July 2026: Member Spotlight - Mike Tekh Strode

There are those who work within systems, and then there are those who work to reimagine them entirely. This July, we are honored to spotlight Mike Tekh Strode, a community strategist, educator, and organizer whose work is rooted in reshaping how we understand value, exchange, and collective care.

Based in Chicago, Mike Strode is deeply embedded in the city’s solidarity economy movement, an ecosystem built on cooperation, mutual aid, and shared prosperity. His work challenges dominant economic models by centering people, relationships, and community resilience over profit. Through years of organizing and facilitation, Mike has become a leading voice in advancing alternative economic systems that prioritize equity and collective well-being.

Mike is the Founder and Exchange Coordinator of the Kola Nut Collaborative, Chicago’s only time-based service and skills exchange, also known as a timebank. This initiative offers a powerful alternative to traditional monetary systems by allowing individuals and organizations to exchange services based on time rather than money. In this model, everyone’s hour holds equal value! Whether it’s spent teaching, repairing, cooking, or organizing he is creating a more accessible and inclusive economic framework.

Through Kola Nut Collaborative, Mike has helped cultivate a platform that goes beyond transactions. It is a space for mutual aid, community organizing, and network weaving, where relationships are built, skills are shared, and communities strengthen their capacity to support one another.

Mike’s journey is shaped by a deep commitment to learning and growth. He is a past participant in Nexus Community Partners’ Cooperative Developer Fellowship and LIFT Economy’s Next Economy MBA. He continues to expand his practice as a member of the Post Growth Institute’s Post Growth Fellowship and AORTA’s Headwaters Facilitation Apprenticeship. These experiences reflect his dedication to building systems that move beyond extraction and toward regeneration.

Professionally, Mike serves as a Program Manager at Open Collective Foundation, supporting transparent and community-driven funding models. His leadership extends across multiple organizations, including board roles with the US Solidarity Economy Network, New Economy Coalition, South Deering Manor Community Association, and Dill Pickle Food Co-op. Across each of these spaces, Mike contributes to a broader vision of economic democracy and community stewardship.

Before founding Kola Nut Collaborative, Mike held leadership roles with the Chicago chapter of Red, Bike & Green, Fultonia, and Art Is Bonfire. These experiences continue to inform his approach to organizing, one that integrates culture, sustainability, and grassroots innovation.

At the core of Mike’s work is a belief in the power of community knowledge and resourcefulness. Through skill-based asset mapping, he helps communities recognize and activate the wealth that already exists within their neighborhoods. This approach reframes how we think about infrastructure as networks of people, skills, and relationships.

Beyond his professional roles, Mike is a writer, tech enthusiast, urban cyclist, and self-described kitchen alchemist. He brings creativity and curiosity into every aspect of his life, embodying the very principles he advocates for: balance, sustainability, and joy.

He has served as a thought leader and provided guidance to BSI as we worked to create a timebank for members and led with an Offers and Needs Market at our summit in 2024. As a presenter at the 204 Black Sustainability Summit, his wisdom and passion spread to three other organizations who have also continued working cooperatively to support each other.

Mike Tekh Strode’s work reminds us that another economy is already here. One rooted in trust, reciprocity, and shared humanity.

As we continue to cultivate pathways toward a just and sustainable future, we are proud to uplift leaders like Mike who are doing the transformative work of redefining what it means to thrive, together!