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Will lead NYLPI’s health justice program, helping to advance the civil rights of marginalized New Yorkers
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), a leading civil rights advocacy group for marginalized New Yorkers, announced that Laura F. Redman, former Senior Attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), joined as Director of Health Justice. She will bring her litigation and advocacy experience to lead and manage NYLPI’s health justice team to achieve justice for underserved New Yorkers.
“Laura’s deep commitment to health and racial justice, extensive litigation and advocacy experience, and deep ties within the health justice community make her an ideal leader of NYLPI’s Health Justice Program,” said McGregor Smyth, Executive Director of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. “From improving health insurance access for limited English proficient New Yorkers to ensuring safe, quality maternal care for women in North Central Bronx, our Health Justice Program is fighting for equal access to health care for all New Yorkers. I have no doubt that Laura’s leadership will only strengthen an already dynamic team and I look forward to working with her to further NYLPI’s mission of advancing civil rights and social justice.”
As Director of Health Justice, Laura will lead and supervise the program’s interdisciplinary staff, including attorneys, community organizers, advocates, administrative assistants, and interns; oversee the strategic direction of the program’s legal and advocacy work; and contribute to the overall strategy for advancing NYLPI’s mission as a member of its leadership team.
Added Laura, “I’m excited to join the talented group of leaders at NYLPI who have successfully leveraged a unique community lawyering model to help empower underserved New Yorkers. Everyone has a right to lead a healthy, fulfilling life, and my new colleagues and I will continue working with our community partners to eliminate racial and ethnic discrimination and systemic and institutional barriers that limit universal access to health care.”
Laura comes to NYLPI from NCLEJ, where she worked for nearly nine years, first as an Equal Justice Works fellow focused on access to Medicaid and later as a Senior Attorney who litigated federal and state class action cases seeking systemic reform in the public benefits system. Laura’s cases included constitutional challenges to the child care system in New York and the children’s health insurance system in Missouri, as well as federal challenges to benefit application processes across the country, including many New York State counties, Maryland, and New Hampshire. She also led projects in NYC using non-litigation collaborative advocacy strategies on a variety of issues, including ensuring a seamless transition to Medicaid for youth leaving foster care and an effective Transitional Child Care program, and was a member of the NYC Gender Identity Discrimination Task Force. Prior to NCLEJ, Laura was a Senior Legal Officer at the Commission for Racial Equality in London, England. She also clerked in the U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Staff Attorneys’ Office.
Actively engaged in social justice issues, Laura is an attorney volunteer at Make the Road New York’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Clinic, a current member of the Bar of the City of New York’s Sex and Law Committee, and former member of the City Bar LGBT Rights Committee. She also serves on the Economic Justice and Social Welfare Network Steering Committee and is a member of the Bringing Human Rights Home Lawyers’ Network and Planned Parenthood of New York City, Activist Council. Her work has been published in The New York Law Journal, The New Queer Agenda: The Feminist and Scholar Online, and Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy.
Laura holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, an M.A. in Gender Studies from Birkbeck College at the University of London, and a B.A. from American University.
About New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) advances equality and civil rights, with a focus on health justice, disability rights and environmental justice, through the power of community lawyering and partnerships with the private bar. Through community lawyering, NYLPI puts its legal, policy and community organizing expertise at the service of New York City communities and individuals. NYLPI’s partnership with the private bar strengthens its advocacy and connects community groups and nonprofits with critical legal assistance. NYLPI is the recipient of The New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards.