Rise & Shine Rejects Private Equity for Employee Stock Ownership Plan
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — Rise & Shine Social Enterprise has transitioned to an employee-owned model, giving its more than 250 employees an opportunity to build ownership in the Springfield company.
The deal closed two weeks ago, and founder Cindy Koza announced the news to employees Thursday. Rise & Shine says the move makes it Oregon’s first employee-owned caregiving agency specializing in 24-hour residential services. The company serves more than 75 Oregonians with developmental disabilities across more than 20 locations.
“We were shocked,” a financial assistant at Rise & Shine, Lisa Versteeg, said. “What a great opportunity that she’s giving all of the employees. It’s just kind of unreal.”
Rise and Shine is now an Employee Stock Ownership Plan company. An ESOP is a federally regulated retirement plan designed to give employees a meaningful financial ownership stake in the company over the long term.
Full-time employees over the age of 18 receive their initial stock allocations in 2027, following the company’s annual independent valuation. The shares are held in a trust on behalf of employees and overseen by an independent trustee. Over time, those shares can grow in value and become another source of money for retirement.
“We were founded on social justice, and we had such a focus on bringing a positive social impact to the clients,” Koza said. “And now, by it being employee-owned, we can bring that social impact to the employees and their families and the whole community. So it’s really exciting to be able to bring that social impact full circle.”
Koza said the path to employee ownership began after a private equity firm approached her about buying Rise & Shine. She said the prospective buyer told her it planned to maximize profits while keeping wages low. Koza said that approach did not align with the company she had built, leading her to pursue employee ownership instead.
That mission traces back to Heber Vasquez-Contreras, the first person Koza cared for before starting Rise & Shine six years ago. Vasquez-Contreras had been shot and paralyzed and needed around-the-clock care and advocacy. Koza, who had been planning to become an attorney, said caring for him reshaped her understanding of social justice and ultimately inspired her to build the company.
Vasquez-Contreras said he was excited to learn about the transition, especially because of what it could mean for the caregivers he has come to know and trust.
“It is important for them to get along with the client, you know, to be able to work together,” Heber Vasquez-Contreras said. “We have to put the energy, the feeling, the spirit, you know, the love.”
Rise & Shine hopes employee ownership will make caregiving a more sustainable career and give experienced workers another reason to stay in the field. That could help address high turnover across the industry. According to the Home Care Association of America, four out of five caregivers leave within their first 100 days on the job.
For people receiving 24-hour support, greater retention could also mean more consistency and more time with caregivers they already know and trust.
Rise & Shine joins other employee-owned Oregon businesses, including Hummingbird Wholesale based in Eugene and C&K Market based in Medford.
The transition comes as Oregon has taken steps to encourage employee ownership. In June 2025, House Bill 3646 went into effect, permitting public agencies may give preference when awarding certain contracts to businesses where employees own at least 50% of the company, either directly or through a qualifying employee stock ownership plan.
Koza hopes the transition will contribute to that momentum and encourage other Oregon business owners to consider employee ownership. She said the model can help businesses remain locally rooted while giving workers a greater share in their success.
As aired at KVAL and written by Kate Sutzin.