Celebrating 75 Years: Shaping the Future of Co-op Education
ACE Institute 2026
July 29-July 31
Minneapolis, Minnesota!
Learning, Collaboration, and Shared Practice in Minneapolis
What Happened at ACE Institute 2026 from July 29-31,
Celebrating 75 Years: Shaping the Future of Co-op Education
For 75 years, ACE Conferences have built a community of co-op educators! Cooperative owners, staff members accountable for education, academics, Developers and came together to advance cooperative education through shared learning and collaboration!
The ACE Institute 2026 was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota and connected participants from across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico where they shared strategies, learn ed from each other and made some new friends!
The conference was a really great way to learn from educators in the local co-ops that are doing really fun things!
Some of the highlights included
- A Welcome Reception with food from Eastside Food Co-op and Indigenous owned Gatherings Cafe
- 1 full day of session learning including our Keynote Panel with Tamah Yisrael, Dr Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Nonkululeko Tabata, Electra Skrzydlewski Click here to look at who presented
- A big 75th Anniversary Banquet! Where we celebrated being connected in an Educator Community for 75 years and the collective impacts we’ve made! Presented awards to individuals making an impact in the Co-op spaces including CHS Foundation (The William Nelson Contribution to ACE Award), Meira Smit (The William Hlushko Award to Young Cooperative Educators) Mercado Central (The John Logue ACE Award), Joél Mejia (The Jessica Gordon Nembhard Cooperative Education and Training Award), Solid State Community Industries (The Mary Nirlungayuk ᒥᐊᕆ ᓂᓪᓗᖓᔪ Award in Cooperative Governance)
- 1 full day of co-op tours where we met some of the local cooperators and learned how they are doing education in their spaces! Including CHS Inc. Mercado Central, Mayday Cafe, and Seward Community Co-op
This years theme was Celebrating 75 Years: Shaping the Future of Co-op Education
2026 Topics under this theme included:
Past and Future of Cooperative Education
Reflecting on 75 years of how educators and practitioners bridge theory and lived practice, develop practical tools, and share knowledge to build effective, resilient co-ops, and exploring what lessons carry forward for the next generation of co-op practitioners.
Cooperation Under Pressure
Understanding how cooperatives operate as stabilizing forces within stressed communities, and how cooperation among co-ops strengthens collective impact in the face of social, economic, and climate-related challenges.
Advocacy, Influence, and Public Relevance
How cooperatives push past indifference, influence decision-makers, and assert relevance in crowded or skeptical environments.
Scholarships
Scholarships were made available by our sponsors including CHS Foundation, Fidecoop, CDF, CHS Foundation and Ralph K. Morris . These scholarships cover ed conference attendance and many participants attendance was made possible due these generous donations!
ACE Awards
The William Hlushko Award to Young Cooperative Educators
Meira Smit
THE JOHN LOGUE ACE AWARD
Mercado Central
The Jessica Gordon Nembhard Cooperative Education and Training Award
Joél Mejia
The William Nelson Contribution to ACE Award
CHS Foundation
The Mary Nirlungayuk ᒥᐊᕆ ᓂᓪᓗᖓᔪ Award in Cooperative Governance:
Solid State Community Industries
Every year, the Association of Cooperative Educators acknowledges the outstanding work of co-operative educators. We have five categories. It is not required to give an award in each category every year, but we want to make sure to recognize people in our field of cooperative education and development who merit recognition.
An abbreviated description of each category is below.
- The Jessica Gordon Nembhard Cooperative Education and Training Award: The award acknowledges the efforts of an individual or organization for their ongoing work in educating others about cooperatives. This is a longstanding award renamed in 2022 to acknowledge the incredible contribution of Jessica Gordon Nembhard to cooperative education.
- The William Hlushko Award to Young Cooperative Educators:
The Association of Cooperative Educators (ACE) established this award in 1978 to acknowledge and recognize outstanding achievement of young cooperative educators who are members of the organization and are below the age of 35. Many awardees have gone on to make major contributions to the field. - The Reginald J. Cressman ACE Award:
The Award recognizes an ACE Member who demonstrates outstanding commitment to staff development as exemplified by long-time cooperator Reginald J. Cressman. - The John Logue ACE Award:
The Award, which honors John Logue, founder of the Ohio Employee Ownership Center, recognizes an individual or organization whose educational programs, technical assistance, or research acts as a catalyst for change by creating innovative cooperatives. - The William Nelson Contribution to ACE Award:
The Award recognizes an individual or an organization that adds significant value to ACE. This is a longstanding award renamed in 2016 to acknowledge the incredible contribution of William J. Nelson to the association. - The Mary Nirlungayuk ᒥᐊᕆ ᓂᓪᓗᖓᔪ Award in Cooperative Governance:
This award is granted for an individual or organization that has contributed to Board Governance education. This award was created in 2025 in honour of Mary ᒥᐊᕆ Nirlungayuk ᓂᓪᓗᖓᔪ Inuit Elder, Cooperative Educator and Vice-President of Governance and Member Relations at Arctic Co-operative.
A huge thank-you to our sponsors!
