Leah Rambo
Director of Training
SMART Local 28, New York City
Leah Rambo is director of training for SMART Local 28 in the New York City area and has been serving in this capacity since 2011. From 2011 to the present, the local’s percentage of female apprentices has grown from 3% to 13%. Leah is responsible for training Local 28’s 519 apprentices and for added instruction for its 2,200 active union members. She began her career as a sheet metal worker in 1988. After 10 years in the field, she was appointed as a fulltime instructor, becoming the first woman to hold this position.
Leah is especially proud of her development of the “Respect for Workforce Diversity Curriculum,” which teaches members how to identify and prevent various types of discrimination in the work force. Since 2001, she has also taught instructor training classes for the International Training Institute; the educational branch of the unionized sheet metal industry. Leah currently serves on the New York City Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education Advisory Council and Gender Equity Committee. She is also co-chair of the NYC Coalition for Women in Construction and was recently named Co-Chair of the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues. Leah has a BA in Labor Education and several trade certifications.