Rebecca Lurie is currently on faculty with the Urban Studies Department and the founder of the Community and Worker Ownership Project at the City University of NY School for Labor and Urban Studies. She was a founding member of the worker-owned cooperative, New Deal Home Improvement Company and City Roots Contractors Guild. She began her working career as a union carpenter and transitioned into worker education through the union’s apprenticeship program and the construction industry. Using a sector approach for understanding industries and businesses and their employment needs, she has remained dedicated to inclusive community economic development. Rebecca has collaborated on numerous initiatives in NYC, including pre-apprenticeship programs, a Bronx green jobs network, a kitchen business incubator and the design of Best for NYC. She was a founding member of the board of the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative, is secretary of the board of the Democracy at Work Institute and serves on the executive committee of the Union Coop Council/US Federation of Worker Coops. She is Trustee Emerita with the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. She holds a Master’s in Organizational Change Management from The New School, a certificate in Adult Occupational Education from CUNY and is certified in Permaculture Urban Design. She is a native New Yorker raised by a fervent activist with the DNA and tireless passion for social justice.