LaMont Badru
Founder in Yonkers, New York
LaMont Badru is the founder of the Community Governance & Development Council, The PowerLab, and Paragon. LaMont is a professional community organizer, community economic development strategist, enterprnurer, and a lifelong South Yonkers resident.
As a student at Lehman College, LaMont was the founder and president of the Black Student Union and a Student Senator. In this role, he led the successful initiative to create Lehman’s new minor in Urban Community Development—the first student-initiated academic program at Lehman in over 30 years—designed to equip students across disciplines with the tools to contribute to the development of their own neighborhoods.
LaMont went on to become an organizer for the Bronx-based housing policy organization Picture the Homeless, before returning to South Yonkers to focus on local impact. There, he launched The PowerLab, a coworking space and community incubator focused on economic empowerment and social innovation.
Most recently, LaMont founded Paragon, a digital platform designed to help people build community, collaborate, and organize in powerful new ways.