Board Members
Abby Davidson (she/her), President
Abby is a longtime advocate of cooperative housing, and lived at Lothlorien Co-op for two years. She is a building products engineer at PFS TECO (100% employee owned company) who holds degrees from UW-Madison and Madison College. As part of the RefineJenifer team, she is working to develop the upcoming ReJenerate Housing Cooperative, an affordable sustainable housing cooperative on Madison’s near east side. Some of her hobbies are aerial dance, traveling by bike, and live music. She also serves on the boards of Madison Freewheel Bicycle Co., Sunny Side Development, and Save the Farm.
Zach Seaborne, Treasurer (they/them), Treasurer
A lifetime Madisonian, Zach currently dwells in the swamps along the Yahara River, in a co-op aspiring house known as Red Pine. They are a former hamster of Nottingham Cooperative, where they cemented a belief that living and working together is a healthy, sustainable, and mutually beneficial way of being. Zach is excited to work with MACHA to increase accessibility to cooperative housing in Madison. Zach is a former worker/member of Community Pharmacy Cooperative, and is passionate about food access and community health. Find them in the forest or on a dance floor.
Steve Vig (he/him), Secretary
Steve is a resident of Hypatia Cooperative, and a member of Madison Community Cooperative, where he has served on MCC’s Board of Directors and as Finance and Coordinating Officer. He has worked for and served on the boards of two other Madison area cooperatives, The Bartell Theatre and the Social Justice Center (SJC), and the Tenant Resource Center, where he trained as a Housing Counselor, gaining experience in the practical application of fair housing law.
Brel Hutton-Okpalaeke (they/them)
Brel (they/them) began their co-op journey in 2014 in Madison, Wisconsin as a member of Madison Community Cooperative, Madison Area Cooperative Housing Alliance, and the United People of Color Caucus. They are currently the Director of Development Services for North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO). In their free time, Brel teaches at and serves on the board of the Madison Freewheel Bicycle Co. and is in the process of converting it to a worker-owned co-op. Brel sees cooperatives as one of the best ways to affect social change and actively fight gentrification and extractive economic practices. Brel strives to make sure that people of color in cooperatives are represented, supported, and respected by our co-ops. Brel believes in strategic, continual expansion of the co-op sector because we can change the world for the better with these things!
Gabrielle Hinahara (she/her) lived at Ambrosia Co-op for 3 years before helping to create Perennial Co-op (Madison’s newest housing co-op!) in 2016, where she currently lives. She is excited to use her experience to help others create new cooperative housing! Gabrielle is the director of the Middleton Youth Center, a free after school and summer program for middle school students, and serves on the BLW Neighborhood Center’s Steering Committee. She also loves backpacking, gardening, and dancing.