Abbe is

Co-op Council Member

Penn South Housing Cooperative

I am a proud resident of Penn South, a limited equity housing cooperative and oasis of affordable, not-for-profit housing in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Comprised of 10 buildings, 2,820 units, and close to 5,000 residents, Penn South was developed by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) and the United Housing Foundation (UHF).

The cooperative housing model was based on a set of guidelines for cooperative ownership known as the Rochdale Principles. Devised in 1844 by a British cooperative association called the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers and widely adopted in Europe, the principles—still used by non-speculative housing co-ops today—allot each resident one share and an equal voice in collective decision-making.

Penn South began with great fanfare—including an inaugural event attended by many dignitaries including President John. F. Kennedy, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Mayor Robert F. Wagner, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, ILGWU President David Dubinsky, and Abraham Kazan, president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers (ACW) Credit Union.

The co-op council, on which I serve, is an elected group who act as liaison between cooperators, the Board of Directors, and Management. The council compiles opinions and suggestions from cooperators about the operation of the co-op and makes recommendations to the Board and Management concerning quality of life issues in Penn South.

AIGA NY

Mentorship Program

The design industry’s oldest and largest professional membership organization—with more than 70 chapters and more than 15,000 members—AIGA’s mission is to advance design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. This includes supporting designers all-around growth through an annual Mentorship Program. I enjoyed connecting with, learning from, and sharing with other mentors and mentees as part of the 2023 cohort.

Freelancers Union

NOMINATING COMMITTEE FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Freelancers Union Board of Directors includes a dedicated Member Representative, elected by the Freelancers Union membership. As a member of the Nominating Committee, I reviewed eligible applications, chose a set of vetted candidates, and interviewed finalists to appear on the ballot for Member Elections.

MEMBER ADVOCATE

I have been an active participant in the effort to represent the needs and concerns of today’s independent workforce, participating in grassroots organizing, lobbying, and supporting candidates who will help build the rights, protections, supports, and freedoms freelancers need.

In honor of my efforts, I was the first recipient of the Freelancers Union Squeaky Wheel award.

Abbe’s Squeaky Wheel Acceptance Speech

Health Republic New York

FORMATION BOARD MEMBER 2012 – 2015

I proudly served as a founding Board Member of Health Republic Insurance of New York, the largest of the health insurance Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans (CO-OPs) created by the federal Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Twenty three CO-OPs were set up as nonprofit insurance entities, governed by their members, and were intended to spur competition that might have made health care coverage less expensive for consumers.

Unfortunately, the structure of the CO-OP program, as enacted by Congress, involved challenges that made the CO-OPs’ odds of surviving steeper than most.

The Affordable Care Act established state-based reinsurance and risk adjustment programs, including a federal “risk corridor” fund intended to protect and mitigate losses among insurance companies and CO-OPs that suffered large financial risk associated with unprecedented enrollment for coverage.

On Oct. 1, 2015, federal officials announced that only 12.6 percent of the expected windfall from that risk corridor fund would be awarded to insurance companies. Having anticipated a 100 percent payout, Health Republic was faced with an unanticipated cash shortfall and was ordered by regulators to wind-down business in the likelihood that the company would become financially insolvent.

Officials from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); New York’s state insurance exchange, known as New York State of Health (NYSOH); and the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) made a joint decision to shut down Health Republic, effective November 31, 2015.