Leigh Hallingby

I have been a licensed New York City tour guide since 2017. My actual walking tours and my virtual tours focus on 3 neighborhoods in Harlem, plus Morningside Heights, the Upper West Side and Washington Heights. I have long been passionate about exploring all five NYC boroughs and beyond on foot through organized walking tours. Now I love leading my own tours.

Serving on the GANYC Board is a great way for me to give back to an organization that has meant so much to me since I joined in 2018. Most guides work alone, so belonging to GANYC is a perfect way to connect with and learn from other guides. I have lots of experience serving on other Boards -- including National Organization for Women, Shelter Our Sisters (a domestic violence services agency), and Special Libraries Association. These boards have done some wonderful projects, and I look forward to diving into some with the GANYC board too.

I hold Masters degrees in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania and in Library Service from Columbia. After a short career as social worker, I settled into 36 years as non-profit librarian in New York City. I am honored to have been inducted into the Special Libraries Association Hall of Fame in 2017. Being a librarian and being a tour guide actually have a lot in common, as both involve doing intense research and then sharing the information with others. 

I am also a feminist, a collector of porcelain, a genealogist, and a lover of arts, culture, and travel. After residing in the suburbs of NYC for many years, I am now happily living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.