If you go to the Columinate Library and search CBLD (Cooperative Board Leadership Development), you will find an encyclopedic list of over one hundred governance resources. And a great many of these Library resources have been contributed by Michael Healy.

Healy's work as a governance consultant predates the CBLD program itself. From his Vermont home base, Healy contributed to early iterations of board of directors training around 2000 in New England and in the Eastern Corridor of National Co+op Grocers. In 2005, ad hoc consulting became a permanent program; Healy and others—including Mark Goehring, then-manager Marilyn Scholl, Linda Stier, and Peg Nolan—launched CBLD.

Subsequently, CBLD became a self-sustaining program whose consultants have worked with hundreds of co-ops over two decades and continue to do so.

One important reward for Healy's longstanding work is consulting relationships with client co-ops that can be maintained for many years. This can give the consultant a perspective and organizational memory that exceeds that of local board members and thus complements and strengthens that board's decision-making. Healy gave the example of Common Market Co-op, where the board initially asked for support after hiring a new general manager, and since then he has maintained a consulting relationship with the co-op's board for 25 years.

CBLD consultants also work together. When Jade Barker was board president of her local co-op, Healy collaborated with Jade and the board's regular CBLD consultant to support Jade in navigating a crisis. Barker found Healy's advice helpful, and this led to a concrete plan and a good outcome at her co-op.

When a particular question arises, a Library resource on that very issue will often be available: Policy Governance and Ends, meeting facilitation, board self-evaluation, board/general manager relations, annual meetings—the list goes on. And when Healy encounters a governance issue that needs more discussion and clarity than can be found in the Library, he will often create a new resource.

Healy believes that when co-ops enroll in the CBLD program, their investment helps ensure that the co-op will have a strong and sustainable board well into the future.

At any one time, Healy may have ten or more clients (co-ops as well as nonprofits) with whom he maintains monthly calls, offering guidance on local governance challenges and recommending Library resources. While Healy's clients are primarily in the East, the CBLD team of roughly a dozen consultant members—a few full-time and others part-time—works throughout the U.S.  

Healy appreciates how the CBLD program has evolved over time as the needs of co-ops and co-op leaders have changed. For example, the CBL 101 orientation for new directors and GMs began solely as an in-person event in a few locations each year. Now hundreds more cooperators from around the country can attend the virtual versions that are offered quarterly. 

Some co-ops build board development into the organization's culture, while others are content with a more limited scope. Healy believes that when co-ops enroll in the C BLD program, their investment helps ensure that the co-op will have a strong and sustainable board well into the future. The board confronts critical business decisions as well as internal director turnover—and ongoing board education and training are essential for maintaining strong governance. 

Healy recalled an early recommendation from Dave Gutknecht, then the editor of Cooperative Grocer, that he translate his broad understanding and governance experience into useful suggestions. We agreed on an outlook of "practical idealism"—striving for defined lessons and tools that can help co-ops and their boards address challenges, deepen their mutual understanding, and strengthen their leadership actions.