WHO IS YAIDA FORD?

THE PEOPLE'S POWERHOUSE

Yaida Ford is a civil rights attorney, community advocate, and urban farmer who has spent her career standing up for people the system too often leaves behind. She is running for mayor because Washington, D.C., deserves leadership that is principled, prepared, and deeply rooted in service to all of its residents.

Yaida is the daughter of Earl and Linda Ford. Her father, Earl, was among the first Black men hired as a soil scientist by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1970s. Her mother, Linda, dedicated 16 years of her career as a preschool teacher in the Head Start program, helping prepare generations of children for a better future. Both of Yaida’s parents worked the cotton fields of Louisiana to pay their way through college.

From this legacy of hard work, resilience, and commitment to community, Yaida learned that civic duty is not abstract—it is personal. That belief has guided her life’s work and fuels her vision for Washington, D.C.: a city that works for everyone, not just the well-connected.

Today, Yaida is recognized as one of Washington’s leading civil rights attorneys, a trusted advocate for seniors and working families, and a builder of sustainable, community-driven solutions.

TRIAL LAWYER & CHAMPION FOR JUSTICE

Yaida’s legal career began in 2005 when she clerked for Judge Harold L. Cushenberry, then presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the D.C. Superior Court. She went on to serve four years at the Legal Aid Society of D.C., where she represented disabled workers seeking the Social Security benefits they had earned.

She later served as legislative counsel to Council member Jim Graham (Ward 1), focusing on job training and workforce development programs for low-income mothers with children—bringing policy and people together in meaningful ways.

In 2012, Yaida entered private practice. By 2015, she had shifted her focus squarely to civil rights litigation, holding powerful institutions accountable on behalf of everyday Washingtonians.

She has successfully litigated or resolved cases against:

• The U.S. Department of Justice (verdict)
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (10 settlements)
• The Metropolitan Police Department (verdict)
• WMATA (settlement)

•The U.S. Park Police (settlement)
• The D.C. Housing Authority (settlement)
• Public charter schools and private developers

Yaida is also a Marshall-Brennan Fellow who taught constitutional literacy at Dunbar High School and an Abramson Fellow, reflecting her commitment to education, democracy, and civic engagement.

Her experience as a trial lawyer, small business owner, and legislative professional gives her a rare, comprehensive understanding of how law, policy, and leadership intersect—and how to make government work better for the people it serves.

COMMUNITY ADVOCATE FOR SENIORS

Yaida has devoted countless hours to advocating for seniors across the District,
ensuring they can age with dignity, security, and respect.

Her work includes:

• Helping elderly couples save their homes from foreclosure after predatory lenders misapplied mortgage payments

• Representing senior landlords victimized by tenants who misused rental assistance funds

•Protecting tenants and homeowners from fraudulent developers who forged TOPA documents to seize properties

•Assisting seniors facing foreclosure through legal counseling, lender negotiations, and relocation support when necessary

•Challenging corporate landlords who neglect maintenance as a tactic to force seniors out of their homes

For Yaida, advocacy is not theoretical—it is personal, persistent, and grounded in results. Washington needs leadership that protects its most vulnerable residents, not just during crises, but every day.

URBAN FARMER & ADVOCATE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Yaida’s commitment to sustainability and food justice is deeply rooted in her family history. Her grandfathers, Rochelle Robinson and James “Buster” Ford, were small farmers in Louisiana who lived and worked under the constraints of Jim Crow. They

taught their families how to grow their own food as a form of resilience and self-determination—a lesson passed down through generations.

Today, Yaida lives in a designated food desert in Washington, D.C. Rather than accept inequity as inevitable, she chose to act. She built a farm-to-table lifestyle in her own backyard—raising hens, maintaining multiple garden beds, and cultivating fruit trees.

She teaches urban families how to raise backyard hens, advocates for access to fresh, healthy food, and has even sued the District to challenge unnecessary permitting barriers that prevent residents from growing their own food.

Yaida believes sustainable communities thrive when people have the tools to care for themselves and each other—and when government supports, rather than obstructs, those efforts.

A MAYOR FOR ALL OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

Yaida Ford’s life and career reflect a simple truth: leadership is about service, accountability, and equity. She has spent nearly two decades fighting for people without power, standing up to institutions that abuse it, and building solutions rooted in dignity and opportunity.

As mayor, Yaida will represent all of Washington, D.C.—every ward, every neighborhood, every resident.
She’s not running to learn on the job. She’s running because she’s already been doing the work.