Abbe Land, a long-serving former member of the West Hollywood City Council and currently CEO of the Trevor Project, was honored Friday by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff as one of nine Women of the Year.
Other honorees from Schiff’s 28th District, which includes West Hollywood, are Janet Diel (Burbank), Pauley Perrette (Hollywood), Linda S. Pura (Los Feliz), Kimberly Holland (La Crescenta-Montrose), Dr. Frieda Jordan (Glendale), Patricia A. Anderson (La Cañada Flintridge), Karen Barnett (Atwater Village), Kelly Erickson (Echo Park), Helen Leung (Elysian Valley), Cheryl Revkin (Silver Lake), Dolores Diaz-Carrey (Pasadena) and Jamie Keyser Thomas (Sunland Tujunga).
In a statement that Schiff had entered in the Congressional Record, he described Land as follows:
“I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Abbe Land, of West Hollywood, California.
“Abbe arrived in California in the late 1970s and has since dedicated her life to public service. Drawn into public life by possible eviction, she joined the Coalition for Economic Survival, a tenants’ rights group to build the City of West Hollywood with LGBTQ activists, renters, and immigrants. After her appointment to the city’s very first planning commission, Abbe was elected Councilmember for the City of West Hollywood and served for 23 years including serving as Mayor five times.
“For much of her time on the council, she served as the sole woman, and she was instrumental in the creation of the Women’s Advisory Board, Disabilities Advisory Board and the city’s domestic violence prevention program for same-sex couples. For more than two decades, she has influenced policy at the local, state and federal levels. In 1993, she led the effort for West Hollywood to declare itself the nation’s first “pro-choice city.” In 1996, she led her city in enacting an important gun control ordinance which paved the way for the state of California to ban the sale of certain handguns.
“Abbe is currently the executive director and chief executive officer of the Trevor Project, a nationally recognized nonprofit providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention to LGBTQ youth. Under her leadership, the Trevor Project continues to save the lives of youth around the country. Prior to the Trevor Project, Abbe served as co-CEO of the Saban Free Clinic, in Los Angeles, where she led the clinic’s growth from a budget of $6 million to one of $16 million.
“From Abbe’s work protecting our environment to fighting for civil and reproductive rights, from her support for inclusionary housing to her efforts to combat homelessness, the people of the 28th District have benefited from her voice and steady leadership. Throughout her life’s work, Abbe has been an inspiration to all who fight injustice.
In a press release announcing the award, a representative of Schiff said the honorees “come from varying backgrounds and professions and represent the thousands of women who make a positive impact in our communities. While there are no specific criteria for nomination, Rep. Schiff looks for women to recognize who — through their work or volunteerism — have improved the quality of life for our community.”
