Queer BIPOC Therapy Practice Becomes Worker-Owned Cooperative

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2026

CONTACT:
Mike Sandmel, The ICA Group, mike@icagroup.org, (617) 710-7000
Taryn Crosby, MCM Collaborative, taryn@mcmcollab.com 

Queer BIPOC Therapy Practice Becomes Worker-Owned Cooperative

MCM Collaborative’s Therapists Mark Pride Month and Juneteenth by Taking Shared-Ownership of their Workplace.

New York, NY, After six years in operation, MCM Collaborative, a therapy practice grounded in providing affirming and culturally responsive care to individuals who are LGBTQIA+ and/or people of color, was sold to its employees on Tuesday, completing a transition to a worker cooperative model that the therapists say will allow them to both better serve the community and also chart a new path for workers navigating an increasingly precarious field.

“It’s a challenging time to be a mental health care provider,” said new MCM Collaborative worker-owner Ada Umubera, “Community mental health centers, especially those focused on serving queer and trans individuals, are under enormous threat of losing funding that flows from the Federal government. Meanwhile, therapists in private practice are getting squeezed by large insurance companies and gig-economy platforms. The cooperative model lets therapists come together, split the costs of running a business, collectively shape the direction of their  practice, and share equitably in the rewards.”

Under the co-op structure all Licensed Clinical Social Workers at MCM Collaborative now own an equal share of the business and are entitled to an equal vote on high-level decisions such as approving budgets, business plans, and company policies. More junior therapists working under clinical supervision become eligible to become co-owners after receiving their licensure and working at the practice for at least one year. 

“Becoming a cooperative felt like the natural progression of creating a different kind of therapy practice. Making that change official during Pride Month and right after Juneteenth feels particularly meaningful,” said MCM Collaborative co-founder Taryn Crosby. “At the heart of our work is the importance of culturally-responsive, gender-affirming mental health care for New Yorkers who need it. While there have been more conversations and representation of queer folks and people of color seeking therapy, stigma about seeking care and barriers to getting care still exist. This is a great opportunity to get the message out that our mental health care matters.”

“As someone who just completed the licensure exam, joining a cooperative allows me to develop my professional life in partnership with colleagues whom I respect and value,” said MCM Collaborative Therapist Bertram Johnson.” It also allows us the opportunity to share the responsibilities of small business ownership. As a co-owner, I get to share in the wisdom of my colleagues and build a therapeutic practice that has greater potential for engaging the broader community than if I were trying to do this as a solo practitioner.”

“Being a co-collaborator of this transition has been exhilarating,” said new MCM Collaborative therapist Claire Howard. “The opportunity to curate an anti-racist co-op private practice with fellow BIPOC clinical social workers, truly honoring the ethics of social justice,”

Pro bono technical assistance for  MCM Collaborative’s co-op transition was provided by the ICA Group, one of more than a dozen nonprofits funded through the City Council’s Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative, administered by Small Business Services, to help grow NYC’s worker cooperative sector. The conversion process, which took more than a year, involved conducting a financial and operational feasibility assessment, securing financing for the transition, educating workers about the cooperative model, and working with those workers to design the specifics of the co-op’s governance and management structures. Pro bono legal support was provided by the Community Economic Development Unit at Brooklyn Legal Services who drafted all the documentation needed to complete the transition.

“If you own a small business in NYC, or even if you just work for one, you should know that there are free resources out there to help explore and support a conversion to worker-ownership,” said Mike Sandmel, Senior Strategist for Worker Ownership at the ICA Group. “MCM provides a great example of how the co-op model can be used to bring the structure of a socially-minded business into alignment with its mission and culture. However, this model can be great for all kinds of companies, including those with an owner considering retirement and succession options that protect the legacy they’ve built and reward the loyalty of their employees.”

"We are thrilled to be a part of MCM’s transition to a worker cooperative," said Rafaela Varela, a supervising attorney in the Community and Economic Development Unit at Brooklyn Legal Services. "MCM is showing New Yorkers not only that alternative models exist, but that they can breathe new life into our City's businesses. MCM worker-owners will now control the profits, how they're shared, and build this business together. Brooklyn Legal Services' is honored to have supported MCM with legal services through their transition and this is exactly why we do this work — to ensure our neighbors can have work they are proud of, that they're paid a living wage, and to create jobs that keep this city affordable"

Additional photos available on request

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