John Abrams
In 1975, John, his late wife Chris, and their five-year-old son Pinto inadvertently landed on the Vineyard. Their arrival marked an end to wandering hippie life and the beginning of South Mountain. Daughter Sophie was born in 1984. After inspiring and leading the development of Island Cohousing in the late 90’s, the family of four left Chilmark and moved in. For 45 years, John has devoted himself to creating, nurturing, and growing SMCo and a variety of public initiatives. These days, he concentrates on building capacity for the 2022 transition and sharing his expertise with others. John’s book Companies We Keep: Employee Ownership and the Business of Community and Place, was published by Chelsea Green Publishing in 2008. That faraway look in his eye means he’s either at a higher elevation, gliding through deep powder, or thinking about his beloved family (or Kim), or imagining what comes next for South Mountain.