Leah Barros is an experienced lobbyist with a strong history advocating on healthcare, energy, and civil rights issues. With nearly 10 years of experience, she drives successful advocacy strategies for clients at the California State Capitol and tackles complex issues with thorough policy analysis and powerful coalition building. Additionally, she has advocated for an array of clients from healthcare providers to patients, from biopharmaceuticals to non-profit and government services, and most recently began engaging in the world of education.

She has also worked extensively on labor and employment issues, and represented victims of discrimination, sexual assault, and health disparities.

Leah began her legislative career in Sacramento working for then-Assembly member and now Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman. She credits her unique approach to advancing clients’ policy goals and strengthening their political brands to her experience working in the Assembly as both a Capitol legislative and local district staffer.

Prior to working for the legislature, Leah worked on legislative and policy issues for the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, handling projects to reduce mental health stigma and identify cultural barriers to reduce disparities in communities of color. Among her most notable wins was leading the lobbying effort to enact the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act: the first statewide law in the country to prohibit racial discrimination on the basis of natural hairstyles in the workplace and schools.

A summa cum laude graduate from California State University, Sacramento, Leah holds a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and a master’s in Social Work with an emphasis in Social Welfare Policy. Leah serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Governmental Advocates. She is also actively engaged in a local movement to help remove the stigma attached to holistic health and wellness in communities of color.