E.G. Nadeau has an undergraduate degree in sociology from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been researching, developing, teaching, and writing about cooperation and cooperatives for over 50 years, beginning with his work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal in 1970.

He was the founding director of Cooperative Development Services in 1985, a pioneering co-op business planning organization in the United States. Over a period of over 30 years, from 1985 to the present, Nadeau has been doing domestic and international co-op consulting work for Cooperative Development Services, the National Cooperative Business Association/CLUSA, Land O’ Lakes International Development Division, the Overseas Cooperative Development Council, and other organizations. He has carried out over 25 international cooperative development projects since 2000.