Well into his career as a businessman and educator, Vernon Oakes launched a property management company in Washington, D.C., where he ran several housing cooperatives. The experience transformed Vernon’s view of business and money-making. In a Medium article, Vernon explains, “I was amazed at the level of competency displayed by the resident co-op members, who were mostly African-American women.” From then on, Vernon became dedicated to advancing the cooperative business model.
Vernon began teaching people about housing cooperatives as business models that can be used to solve community problems. Vernon served as president of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, and in 2013, he launched Everything Co-op, a weekly broadcast aimed at elevating the voices of cooperative leaders who organize, maintain, support, and grow cooperatives. Vernon also uses this platform to share examples of how cooperatives address issues related to housing, health care, sustenance, cost-of-living increases, and the distribution of wealth.
In 2022, the National Association of Housing Cooperatives awarded Vernon with the Jerry Voorhis Award — the organization’s highest honor — and in 2024, the National Cooperative Business Association recognized his decades of work in the field by inducting him into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. Vernon’s journey is one he has shared with his GSB classmates in the DMV GSB Entrepreneurship Group, an alumni group in the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area that Vernon helped found almost two decades ago. Group member Nigel Smith, MBA ’00, describes Vernon by saying, “Vernon is someone who has impacted the lives of so many through his leadership in the cooperative world. He has deeply touched the lives of his GSB peers through sharing his powerful journey.”
