Leslie C. Mehta

Leslie C. Mehta is a civil rights attorney and nonprofit leader. She grew up in rural North Carolina and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina in 1999 and a law degree from Howard University in 2002. For two decades, she has worked as a lawyer, including serving as the former Legal Director of the ACLU of Virginia. Her public service includes appointments to Democratic Governor Northam's Commission on Racial Inequity in the Law and Republican Governor Youngkin's Rare Disease Council. After her oldest daughter passed away from Rett Syndrome at age five in 2021, healthcare advocacy became a deeply personal issue for her. She currently serves as the Interim CEO of the International Rett Syndrome Foundation, where she advocates for research and healthcare reforms.