Since 1976, John Abrams has served as president of South Mountain Company, which has 30 employees (over half of whom share ownership in the business), has designed and built more than 100 major renovation and new housing projects, and earns $6 million in annual revenues.

As a proponent of working for the benefit of people and community,

John explores the role of business in promoting community, creating social equity, and maintaining ecological balance. He challenges conventional business concepts: that bigger is better, that profits come first, and that location is incidental. The narratives found in his resonant memoir, The Company We Keep, demonstrate that one can bring high personal values to the workplace, protect natural resources, uphold high standards of craftsmanship, control growth, and still run a successful (and highly collaborative) enterprise.

John and his co-owners have made a long-term commitment to using their business to preserve community and help solve the Vineyard's affordable housing crisis. John is deeply involved in community service. Currently, he chairs the Island Affordable Housing Fund and serves as Vice Chair of the Island Housing Trust. Over the years he has held more than 20 social and civic posts, ranging from municipal boards, transportation task forces, and renewable energy groups, to a variety of affordable housing committees and non-profits. John is a member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (he was presented with their Lifetime Achievement Award after many years as a board member), Corporation 2020, the North American Timber Framers Guild, and the advisory board of Environmental Building News. He frequently lectures to university audiences, building associations, business groups, and environmental organizations on the topics of affordable housing, socially responsible business, and ecological design and building, and has trained several groups in meeting facilitation and consensus decision-making. John and his co-owners are currently considering several new endeavors to complement South Mountain’s core activities.

John's articles about green building and workplace democracy have appeared in national publications such as Business Ethics and Fine Homebuilding. He and South Mountain have been featured, as well, in The New York Times, Cape Cod Life, Custom Home, Designer/Builder, Environmental Building News, The Inspired House, Solar Today, The Martha's Vineyard Times and The Vineyard Gazette. The work of South Mountain Company has appeared in 10 published books, including How Buildings Learn (Viking Press), The Naturally Elegant Home (Little Brown), The Healing House (Hay House), and The Houses of Martha's Vineyard (Monacelli Press). John lives on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with his wife Chris, in a co-housing neighborhood designed and built by his company.