Revolution Institute (RI) is a 501(c)3 Community Economic Development Institution dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap in social and economic terms.
We are focused on driving social and economic outcomes through the incubation of for-profit worker cooperatives in the advanced manufacturing sector.
About Revolution Institute
Our Vision
To advance social and economic equity and peaceful communities for ALL people.
Our Mission
To liberate the creative potential of African American and Latinx communities through sustainable, future-oriented work, entrepreneurship, and value-aligned collaboration.
We strive to create a more inclusive and prosperous society.
Since our formation in 2021, we’ve built partnerships with Chicago-area organizations, universities, and businesses, established human development educational programming, facilitated advanced manufacturing job placement, and built the groundwork for our first manufacturing business.
Addressing the Social Wealth Gap
Revolution Institute recognizes that the social wealth gap is the result of historically marginalized communities lacking influence in addressing systemic social, environmental, and economic challenges.
The economic wealth gap has been well-documented and traditionally addressed through wealth building mechanisms that prioritize individual risk and reward. However, RI believes that closing this gap requires new economic theories that prioritize community wealth building. By adopting a communal approach, we not only distribute and diffuse risk, but also create opportunities for broad asset ownership. This approach operates at scale, enhancing the efficiency of our model and addressing systemic structural inequities that impact communities
at large.
Designing Communal Wealth Systems
To achieve our mission, Revolution Institute is focused on driving social and economic outcomes through worker cooperatives. Our primary activity involves incubating and launching worker cooperatives in renewable energy and the advanced manufacturing sectors – industries facing unprecedented worker shortages. By creating worker cooperatives specializing in servicing the advanced manufacturing and renewable energy sectors, we address the urgent need for skilled workers in these fields and open the door to well-paying jobs for individuals within historically marginalized communities.
Trainees graduate into Worker-Owners ("WOs") of the established cooperatives, providing a pathway to earn competitive salaries and additional revenue as shareholders through patronage dividends. This dual mechanism of salary and equity-holdings, positions WOs to build personal, communal, and generational wealth.
Furthermore, WOs actively engage in the governance of the cooperatives. We provide extensive training in cooperative practices, institutionalized through operational procedures, to foster a more collaborative decision-making culture.
By practicing these skills within the workplace, WOs become oriented towards cooperation and are empowered to positively influence dynamics at local and national levels.
Read more on our Pathway Program here.
Join Revolution Institute in our journey to create a society that promotes economic equality, empowers communities, and fosters a sustainable future for all. Together, we can make a lasting impact in closing the wealth gap and building a better world.
Our Vision: to advance social and economic equity and peaceful communities for ALL people
Our Team
G. Sequane Lawrence
President & CEO
Sequane’s professional legacy is one of building and steering innovative community economic development institutions. Since receiving the Chicago Community Trust Fellowship for Experienced Leaders in 2011, Sequane has helped to usher the following organizations from concept to practice: Fathers, Families, and Healthy Communities, Chicago Center for Arts and Technology, African American Leadership and Policy Institute, and Revolution Workshop.
Fatimeh Pahlavan
Director of Operations
Fatimeh’s work focuses on building inclusive workplaces that prioritize employee voice and participation. She frequently writes on the subjects of workforce democracy, employee empowerment, and workplace culture. Prior to joining Revolution Institute, Fatimeh served social impact organizations and cooperatives through her law firm, LITE. She is a full-stack intellectual property attorney with a particular interest in leveraging IP to drive sustainable economic practices.
Jamie D. Elder
Director of Business & Workforce Development
Jamie is an army veteran and life-long entrepreneur and started his first business at the age of 21. Jamie has worked in urban development, venture philanthropy, and for a legacy-minded private equity firm. In 2020, he partnered to form an impact-minded private equity firm, I2J Group LLC, resulting in their first acquisition of a small home-improvement company called SurfacePros in Dallas, TX. In 2023, Jamie joined the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago to assist in the management of their Small Business Development Centers which is home to two of the nation’s largest small-business incubators: Make City and The Hatchery. Jamie also serves on the boards and committees for various organizations that focus on entrepreneurship, employment, and education.
Our Vision: to advance social and economic equity and peaceful communities for ALL people
Our Board Members
Jodi Levine
Board Member
Jodi is a retired healthcare business executive whose career focused on driving growth through business development and acquisitions. She’s held leadership positions in a variety of businesses and has been instrumental in establishing and managing several startup companies. Jodi has served as a board member for Revolution Workshop and Planned Parenthood in the Chicago Area. She has a long history of volunteer work for organizations that serve domestic violence victims as well as homeless individuals and families, and she is a staunch advocate for gun violence prevention.
Victor Lobo
Board Member
Victor has an impressive track record of more than 17 years in the Human Capital industry, during which he has assumed a diverse range of roles. Notably, he served as the Chief Revenue Officer at Blue Marble Payroll, as well as fulfilling the vital positions of Co-founder and CEO at Engage Anywhere. His exceptional proficiency in orchestrating effective go-to-market strategies and cultivating brand recognition stands as a valuable asset to the Revolution Institute.
Dan Miller
Board Member
Dan has spent 15 years in high-growth, entrepreneurial-oriented payroll and HR outsourcing firms, and has successfully created and led teams through various stages of a corporation’s life cycle. He was the first CFO at Paylocity for more than 10 years, and he also served as a founding member and CFO of Blue Marble Payroll, which grew from a start-up to more than 30 employees during his tenure. Dan has worked extensively with leadership teams in nonprofit organizations, including over 11 years at Chicago-area hospitals. Dan was also a founding board member of the Chicago Center for Arts and Technology where he again served as Finance Chair and was the founding Board Chair for Revolution Workshop.