Discover the power
of employee ownership

Stacey Smith

Senior Vice President, Head of Programs

Stacey has spent most of her career helping businesses examine their impact and aligning it with their values. She started as a CPA with Arthur Andersen, then moved into strategy and organizational development. Seeking to devote her financial expertise to social and environmental issues, she was an early mover in the field of sustainability and corporate responsibility in the US. She joined Business for Social Responsibility in 2001 to build their business consulting practice and spent the next decade guiding Fortune 500 companies to address their negative impacts. Recently, Stacey began consulting to nonprofits and foundations to strengthen their strategy, management, and governance practices. Through her work with the Public Equity Group and her own independent practice, she explored the structural barriers to wealth and other drivers of generational poverty. At Project Equity she is helping grow our team of professionals to accelerate the adoption of employee ownership as a key to building wealth and high-quality careers in communities. In addition to having been a licensed CPA, Stacey has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Vermont and has done coursework in International Business Studies at the University of Copenhagen. When she is not working, you can find her hiking the Bay Area hills, indulging in the restaurant scene, and playing with her family.

Tyler Rivera

Manager, Ecosystem Development

Tyler is passionate about building a more just and democratic economy that works for all. As Ecosystem Development Manager at Project Equity, he advances efforts to scale employee ownership by helping partner organizations build lasting EO capacity and infrastructure across key regions. He also coordinates Project Equity’s Impact Measurement & Management (IMM) program, which captures data on the benefits of EO transitions for workers, businesses, and communities. In addition, he has led policy research focused on advancing Black wealth building and economic opportunity through EO as project manager for a research partnership with Morehouse College and the University of California, Riverside.

Before joining Project Equity, Tyler was an Associate at Mass Economics, where he provided research and project management support for inclusive economic development initiatives. He has also worked in climate justice organizing, youth civic engagement, and nonprofit development. Tyler holds a Master in City Planning from MIT and a B.A. in Geography from Dartmouth College. Outside of work, he enjoys cooking and baking for friends, going to live music, spending time with his three-legged cat, and taking public transit whenever possible.