Everything Co-op With Vernon Oakes

August 14, 2021 Everything Co-op continues its tribute in honor of the 2023 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees, with an interview of co-op housing advocate, Linda Leaks. Linda and Vernon discuss her cooperative journey, and projections for the future. Linda Leaks, affectionately known as the "Godmother of Housing Co-ops," is a Co-founder of the Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community, and at least 20 other housing co-ops in the Washington DC Metro Area. Linda's’ organizing of tenants for housing justice and housing cooperatives is legendary in the DC Community. She is highly revered and respected as a consummate advocate for addressing housing inequities. Leaks moved to Washington, DC in 1978, during a period of immense gentrification. As she witnessed the drastic change in the city, and pursued a career that would enable her to address the impact of its transformation. Linda ultimately earned a degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. In 1982, Leaks led the founding