CSS Mourns the Passing of Chris Molnar
David R. Jones
We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of our friend and colleague, Chris Molnar. Chris served as Vice President for Strategy, Policy, and Advocacy at the Community Service Society until 2009, when she left to lead Safe Space, a child advocacy and family support organization based in Southeast Queens.
Chris left an indelible mark on CSS during her 14 years of service here. In 1998, she was instrumental in establishing the Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP), which assisted more than 135,000 New York City residents in accessing and making better use of their health insurance. The MCCAP model for consumer assistance became influential in the debate over how to make the nation’s health care law, the Affordable Care Act, work for the millions of new health care consumers that would be signing up for health insurance. Today, our Community Health Advocates program continues that legacy through its statewide network of community-based partners, who together assisted more than 53,000 New Yorkers in the last year. Chris also led the internal process of realigning CSS programming to deepen our impact by focusing on economic security, removing barriers to employment, and access to health care among working-age, low-income New Yorkers.
Chris is remembered by her CSS colleagues for her energy and vitality, her sharp intelligence, and her inspiring leadership. Her loss is deeply felt by all who worked alongside her in the fight for a more just and equitable New York.
Our thoughts are with her family, especially her husband George Locker and children Sasha and Soren, and with the staff and board at Safe Space.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, January 17th, at 11:00 a.m. at the Park Slope Jewish Center, located at 1320 8th Avenue (corner of 14th Street) in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Please check the Safe Space website for updates to this information.
It has been requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Chris’s memory to Safe Space.