Sadiqa N. Reynolds, Esq.
Sadiqa Reynolds is the President and CEO of Louisville Urban League. Her appointment made
her the first woman to hold this title in the affiliate’s 95-year history. She has previously served
as Chief for Community Building in the Office of the Mayor where she oversaw approximately
1,500 employees. Sadiqa serves on several boards including Fund for the Arts, the Louisville
Chamber, WAVE3 Editorial Board, WDRD Advisory Board and is a Director for the Federal
Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
She has served as District Judge for the 30th Judicial Court. She was also the first African
American woman to clerk for the Kentucky Supreme Court when she served as Chief Law Clerk
for the late Chief Justice Robert F. Stephens. Her life as a public servant also includes being the
first African American to serve as Inspector General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Prior to entering the public sector, Sadiqa owned and managed her private legal practice. Her
practice included criminal litigation, employment law, death penalty litigation and serving as
Guardian Ad Litem representing abused, neglected and dependent children as well as arguing
successfully before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. She has also been recognized by the
Louisville Bar Association for providing pro bono hours in which she represented domestic
violence victims and other disadvantaged citizens.
Sadiqa earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Louisville and her law degree from
the University of Kentucky. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Bates
Memorial Baptist Church.
She is an advocate for mental health awareness and received the 2017 Community Leader of the
Year Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness because of her work to reduce the
stigma around mental health. She is also a proponent for Restorative Justice and participated in
the face it campaign to end child abuse.
Under her leadership, the Louisville Urban League is committed to jobs, justice, education,
health and housing. She has been featured on CNN’s Headline News for the Louisville Urban
League’s work on the State of Black Louisville and been a guest on FOX News as well as the
national Funky Politics podcast.
Sadiqa is a much sought-after speaker who has been recognized as a Business First Enterprising
Woman to Watch and a Woman of Influence. She has been honored with a Tower Award, a
Torch of Wisdom and named a Daughter of Greatness by the Muhammad Ali Center. She’s
received the Fannie Lou Hamer award, for her commitment to justice and in 2016 was
recognized as BizWomen’s Business Journal top 100 women to watch nationally. She was also
recognized for her housing advocacy work by the Mortgage Banker’s Association and in 2017
was recognized as Louisville’s Communicator of the Year.
She has been featured on public radio, television and numerous print media outlets including
the NY Times. She has two beautiful daughters Sydney, 8th grade and Wynter, 6th grade, both
being educated in public schools. Sadiqa has received two honorary Doctorates, one from Spalding University and the other from Simmons College of Kentucky. Sadiqa Reynolds was the
2017 Louisville Magazine Person of Year and a 2018 National Urban League Woman of Power.