Rachel LaForest, Right to the City

New York, NY

Rachel LaForest is a social activist and community organizer. Since 2011, she has served as executive director of Right to the City, a nationwide organization dedicated to halting the displacement of low-income individuals, people of color, and other marginalized groups from urban neighborhoods.

WHY WE LOVE RACHEL AND RIGHT TO THE CITY:

• Under Rachel’s watch, Right to the City has grown into a national alliance of economic, environmental, and racial justice organizations in 11 states
• Rachel knows how to get people organized — she once led a union of 35,000 New York City transit workers, organizing large-scale strikes and demonstrations, including the 2005 NYC transit strike
• LaForest fought to raise the New York State minimum wage by $2 — and succeeded!