Bio
Leah Goodridge is a nationally renowned lawyer, thought leader and writer.
Leah Goodridge is an award-winning tenants’ rights attorney with over a decade of experience fighting against gentrification and displacement in New York courts. She is most known for her work advancing the tenant movement and her writings on workplace equity. Former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Leah to the New York City Rent Guidelines Board where she successfully advocated for rent freezes for 2 million rent-stabilized tenants. She is currently a Commissioner on the NYC Planning Commission. She is the winner of two Bar Association awards for her impact on the legal profession and the author of the widely influential UCLA Law Review article, Professionalism as a Racial Construct. Leah lectures all over the nation on housing rights and workplace equity. Her work has appeared in USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Dame, Forbes and The Appeal.
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.
What Drives Me?
For all of my childhood, I grew up in the same apartment in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The terrace was my favorite spot.
I would and look out at the trees and Brooklyn landscape and dream of making my neighborhood better. Garbage pickup. Buses running slow. Evictions.When I got older, those dreams became reality.
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