Olivia Leirer

Olivia Leirer joined the NY ACORN staff in 2008 as a canvasser, shortly before the organization’s destruction. She went on to serve as a canvass director, communications director, and ultimately ED of New York Communities for Change, the NY ACORN successor organization. In this interview, Olivia talks about learning how to canvass, how the canvass programs fed into NY ACORN’s organizing and campaign work, and then how she helped build NYCC after the attacks on ACORN. She reflects on how her experiences at ACORN have grounded her as she leads NYCC, and how the NYCC members and leaders still think of themselves as part of ACORN.