Three Days to Build Montana's Cooperative Future

A working program for founders, cooperative leaders, investors, students, tribal leaders, and community builders advancing real ventures and launching a member-owned Montana economy.

CoBuild Montana Summit | October 20–22, 2026 | University of Montana, Missoula

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How to Read This Program

Every session belongs to one of five signature tracks. Mix and match to build your own path.

🟦 CEF — Cooperative Economy Foundation
🟩 CVP — Community Ventures & Partnerships
🟧 VTH — Venture Themes: Housing · Food · Biocarbon · Rural Health & Cooperative Care
🟪 TIE — Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy

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Day 1 — Monday, October 20

Foundations for a Cooperative Future. We ground everyone in cooperative models, member governance, and the ventures already taking shape across Montana.

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8:00 AM · Registration & Networking Coffee
Check in, grab coffee, and meet the people building a stronger Montana.

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9:00 AM · Opening Keynote: The Cooperative Opportunity 🟦 CEF
How cooperative ownership builds resilient, locally rooted economies — and why now is Montana's moment.

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9:30 AM · Panel: From Idea to Impact 🟩 CVP
Montana entrepreneurs share how they turned local ideas into thriving ventures.

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10:45 AM · Coffee & Networking Break
Stretch, refill, and keep the conversation going.

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11:00 AM · Choose one — these run at the same time

Deep-Dive: Housing 🟧 VTH
Land trusts, integrated building systems, and shared spaces that keep homes attainable for generations.

Deep-Dive: Rural Health & Cooperative Care 🟧 VTH
Funding pathways, shared-service models, and sustainable, member-owned community care.

Deep-Dive: Biocarbon 🟧 VTH
A biocarbon cooperative for biomass stewardship: enterprise opportunities and shared infrastructure.

Deep-Dive: Food 🟧 VTH
Montana grown: producer co-ops, shared processing, year-round access.

Deep-Dive: Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy 🟪 TIE
Indigenous-led cooperative development grounded in sovereignty and community ownership.

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12:30 PM · Community Lunch
A catered meal with local ingredients, seated by interest area for easy connection.

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1:30 PM · Workshop: The Venture Building Experience (VBX) 🟩 CVP
Teams develop a venture concept, map resources, and prepare a pitch in real time.

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3:30 PM · Panel: The Investor's Role in Community Enterprise 🟩 CVP
Mission-aligned investors on what they look for and how they measure success.

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5:30 PM · Community Social & Mixer
Unwind with local craft beverages and refreshments while the day's conversations keep flowing. Public coming for the evening Keynote can also join.

⭐ Public Evening Keynote 7:00 PM

Elizabeth MacBride

Author of Capital Evolution | Open to the broader Missoula community

Elizabeth MacBride has spent her career mapping how money moves — and how it can move differently. In this keynote, she shows what a forward-looking, purpose-driven economy looks like in practice, then connects that vision to the real ventures taking shape across our state.

It's a shared starting point for everyone in the room: founders, funders, students, and neighbors alike.

Free and open to the public. Separate check-in and seating for community guests.

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Day 2 — Tuesday, October 21

Scaling Impact & Building the Ecosystem. We connect ventures to partners and capital, with deep-dive working sessions across all five tracks. Day 2 carries the Startup World Cup USA Regional.

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8:30 AM · Networking Coffee
Gather over coffee and trade insights from Day 1 before the day's anchor moments begin.

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⭐ 9:30 AM · Morning Plenary: Reimagining Rural Montana: Stories from Towns Remaking Their Futures 🟩 CVP
Hear directly from leaders in Montana's legacy mining, farming, and timber towns as they share the stories, ideas, and initiatives they're building to reshape their communities' futures. A conversation-driven session about resilience, reinvention, and the community-rooted work already underway across the state.

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10:45 AM · Choose one — these run at the same time (continues from day 1)

Deep-Dive: Housing 🟧 VTH
Land trusts, integrated building systems, and shared spaces that keep homes attainable for generations.

Deep-Dive: Rural Health & Cooperative Care 🟧 VTH
Funding pathways, shared-service models, and sustainable, member-owned community care.

Deep-Dive: Biocarbon 🟧 VTH
A biocarbon cooperative for biomass stewardship: enterprise opportunities and shared infrastructure.

Deep-Dive: Food 🟧 VTH
Montana grown: producer co-ops, shared processing, year-round access.

Deep-Dive: Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy 🟪 TIE
Indigenous-led cooperative development grounded in sovereignty and community ownership.

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12:15 PM · Lunch & "Ask Me Anything" Tables
Topic tables let you put direct questions to speakers, panelists, and CoBuild leadership before the afternoon's anchor programming begins.

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⭐ 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM · Startup World Cup USA Regional 🟩 CVP
The day's marquee venture moment: 10 selected ventures pitch live to a panel of mission-aligned funders, with audience participation. A founder magnet, a funder touchpoint, and one of the summit's strongest signals that real capital and real ventures are meeting here in Montana.

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1:30 PM · Limited-Capacity Community Tours 🟩 CVP 🟧 VTH 🟪 TIE
Optional add-on tours bring the deep-dive themes to life out in the community. Each tour links directly to one of our five track themes — Housing, Rural Health & Cooperative Care, Biocarbon, Food, and Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy — and spotlights local implementation, on-the-ground projects, and the community-based work already underway around each theme. Space is limited: attendees can select a tour during registration on a first-come basis until each one fills.

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Day 3 — Wednesday, October 22

The Founding Ceremony — From Vision to Commitment. The formation year culminates in the official launch of CoBuild Montana.

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8:30 AM · CoBuild Montana Coffee - Gather one last time before the ceremony.

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⭐ 9:30 AM · The Official CoBuild Launch Ceremony: Procession & Presentation of Flags 🟦 CEF

The founding moment we've built toward together.

Nominated members are seated as the first board of directors, with the cooperative's headquarters in Missoula. The Summit ends with a collective founding pledge and a celebratory recessional into a theme-clustered poster and networking session — Housing, Rural Health, Biocarbon, Food, and Tribal Economy — where you can explore each theme, ask questions, and connect with the people leading the work. Collect a stamp at every theme to fill your card and become eligible for a prize.

Presenters and Facilitators

Elizabeth MacBride
Bestselling Author & Senior Consultant, We-Fi & The World Bank

Elizabeth MacBride is a national bestselling author whose latest book, Capital Evolution: The New American Economy, explores the forces reshaping economic life. Through journalism, policy, and storytelling for change, she illuminates the worlds of finance, entrepreneurship, and global tech. As a Senior Consultant for We-Fi and The World Bank, Elizabeth brings a global perspective and a gift for narrative that make her a compelling voice for Montana's cooperative future.

Kirstin Miller, AICP
Executive Director, Ecocity Builders & Co-Director, CoBuild Montana

Kirstin Miller draws on a deep background in planning and community development to advance systems change. As the cofounder and driving force behind CoBuild Montana, she works at the intersection of sustainability and local economies, helping communities turn grassroots ideas into resilient, locally owned ventures. Her work bridges big-picture vision and on-the-ground action.

Erik Guzik, PhD
Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Montana College of Business & Co-Director, CoBuild Montana

Erik Guzik, PhD, is a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Montana's College of Business and Co-Director of CoBuild Montana. He also serves as Co-Director of BIOTECH and is the CEO and Founder of PatientOne, Inc., bringing hands-on entrepreneurial experience to everything he does. A published researcher in creativity, economics, and entrepreneurship, Erik blends academic insight with real-world venture-building to help Montana's communities turn bold ideas into thriving cooperative enterprises.

Customer Service Manager

Karl Holland

Friendly, attentive, and always ready to help, our customer service manager ensures every interaction is a positive one. They keep communication clear, timely, and human.