Bio
If you are looking for someone who plays it safe and is conventional…
She’s not here.
Leah Goodridge is a nationally renowned lawyer, thought leader and writer.
Born to a Barbadian mother and Black-American father, Leah grew up in Mitchell-Lama housing in Brownsville, Brooklyn. After seeing the impact of gentrification and the eviction crisis, Leah became a tenants’ rights lawyer to represent the people of the city she grew up in.
Leah has been honored by several bar associations and organizations for her work in tenant advocacy and transforming the legal profession.
Several of Leah’s court wins have been published in the New York Law Journal. Leah has testified before U.S. Congress, the New York City Council and is a sought-after speaker at universities around the world on housing rights. Here she is arguing at the New York State Court of Appeals to protect disability rights for public housing tenants.
In 2018, former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio nominated and appointed Leah to the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, which decides on rent increases for the city’s 2 million rent-stabilized tenants.
In 2021, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams appointed Leah to the New York City Planning Commission. Leah’s publications on anti-racism are taught at over 30 universities, companies and organizations.
Leah is a graduate of Vassar College and UCLA School of Law.
Awards + Honors
NYC Bar Association
Inaugural Firestarter Award, 2022
Met Council on Housing
Jane Jacobs Award, 2022
New York County Lawyers Association
Public Service Award, 2018
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Earl Warren Scholarship, 2006
Vassar College
Wirsig Memorial Prize for excellence in journalism, 2004
U.S. Department of State
Fulbright Specialist, 2015
Compton Foundation
Compton Mentor Fellowship, 2004
Leopold Schepp Foundation
Scholarship, 2006
New York Nonprofit Media
Rising Star, 2018