Rink Dickinson

   Lecture November 9, 2006

Rink Dickinson is the co-founder and co-executive director of Equal Exchange in Boston, Massachusetts. Since the founding of Equal Exchange in 1986, he has played, at one time or another, almost every major role in helping Equal Exchange to become a model of a democratically controlled, socially responsible business. Equal Exchange was founded to create a new approach to trade, one that engages consumers and builds hones and Fair Trade relationships through cooperative principles. As a worker-owned Fair Trade Organization, Equal Exchange builds long-term trade relationships, connecting consumers with small-scale farmers and their families around the world through quality foods.

Dickinson was deeply influenced by the two principle areas where he grew up: inner-city Detroit and the "Springsteen" region of New Jersey. He first gained a passion for organic foods when working at the New England Food Co-ops in the early 1980s. There he met Michael Rozyne and Jonathan Rosenthal, with whom he co-founded Equal Exchange. Their goal was to create an unprecedented, progressive organization that balanced the interests of farmers, customers, shareholders, and workers. They had no models to follow, but did decide to forego the privileges that normally accrue to entrepreneurs. Instead, they structured Equal Exchange as a worker-owned cooperative, where every employee would also be an equal owner, each with one vote and each eligible to serve on the company’s board.

Dickinson has also served on the board of another natural foods worker co-op, Once Again Nut Butters (New York). He holds a BA from SUNY-Binghamton, and a MA in urban planning from M.I.T.

This lecture is part of a week long focus on Fair Trade including workshops, presentations, and a Fair Trade market place in the K-State Student Union. The week concludes with the annual Mennonite meal and sale at Pottorf Hall.

Jointly Sponsored by Crossroads of ECM, Manhattan Mennonite Church,  K-State Women's Studies