Leonard Blades is a CUNY alumnus of Brooklyn College with a B.A in Psychology and a 3-time graduate of the CUNY School of professional Studies (SPS) where he has received the Master's Degree in Disability Services in Higher Education, the Advanced Certificate in Disability Studies and the MA in Disability Studies. He has served as the Chairperson for the CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities (CCSD), the university-wide group that represents and serves CUNY’s more than 10,000 students with disabilities. He has served as the Vice Chair for Disability Affairs for CUNY's University Student Senate (USS), the representative organization that serves CUNY’s more than 500,000 students. He is also the founder of CUNY SPS' Abilities and Resources Committee, now known as the Disability and Access Coalition (DAC).

Today, Leonard is currently a returning student at CUNY SPS pursuing the Master’s Degree in Disability Studies. He works as a Disability Accommodations Specialist for the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) at Queensborough Community College (QCC). In addition, he serves as a club advisor for the CCSD@QCC student chapter, an advisor for the CCSD University-Wide Organization, and is currently a member of the MTA’s Advisory Committee for Transit Accessibility. Leonard’s motto in life is that while you may encounter defeat, you should never truly feel defeated.