"I now know what I am made of. I now know I can do anything, and that people lie when they say you are worthless, and that you have no potential. I now know that the imaginary ceiling is just that: imaginary." Leah has come to these conclusions after being in 10 different foster homes and five group homes. She aged out of the system when she was 21 years old.

Leah is a member of the Voice, her local Youth Advisory Board. She has attended meetings with her mentees, and helped her mentees navigate through the same system she did. Rather than focusing on her past, Leah prefers to focus on her support system and on being there for her mentees. "I think about how those experiences have made me create a network of supporters and colleagues who are present for me, and how I can in turn, be there for my girls, my mentees."

Leah's husband claims that she burns out during the week and then watches hours of the Food Network on the weekends. Leah supports this claim by stating, "I am the worst couch potato." Leah has also been known to write. "I write occasionally, and I did a recently piece that is being reviewed for publication from The Independent Scribe (URI Honors Publishing House). I've already been published from them once for the story of how I came into care."

State(s)
Rhode Island
Team(s) or Cohort(s)
2009 Outstanding Young Leaders