Meet the Ohio Staff:   Gavin Leonard State Director Danae Riggs Program Manager

Gavin Leonard Ohio State Director

Gavin Leonard is the State Director for Ohio’s Center for Progressive Leadership, based in Cincinnati.

He is a co-founder, and former Executive Director of Elementz – a local non-profit organization that runs a hip hop-based youth center, leadership development programming, and civic engagement projects – and has recently transitioned onto the board.

Gavin worked for 5 years doing construction and project management for community development corporations focused on affordable housing, also in Cincinnati. Originally from Chicago, and raised in rural Northwest Ohio, Gavin attended New York University and served as the Vice President of Students for a Free Tibet before leaving school to pursue full-time social justice work. Gavin also canvassed for environmental organizations in Denver, Cleveland, and Columbus before settling in Cincinnati just prior to the riots that took place there in 2001. He serves on the boards of the League of Young Voters, Wiretap Magazine, and the All-Ages Movement Project.

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