ABOUT US

WHO WE ARE

We are a group of citizens concerned about the continuing growth in economic disparity in the United States. The goal of the Center is to make an impact. We are interested in targeting structural and systemic factors, not simply to provide charity. While board members share a passion to reverse wealth and income inequality, we do not claim to be experts. We were aware that our mission was ambitious hence needed to find a niche among the numerous efforts to address the growing wealth gap. Our question was: what could we do that adds to existing efforts? We began our work by researching and assessing current efforts to mitigate wealth and income inequality. Read more about these research efforts here.


After this intensive research process, the development of new worker coops was chosen as the focus of our continuing work by the board.  We were convinced that the idea of greater compensation equity and democratization of worker owned businesses was a more compelling pathway.  A progressive work environment itself is also a source of education and continuing on the job training.  Also important is that there does not appear to be significant opposition to worker ownership.


As we continued to focus, again the question: what can we do that is different from the many organizations that advocate, train, incubate, lend and invest in worker cooperatives? If worker coops are a good idea with many progressive features, how do we get more people interested? 

It seemed only too obvious that the necessary capital to start a business is a critical barrier for many and especially those below median income. We are aware that there are many critically important lenders and investment groups. Despite their existence we considered that many individuals and smaller groups may need and benefit from a monetary incentive to initiate the spark to create a worker cooperative.


Hence, we have committed to take the next step to issue a call for proposals to grant seed money to small groups.  We have assembled an advisory committee to provide input and guidance on our grant proposal.  Our intention is to announce the details of our grant proposals on this website by the beginning of 2027. Joining our email list, and more critically, a donation will go a long way to enhancing our efforts.


Meet the Board and Staff

Kevin McGirr
Board President
Kevin McGirr
Board President

Kevin has spent decades as a behavioral health provider, administrator, educator and researcher.

Mike Gondek
Board Treasurer
Mike Gondek
Board Treasurer

Mike has 45 years of experience in executive management positions in affordable housing and community development. He also has substantial experience in real estate development and finance in the non-profit, public, and private sectors.  


He is the founding executive director of a nationally-recognized community development corporation as well as executive director of Massachusetts’ quasi-public housing agency for non-profit developers.  


Mike is a senior commercial real estate lender for private firm.

Candy Dato
Board Secretary
Candy Dato
Board Secretary

Candy has a long history of teaching and providing mental health services.  


She is now engaged in her second career as an actor.

Steven Rowe
Board Member
Steven Rowe
Board Member

Stephen is currently a psychiatric nursing practitioner student and has spent many years providing mental health care in California's central valley.

Nadine Cohen
Board Member
Nadine Cohen
Board Member

Nadine has devoted her career at both the Greater Boston Legal Services and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, where she worked on cases involving a range of issues, including civil rights, housing, employment discrimination, predatory lending, voting rights, and affirmative action.

José Gutiérrez
Board Member
José Gutiérrez
Board Member

José is a retired filmmaker and media broadcast producer, specialized in the Latino market. His career includes over 35 years of experience in Project Management on a variety of media, health, environmental, advertising and social marketing related subjects.

Rob Persons
Project Manager
Rob Persons
Project Manager

Rob is passionate about worker-ownership and brings over a decade of experience in environmental and social justice movements. His MA degree from CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies focused on co-op development and internal democracy at employee owned firms. Rob is an avid reader and loves the outdoors. He is based in Bellingham, Washington.

Our Organizational Core Values

Our Mission

The mission of the Center for the Study of Income and Wealth Disparity is to research, educate, and advocate for change related to income and wealth disparity.

Our Values and Beliefs

  1. It is asserted that there are significant structural and Systemic processes situating individuals at significant disadvantage in the distribution in wealth and income.
  2. It is acknowledged that individual effort and personal agency also contribute to economic status however, systemic, and legacy resources in the way of family wealth, social connections, enriched educational opportunities are more powerful enablers of economic gain. Our priority aim is to address and advocate for the structural changes that impede individual effort and personal agency.
  3. It is asserted that deprivation and disparity in material resources has a significant impact on individuals in the way of denial or limitations in access to even the most basic resources, e.g., housing, food, health care, and education.
  4. Material deprivation and disparity segregates individuals and creates barriers that potentially confer a status of inferiority hence diminishing one’s esteem and confidence.
  5. Mitigation of material deprivation and disparity is morally compelling and necessitates efforts that specifically address and target the lack of and access to material equity.
  6. Symptom remedies are critical to the survival of many individuals and groups. Charities, philanthropies and governmental programs provide necessary aid in the way of material support and services. However, we are aware that these remedies often do not address the structural issues and potentially maintain individuals in a regressive dependency status.
  7. Mitigation efforts are conceptualized as resources that provide direct material equity and psychological worth serving to reduce dependency, psychological stress, and also enhancing self-worth, independence, and a personal sense of social inclusion.

Our Objectives

  1. The organization intends to focus on material resource deficits and disparity e.g. wealth and income.
  2. The organization intends to mitigate material deprivation and disparity by targeting the deepest levels of socio-economic structures.
  3. The organization will survey and assess current and emerging efforts related to mitigation of wealth and income inequality and consider how they may be supported by our organization.
  4. Upstream remedies are prioritized over “symptom remedies,” e.g. remedies that fail to address the larger economic structural issues.
  5. Henceforth, the organization will consider support for collective action such as: unionization as well as initiatives that advocate for guaranteed access to adequate income, housing, healthcare, food, and education.
  6. Mitigation efforts will also consider targeting social and cultural values that privilege various occupational roles, e.g., management, professionals, finance, which results in significant compensation differentiation. The effort here is to highlight the value, worth and dignity of all labor which should be justly compensated. This effort contrasts with efforts that support educational and occupational opportunities while maintaining significant economic distinctions for various types of labor.
  7. The organization will target efforts that are conceptualized as a progressive redistribution of wealth and income, i.e., those who have greater material resource are responsible for a greater proportional re-allocation of those resources.
  8. The organization will endeavor to collaborate with other organizations who similarly target and are addressing the above issues and efforts.