Abbey was born in Iowa, went to college in Minnesota and moved to Vermont in the mid-1990s. She majored in Biology at Macalester College.
She had an indirect career path including field biology, marketing and newspaper reporting. In 2002, she left a position and entered “Abbey Duke University”, a two-year individualized graduate program to learn how to start a small business. Within two years she had launched Sugarsnap, a take out prepared foods business and small farm in Burlington.
She has spent the last 20 years building, adapting and growing Sugarsnap. She has also spent that time growing her family. She had a civil union in 2005 and has two daughters who attend Burlington High School.
Abbey has been the Chair of the Burlington Parks Commission and is on the Board of Directors of the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.