Lela Klein

A native Daytonian, Lela’s career has been dedicated to fighting for economic justice for working people. Prior to co-founding Co-op Dayton, she served as General Counsel to the IUE-CWA, a 45,000-member manufacturing union, where she led major strategic projects, advocated on behalf of workers, and created a mentorship program to foster leadership among young manufacturing employees. Lela was also an organizer, and later an Attorney, with the Service Employees International Union. After witnessing the devastating impacts of the global recession on blue collar communities like her own, Lela returned to Dayton in 2012 to use her legal and organizing training to support community economic development and worker empowerment in her hometown. Lela received her JD from Harvard Law School and her BA from Cornell University.