Sara Horowitz


Sara Horowitz is an American lawyer and non-profit executive. She is the founder and former executive director of Freelancers Union. She is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Board of Directors.

Early life and education

Horowitz is Jewish and grew up in Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn, New York. Her grandfather was vice-president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in New York and her father was a union lawyer.
Horowitz graduated from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations with a B.A. degree in 1984 and was awarded its labor prize. She graduated cum laude from the University at Buffalo Law School.

Career

After graduation, she worked as a public defender, a private practice labor attorney, and an organizer with SEIU 1199, the national health and human service employees union. She later attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and received her MPA in 1995. She was admitted to practice law in Massachusetts.
Horowitz was an Echoing Green Fellow in 1995, and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1999.
In 2003, she used her experience as a union organizer to found the nonprofit Freelancers Union, which promotes the independent workforce through advocacy and education while serving the needs of freelancers. The Freelancers Union currently cites 350,000 members, nationwide.
She is a chair of the New York Fed's Board of Directors for 2017 and has served as a Class C director since January, 2013, serving as a deputy chair since January, 2013.
In 2008, Horowitz launched Freelancers Insurance Company, the first portable benefits model for freelancers and 919 workers, wholly owned by the Union, providing independent workers with high-quality, affordable and portable health insurance.
Horowitz is recognized as one of the World Economic Forum's 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow, a 2015 POLITICO 50 and on the board of Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation. She is currently the Chair of the Board for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.