Wade J. Henderson is a civil rights veteran and serves as a strategic advisor to major corporations, foundations and non-profits on matters relating to civil and human rights. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor to The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Henderson is the former president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. The Leadership Conference is the nation’s premier civil and human rights coalition with over 240 national organizations “working to build an America as good as its ideals.” The Leadership Conference has been involved in the passage and implementation of every major civil rights act from 1957 to the present. Henderson was the president of The Leadership Conference from 1996 – 2017.
Henderson is well known for his expertise on a wide range of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights issues, and is the author of numerous articles on civil rights and public policy. After taking the helm of The Leadership Conference in 1996, he worked diligently to address emerging policy issues of concern to the civil and human rights community and to strengthen the effectiveness of the coalition. Under his stewardship, The Leadership Conference steered successful campaigns to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act in 2006; pass the Help America Vote Act, the Fair Sentencing Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the ADA Amendments Act, and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The Leadership Conference also played an important role in the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, among other legislative priorities. Henderson has a particular interest in Fair Housing Act enforcement, the development of affordable housing, enforcement of the Community Reinvestment Act, and closing the racial wealth gap.
Henderson is Vice Chair of the Center for Responsible Lending and serves on the National Community Advisory Council (NCAC) of Bank of America. He also served until recently on the Advisory Committee on Poverty and the Environment for the JPB Foundation.
Henderson is a graduate of Howard University and the Rutgers University School of Law. He is a 2024 inductee in the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He holds honorary doctorates from CUNY Queens College School of Law and Gettysburg College.
Henderson served as the Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Professor of Public Interest Law at the David A. Clarke School of Law, University of the District of Columbia from 2000 to 2020. He is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and the US Supreme Court. He is also a member of the National Bar Association.