Rebecca Lamorte

Secretary, Board of Directors

Rebecca grew up on Long Island and now calls New York City home. After a 2013 subway accident left her partially disabled, she saw an intimate portrait of how New York can work better for all communities and began her efforts to make New York City more accessible and inclusive.

Rebecca graduated from Fordham University in 2013 and built a career in the labor movement working for some of New York’s most prominent unions coordinating legislative and issue-based campaigns. On campaigns like the Fight For $15, for example, Rebecca observed how progressive policies can lead to tangible benefits for New Yorkers too often overlooked.

Drawing on her personal experiences as a disabled New Yorker and professional experience with government, Rebecca ran for New York City Council in 2021 in Manhattan’s 5th District (Midtown East, Upper East Side, Yorkville, East Harlem, Roosevelt Island). Her campaign was centered on disability rights and the needs of disabled and vulnerable New Yorkers. While not successful in winning her election, Rebecca’s campaign shifted the paradigm of political engagement in New York, moving the focus more towards accessibility and disability rights as a part of all policy decisions and public life.

Following her campaign, Rebecca has been featured in the Emmy-nominated interactive series Inaccessible Cities and on the Tamron Hall Show for her work on disability issues. Her work has also been published in the New York Daily News and Teen Vogue.