurs who keep our communities alive.

In this episode of The Wealth We Build, host Yessica Holguin is joined by Kimberly Bonner from the Center for Community Wealth (CCW) to discuss why a "local-first" approach is the real key to closing the racial wealth gap.

Kimberly pulls back the curtain on how CCW is serving as a bridge to help micro-businesses overcome the "moat" of institutional procurement. We dive deep into the incredibly successful "Feeding Anchors" catering program, a brand-new "BEST" cohort for skilled trades, and the raw, unglamorized realities of entrepreneurship today, including inflation, skyrocketing rents, and the often-overlooked mental health struggles of small business owners.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The "Local-First" Approach: Why hyper-local investing beats corporate attraction every time.
• Cracking the Institutional Code: How small catering and skilled trade businesses can land lucrative contracts with universities, hospitals, and government agencies.
• The Entrepreneurial Reality Check: Kimberly’s top two pieces of advice for anyone looking to start a business (and why passion isn't enough).
• The Power of Interconnectedness: Moving away from the myth of hyper-individualism to survive economic volatility.
• A 20-Year Vision for Denver: What true democratization and systems change look like for local economies.

Are you a local caterer or a skilled trade business with fewer than 10 employees in the Denver metro area? CCW is launching its next BEST cohort in Fall 2026! 

https://www.communitywealth.org/programs/small-business/apply-to-best 

Connect with the Center for Community Wealth:

• Website: https://www.communitywealth.org/
• Instagram & Facebook: @CCWDenver
• LinkedIn: Center for Community Wealth

Don't forget to like, subscribe, and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode! Help us uplift the voices building the wealth our communities deserve.

The Roots of Collective Action: A History of Community Wealth Building

Description: What does it mean to build an economy rooted in dignity, community ownership, and respect? In the inaugural episode of The Wealth We Build, host Yessica Holguin is joined by community champions Michelle Sturm, Patrick Horvath, and Michael Miera to track the grassroots history of the community wealth building movement in metro Denver.

From a fateful 2013 delegation trip to study the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, to an early Denver symposium that almost got the organizers arrested, the guests pull back the curtain on how a passionate, all-volunteer network rejected top-down consultant models to build a self-determined economic ecosystem from the ground up.

Tune in to discover how changing the way anchor institutions, cities, and local entrepreneurs collaborate can successfully rewrite an unfair system, dismantle the myth of the "self-made" individual, and pave a path of "most resistance" to achieve true economic justice.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• The core differences between traditional economic development and collective economics.
• The 12-year history tracking from the early volunteer days of the Community Wealth Building Network to the founding of the Center for Community Wealth.
• How major healthcare and higher education institutions realized they couldn't "clinic their way out" of local poverty.
• Yessica’s personal journey from community organizing in Nicaragua back to a rapidly gentrifying Denver.
• The intentionality required to design wealth-building structures that include, rather than exclude, communities of color and micro-businesses.
• The core pillars of CCW's work