Janelle Orsi

Janelle Orsi is a cartoonist, lawyer, and advocate focused on cooperatives, land trusts, housing justice, community-owned energy, and democratizing finance. She co-founded and works for the cooperatively-structured nonprofit, Sustainable Economies Law Center. Most of her time is spent learning and creating with inspiring groups who are advancing permanent community stewardship of land (check out the Radical Real Estate Law School) and channeling investments (especially retirement savings) away from Wall Street and into our local communities (check out The Next Egg). She likes to have conversations and make cartoons about abolishing private property, abolishing the legal profession, and abolishing private wealth accumulation.

Outside of her work with the Sustainable Economies Law Center, she is an attorney and mediator focused on helping individuals and organizations share resources and create more sustainable communities. Through the Law Office of Janelle Orsi, she works with cooperatives, community gardens, co-housing communities, ecovillages, and others doing innovative work to change the world.  She attended UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.

Orsi is author of the book Practicing Law in the Sharing Economy  (ABA Books 2012), and co-author of The Sharing Solution: How to Save Money, Simplify Your Life & Build Community  (Nolo 2009), a practical and legal guide to cooperating and sharing resources of all kinds.

Janelle Orsi is continually developing ideas and strategies for stronger, more resilient economies.  Her cartoons can be found here.

Contact Janelle Orsi for speaking terms and dates.