Maru Bautista And Aaron Dawson Join USFWC Leadership
The Seasoned Cooperators Bring Extensive Field Experience to the Newly Created Leadership Positions of Deputy Director and Director of Operations and Finance
We are excited to welcome Maru Bautista and Aaron Dawson into the USFWC leadership team in two newly created positions. Maru Bautista joins as Deputy Director, while Aaron Dawson joins as Director of Operations and Finance.
Maru brings to her role as Deputy Director a deep understanding of the worker co-op field, knowledge of project management, connections to immigrant communities, and strategic perspective, as well as her previous experience as a USFWC Board Member. Originally from Puebla, Mexico, Maru began her journey in the worker cooperative sector in Brooklyn, New York, where she focused on developing worker cooperatives within immigrant communities. A collaborator at heart, Maru brings to the USFWC years of experience cultivating relationships as a co-op development practitioner at the intersection of economic democracy, immigrant justice, and collective ownership. She is passionate about creating new tools to advance a solidarity economy and is an active member of the Solidarity Resource collective. Maru has previously served on the board of the USFWC and is currently a board member of the Democracy at Work Institute and Start.coop. Maru enjoys bookmaking and all things crafts, music, books and a good cup of coffee. Maru currently resides in Michigan with her daughter and partner.
Aaron comes to us from our member The Industrial Commons, where he just wrapped up work as their Senior Director of Training and Development. Aaron brings a unique skillset to support USFWC’s internal culture-building, financial management, transparency, professional development, and human resources work. He also has a deep understanding of our field and of how to support others with their operational growth. At The Industrial Commons (TIC) he led efforts to create and sustain greater worker participation at manufacturing plants that wanted to shift to a more engaged culture. He led TIC’s open-book financial management, supported worker committees on workplace culture, and oversaw the rollout and integration of various systems. He also coached and trained organizations in the Great Game of Business and in Coaching Supervision. Previously he was a worker-owner at Equal Exchange for 15 years where he oversaw a team of 12 people as their Customer Service Manager. He has served on the boards of USFWC, Democracy at Work Institute and Equal Exchange.
