10/20/2026
Congratulations to Sarah McGeeney, WLA's 2026 Member of the Year!
Sarah is a civil rights attorney and social reform advocate, and she has spent her practice using her legal skills on behalf of Kentucky's renters. Working alongside the Kentucky Tenant Union, she helped achieve something many thought impossible in our state – low-income tenants organizing as a union and winning a contract with their landlord.
This spring, the union won a collectively bargained lease, the first of its kind in the American south. The agreement covers more than 250 units across four properties, including federally subsidized complexes in Brandenburg and Flemingsburg, and guarantees a rent grace period, a schedule for major repairs, reliable maintenance and formal recognition of the union. Sarah's work helped turn tenants' courage into enforceable legal protection, and it has given organizers across the South a model to follow for the work to come.
In 2026, Sarah also shared her insights with our members at WLA's "Get in the Game" program, showing how attorneys can use their credentials and skills to support worthy causes, and in that way elevating a lawyer’s credential into a vital tool for advocacy and reform.
Join us as we celebrate Sarah at WLA's 65th Anniversary Luncheon.
Thursday, October 29, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., The Olmsted
Register at wlajeffco.com