Ben Cadwallader

View Ben's resume here.

Why would you like to serve on the City Market Board? What excites you about becoming a Board Member?

Like most of you, I view City Market as more than a place to buy quality groceries.  I’ve been a South End resident for the past four years, and witnessed firsthand how our neighborhood has been improved by the new location.  That our sweet little state has enabled City Market to grow to one of the largest co-ops in the country is a testament to the values we hold dear as Vermonters, and another perfect example of Vermont punching well above our weight.

I also know that cooperative ownership makes us very different from a traditional business, requiring clear accountability to Members; strategic leadership and delegation between Members, the Board, and Management; and trust-driven, true teamwork interwoven in every decision.

I’ve always loved working with others thinking strategically, creatively, and boldly to innovate and solve adaptive challenges.  I’m inspired by what City Market is doing and it would be an honor to serve on this Board.  If I’m fortunate enough to be elected, I would look forward to learning as much as I can while making genuine connections with Members who hold a broad spectrum of opinions, as we work together to move the Co-op forward.

Please describe any professional skills you have that will help you to be an effective Board Member. How would you help the Board to balance the business needs of a $50 million business with the need to meet our Global Ends as a community-owned cooperative? 

I’m fortunate to have spent most of my career in leadership positions, and am experienced in working with a non-profit Board.  While a Cooperative Board is a different model, this experience would enhance my ability to be a responsible Board member.

I oversee financial management of a $1.5MM organization and would be able to apply knowledge of finance to larger, more complex finances at City Market.

However, I imagine that people skills are more important than governance and finance. My career has taught me that empathy and humility, authentically deployed, create conditions for trust to flourish, enabling forward movement in the presence of diverse views.

This was exemplified when the Musicians of the VSO elected to unionize, joining the American Federation of Musicians in 2017. I served as lead Management negotiator, building the organization’s first Collective Bargaining Agreement. Before negotiations, I met with Musician negotiators, seeking to know them individually, learn about the moving forces behind their decision, and hear what they hoped to accomplish. The tone that we set during that meeting was one of mutual respect, and the knowledge that despite current and future disagreements we will always be honest and seek to understand before acting.

Describe your prior involvement with community organizations and/or cooperatives. What did you learn from these experiences?

I have worked in community-supported non-profit arts organizations for almost the entirety of my career. Because of this, I have made it a point to stay connected and involved in my community through volunteer work. I’ve found volunteering to be incredibly rewarding, and essential to my general well-being, focus, and work-life balance.

I’m currently a volunteer mentor with the King Street Center. I’ve been working with a remarkable nine-year-old boy named Lucas. We hang out together on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings, and time spent with Lucas is always one of the week’s highlights.

I currently serve on the Church Council (functions very similar to a non-profit Governing Board) at College Street Congregational Church.

During my years in Los Angeles, I volunteered as a music teacher at the “Heart of Los Angeles” community center. While in San Antonio I volunteered at the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, leading weeknight groups for kids and teens who recently lost a loved one to a terminal illness.

What opportunities and challenges do you see in the future of City Market?

My understanding of Board service at City Market is that individual Board Members do not have authority to make decisions on behalf of the Cooperative.  That being said…

Member Engagement

I would love to explore how the Cooperative can better engage Membership in ways beyond purchasing goods. What opportunities currently exist for Member engagement? What would strong Member engagement look like and what new opportunities might we create? In what ways is City Market incentivizing Members to participate? What issues are most important to Members?

Advocacy, Access, and Affordability

Each of these three could be in its own category, but I see the three as closely linked. Access to quality local food and produce should not be a privilege afforded only to the middle-class and above, and I worry that some of our neighbors are not able to afford shopping at City Market, and may view our Cooperative as out of touch and out of reach for lower income households. How might we creatively address that perception? What opportunities exist with local farms and suppliers to address this? What about state and local government?