Leisa Goodman is an American official of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

. As of 2005, she served as the Human Rights Director for the Church of Scientology International. She had previously served as a spokesperson for the Church and served as its media relations director. In her capacity as media relations director she managed Church of Scientology websites, presented the church's viewpoints about its conflict with critics on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

to the media, and traveled to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on a six-month fact finding mission to investigate the country's treatment of Scientologists.

Career

In 1990 Goodman was a spokesperson for the Church of Scientology out of the L. Ron Hubbard Office of Public Relations in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Goodman was a spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, Goodman served as the media relations director for the

, and in this role she managed Scientology websites, and responded to the media about the Church of Scientology's attempts to curtail the spread of their documents on the

. Jim McClellan of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' recommended Goodman's home page at www.theta.com for information about Scientology's perspective on its conflict with critics on the Internet. As media relations director she traveled to

in 1997 on a six-month fact finding mission to investigate the treatment of Scientologists in the country. She told the ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...

'' that she spoke with 200 Scientologists who said that they experienced adverse effects due to being members of the Church of Scientology including losing their jobs and having their bank accounts closed. Goodman defended the Church of Scientology's analogy to the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s in describing Germany's treatment of Psychiatrists, saying "We know it is not a popular thing to say. But the truth isn't always popular." Goodman traveled to

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

along with other high-ranking members of the Church of Scientology including then-head of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs Mike Rinder and general counsel Elliot Abelson, to attend a counter-protest and response to an organized protest by critics of Scientology held in front of the Church of Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel in March 1997. Critics including Jeff Jacobsen, David S. Touretzky and others were protesting the death of Lisa McPherson while under the care of members of the Church of Scientology, and Goodman explained to the '' St. Petersburg Times'' that Scientologists who live in Clearwater did not want the critics' protest to transpire without a response: "They're not about to stand by and do nothing. They've got First Amendment rights. They take it very personally. This is their town." Goodman was the Human Rights Director for the Church of Scientology International since 1997, and as of 2002 worked out of Scientology offices in Los Angeles.

Career

See also

References

Further reading