Bio
Maru Bautista is the Director of the Cooperative Development Program at the Center for Family Life in Brooklyn New York. For the past 6 years, she has worked with her team and the Sunset Park community to strengthen and scale immigrant-led worker cooperatives in New York City. Most notably, Maru has supported the development of the Brightly franchise and Up &Go. Maru has served on the Board of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives for the past 4 years, and has also served on the Board of the Democracy at Work Institute since 2016. Maru is originally from Puebla, Mexico. She moved to Brooklyn 8 years ago to pursue an M.A. in International Development from the New School. Loving all things cooperative, Maru’s family is in a babysitting cooperative, she sends her 3-year old daughter to a worker-owned daycare, she is a member of a food cooperative, and has a car-sharing agreement with a friend. Maru is a firm believer in collaboration as the only path forward!