Three Days Building Montana's Cooperative Future
A program for founders, cooperative leaders, investors, students, tribal leaders, and community builders advancing ventures and launching a more resilient economy.
CoBuild Montana Summit | October 20–22, 2026 | University of Montana, Missoula
══════════════════════════════════════
How to Read This Program
Every session belongs to one of five signature tracks.
🟦 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.
————————————————————
8:00 AM · Registration & Networking Coffee
Check in, grab coffee, and meet the people building a stronger Montana.
————————————————————
9:00 AM · Opening Keynote: The Cooperative Opportunity 🟦 CEF
How cooperative ownership builds resilient, locally rooted economies — and why now is Montana's moment.
————————————————————
9:30 AM · Panel: From Idea to Impact 🟩 CVP
Montana entrepreneurs share how they turned local ideas into thriving ventures.
————————————————————
10:45 AM · Coffee & Networking Break
Stretch, refill, and keep the conversation going.
————————————————————
11:00 AM · Choose one — these run at the same time
Deep-Dive: Housing P1 🟧 VTH
Land trusts, integrated building systems, and shared spaces that keep homes attainable for generations.
Deep-Dive: Rural Health & Cooperative Care P1 🟧 VTH
Funding pathways, shared-service models, and sustainable, member-owned community care.
Deep-Dive: Biocarbon P1 🟧 VTH
A biocarbon cooperative for biomass stewardship: enterprise opportunities and shared infrastructure.
Deep-Dive: Food Systems P1 🟧 VTH
Montana grown: producer co-ops, shared processing, year-round access.
Deep-Dive: Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy P1 🟪 TIE
Indigenous-led cooperative development grounded in sovereignty and community ownership.
————————————————————
12:30 PM · Community Lunch
A catered meal with local ingredients, seated by interest area for easy connection.
————————————————————
1:30 PM · Workshop: The Venture Building Experience (VBX) 🟩 CVP
Develop a venture concept, map resources, and prepare a pitch in real time.
————————————————————
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.
————————————————————
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.
⭐ Monday 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.
————————————————————
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.
————————————————————
8:30 AM · Networking Coffee
Gather over coffee and trade insights from Day 1 before the day's anchor moments begin.
————————————————————
⭐ 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.
————————————————————
10:45 AM · Choose one — these run at the same time (continues from day 1)
Deep-Dive: Housing P2 🟧 VTH
Land trusts, integrated building systems, and shared spaces that keep homes attainable for generations.
Deep-Dive: Rural Health & Cooperative Care P2 🟧 VTH
Funding pathways, shared-service models, and sustainable, member-owned community care.
Deep-Dive: Biocarbon P2 🟧 VTH
A biocarbon cooperative for biomass stewardship: enterprise opportunities and shared infrastructure.
Deep-Dive: Food Systems P2 🟧 VTH
Montana grown: producer co-ops, shared processing, year-round access.
Deep-Dive: Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy P2 🟪 TIE
Indigenous-led cooperative development grounded in sovereignty and community ownership.
————————————————————
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.
————————————————————
⭐ 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.
————————————————————
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.
══════════════════════════════════════
Day 3 — Wednesday, October 22
The Founding Ceremony — From Vision to Commitment. The formation year culminates in the official launch of CoBuild Montana.
————————————————————
8:30 AM · CoBuild Montana Coffee - Gather one last time before the ceremony.
————————————————————
⭐ 9:30 AM · The Official CoBuild Launch Ceremony 🟦 CEF
A ceremonial launch with processional and presentation of the flags of participating counties. The CoBuild Steering Committee is welcomed as the interim Board of Directors. Venture themes and tribal participants form working groups and nominate facilitators. A calendar is shared with quarterly events and an annual CoBuild Summit in Missoula. Reception and ribbon cutting ceremony follows at CoBuild MT’s new office in downtown Missoula!
Three Days Building Montana's Cooperative Future
A program for founders, cooperative leaders, investors, students, tribal leaders, and community builders advancing ventures and launching a more resilient economy.
CoBuild Montana Summit | October 20–22, 2026 | University of Montana, Missoula
══════════════════════════════════════
How to Read This Program
Every session belongs to one of four signature tracks.
🟦 CEF — Cooperative Economy Foundation
🟩 CVP — Community Ventures & Partnerships
🟧 VTH — Venture Themes: Housing · Food · Biocarbon · Rural Health & Cooperative Care
🟪 TIE — Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy
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.
———————————————————
8:00 AM · Registration & Networking Coffee
Check in, grab coffee, and meet the people building a stronger Montana.
———————————————————
9:00 AM · Opening Keynote: The Cooperative Opportunity 🟦 CEF
How cooperative ownership builds resilient, locally rooted economies — and why now is Montana's moment.
———————————————————
9:30 AM · Panel: From Idea to Impact 🟩 CVP
Montana entrepreneurs share how they turned local ideas into thriving ventures.
———————————————————
10:45 AM · Coffee & Networking Break
Stretch, refill, and keep the conversation going.
———————————————————
11:00 AM · Choose one — these run at the same time
Deep-Dive: Housing P1 🟧 VTH
Land trusts, integrated building systems, and shared spaces that keep homes attainable for generations.
Deep-Dive: Rural Health & Cooperative Care P1 🟧 VTH
Funding pathways, shared-service models, and sustainable, member-owned community care.
Deep-Dive: Biocarbon P1 🟧 VTH
A biocarbon cooperative for biomass stewardship: enterprise opportunities and shared infrastructure.
Deep-Dive: Food Systems P1 🟧 VTH
Montana grown: producer co-ops, shared processing, year-round access.
Deep-Dive: Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy P1 🟪 TIE
Indigenous-led cooperative development grounded in sovereignty and community ownership.
———————————————————
12:30 PM · Community Lunch
A catered meal with local ingredients, seated by interest area for easy connection.
———————————————————
1:30 PM · Workshop: The Venture Building Experience (VBX) 🟩 CVP
Develop a venture concept, map resources, and prepare a pitch in real time.
———————————————————
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.
———————————————————
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.
⭐ Monday 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.
———————————————————
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.
———————————————————
8:30 AM · Networking Coffee
Gather over coffee and trade insights from Day 1 before the day's anchor moments begin.
———————————————————
⭐ 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.
———————————————————
10:45 AM · Choose one — these run at the same time (continues from day 1)
Deep-Dive: Housing P2 🟧 VTH
Land trusts, integrated building systems, and shared spaces that keep homes attainable for generations.
Deep-Dive: Rural Health & Cooperative Care P2 🟧 VTH
Funding pathways, shared-service models, and sustainable, member-owned community care.
Deep-Dive: Biocarbon P2 🟧 VTH
A biocarbon cooperative for biomass stewardship: enterprise opportunities and shared infrastructure.
Deep-Dive: Food Systems P2 🟧 VTH
Montana grown: producer co-ops, shared processing, year-round access.
Deep-Dive: Tribal Cooperatives & Indigenous Economy P2 🟪 TIE
Indigenous-led cooperative development grounded in sovereignty and community ownership.
———————————————————
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.
———————————————————
⭐ 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.
———————————————————
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.
════════════════════════════
Day 3 — Wed., October 22
The Founding Ceremony — From Vision to Commitment. The formation year culminates in the official launch of CoBuild Montana.
—————————————————
8:30 AM · Networking Coffee - Gather one last time before the ceremony.
—————————————————
⭐ 9:30 AM · The Official CoBuild Launch Ceremony 🟦 CEF
The founding moment we've built toward together.
A ceremonial launch with processional and presentation of the flags of participating counties. The CoBuild Steering Committee is welcomed as the interim Board of Directors. Venture themes and tribal participants form working groups and nominate facilitators. A calendar is shared with quarterly events and an annual CoBuild Summit in Missoula. Reception and ribbon cutting ceremony follows at CoBuild MT’s new office in downtown Missoula!
Meet the Speakers and Facilitators
This year's CoBuild Summit brings together a remarkable group of builders, thinkers, and doers from across Montana and beyond. Each speaker shares a deep commitment to cooperative economics, sustainability, and the kind of community-led growth that keeps our state strong and self-reliant.
Keynote Speaker - Elizabeth MacBride
Title: National Bestselling Author & Senior Consultant
Organization: We-Fi & The World Bank
Track: Featured Keynote
Elizabeth MacBride is a national bestselling author whose latest book, Capital Evolution: The New American Economy, reimagines how capitalism can work for communities. Through journalism, policy, and storytelling for change, she explores the worlds of finance, entrepreneurship, and global technology. As a Senior Consultant for We-Fi and The World Bank, she brings a global perspective to Montana's cooperative movement and a gift for making big ideas feel within reach.
Kaetlyn Cordingley, PhD
Title: Associate Dean & Director of Career Development, Community Partnerships, and Scholarships
Organization: Davidson Honors College, University of Montana
Track: Community Ventures and Partnerships
Kaetlyn Cordingley serves as Associate Dean and Director at the Davidson Honors College, where she helps honors students reach their career and postgraduate goals. She also advises and teaches in the QUEST Program, a year-long challenge for students to tackle a pressing community issue. A Helena native with experience in government relations, the U.S. Senate, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction, she holds degrees from the University of Washington, Harvard University, and the University of Montana.
Erik Guzik, PhD
Title: Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship & Co-Director, CoBuild Montana
Organization: University of Montana College of Business / CoBuild Montana / VBX
Track: Summit Co-Organizer
Erik Guzik is a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Montana's College of Business and Co-Director of CoBuild Montana. As CEO and founder of VBX, PatientOne, Inc. and Co-Director of BIOTECH, he blends academic insight with hands-on venture-building experience. A published researcher in creativity, economics, and entrepreneurship, Erik helps Montana communities turn bold ideas into thriving cooperative enterprises.
Taylor Lennox
Title: Community Economic Development Director
Organization: Mission West Community Development Partners
Track: Cooperative Economy Foundation
Taylor Lennox works in community economic development with Mission West Community Development Partners, based in Missoula. Their work focuses on strengthening local economies and connecting communities with the tools and partnerships they need to grow. With a community-centered approach, Taylor helps lay the groundwork for cooperative ventures across western Montana.
Davey Madison
Title: Values-Led Consultant & Co-owner
Organization: Trillium Cooperative
Track: Tribal Economy
Davey Madison is a values-led consultant and co-owner of Trillium Cooperative, with deep roots in northeast Montana. A member of the Fort Peck Sioux and Turtle Mountain Chippewa, Davey grounds cooperative development in community and culture. Their work centers on building ventures rooted in shared values, local ownership, and lasting impact for Montana's communities.
Kirstin Miller, AICP
Title: Executive Director, Ecocity Builders & Co-Director, CoBuild Montana
Organization: Ecocity Builders / CoBuild Montana
Track: Summit Co-organizer
Kirstin Miller draws on decades of experience in urban planning and community development to advance systems change. As Executive Director of Ecocity Builders and Co-Director of CoBuild Montana, she works at the intersection of sustainability and local economies. A driving force behind CoBuild Montana, she helps communities turn grassroots ideas into resilient, locally owned ventures—bridging big-picture vision with on-the-ground action.
Cheyenne Robinson
Title: Consultant, Co-Op Specialist & Speaker
Organization: Trillium Cooperative
Track: Tribal Economy
Cheyenne Robinson is an Apsáalooke consultant, co-op specialist, and speaker based in Lame Deer, Montana. Through her work with Trillium Cooperative, she champions cooperative models that honor tribal communities and strengthen local economies. Her perspective bridges cultural knowledge and practical expertise, making her a valued voice for Montana's cooperative future.
