Molly is the Executive Co-director for The Industrial Commons. She co-founded the organization in 2015 to support industrial workers across her region. She is a native of Morganton, NC where she continues to work and raise her family. After attending Duke University she returned home to teach in the public school system. She then worked for the Center for Participatory Change organizing economic development initiatives across rural Western NC in a response to the need for fair livelihoods. In 2008 she founded Opportunity Threads, currently the largest, US based worker-owned, cut and sew facility. She also co-founded the Carolina Textile District in 2013, a strategic value chain supporting the resurgence of textiles across the Carolinas. Molly served on the national board of the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Board for the NC Employee Ownership Center. She loves being with her family and, when she has time, she likes to play the fiddle.
Molly Hemstreet
Executive Co-director, The Industrial Commons,
Benefits21
Leadership Group, Benefits 21