Missy Risser

Missy Risser is an Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of CUNY’s Community and Economic Development Clinic (CEDC). She teaches and supervises students providing legal support to organizations addressing structural inequities faced by marginalized communities, focusing on cooperatives, community land trusts, and nonprofits. Previously, she worked at TakeRoot Justice (formerly Urban Justice Center) and co-founded 1 Worker 1 Vote, a nonprofit advancing unionized worker cooperatives.

Education:

• J.D., CUNY School of Law (Public Interest Graduate Fellow)
• M.Ed. in Urban Education, Temple University
• B.A., Vassar College

Research Interests: Missy’s work centers on movement lawyering, alternative institutions like cooperatives as tools to combat racial capitalism, and the intersection of community economic development with racial and criminal justice through abolition democracy frameworks. She emphasizes legal strategies to democratize economies and empower marginalized groups.

Professional Roles:

• Supervising Attorney at TakeRoot Justice (2013–)
• Co-founder, Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative

Labs/Teams: CEDC, 1 Worker 1 Vote, and the Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative.