About 11 years ago, Leah Lin ditched social media.

“I found it was taking up too much of my time and it wasn’t really productive for my well-being,” Lin, the chapter leader at PS 85 in Queens, said.

Fast forward to late winter 2023, during the UFT contract campaign. Lin was looking for an interesting way to promote the campaign and inform her chapter members, so she restarted her Instagram account — @the_leah_lin — for that work and hasn’t looked back.

“Everything is about social media now,” said Lin, who is beginning her ninth year of teaching and her sixth year as her school’s chapter leader. “It’s the quickest way to get information to people and I felt doing it through Instagram would be the easiest and most effective way.”

Lin takes communications she receives from the UFT — from the Chapter Leader Update, the UFT Update or messages from UFT District 30 Representative Ashley Rzonca — and, using her own knowledge as a chapter leader, distills the information into short, fun and easy-to-follow videos. Her more than 3,000 followers, including UFT members from other schools, give her videos — particularly her daily Morning Rush posts — rave reviews.

“Watching Leah’s Morning Rush brings such positive vibes to my morning routine,” PS 85 teacher Athina Fountoulis said. “She shares important information in such a refreshing and upbeat manner. And she brings awareness to what exactly is myth or fact about our contract.”

Her redabbling with Instagram began with the Morning Rush videos, which she limited to 40 seconds, often using the graphic design platform Canva to create interesting ways to visibly share information.

“Before using Instagram, I would send lots of information out to the chapter but still had people coming to my door asking me questions,” Lin said. “I realized that people like to watch and listen to things and don’t necessarily like reading them. Posting on Instagram allowed me to get out information in a decorative or visual way.”

Eventually, she increased the length of the videos to a maximum of 90 seconds “if there was a bit more to say.” She has used the videos to promote political campaigns for candidates endorsed by the UFT and initiatives in her district, as well as pass on information about UFT programs. She’s added some comedic videos about topics like the last day of school, and has brought other members into the videos to create more of a show.

“Whenever there’s something important to report, Leah is on Instagram right away to bring us information we could have missed,” colleague Dora Mavrikis said. “Also, Leah is inspirational and cheers everyone on. Instagram has become our morning routine and our lifeline to the union.”