story by Melinda Lejman
The recent election sent shock waves through the staff at CHOICES, the patients they serve, and the other agencies they work with in the city. It was really really devastating on so many levels. As a mother of two sons and a daughter I am appalled to have a man like Donald Trump as our president and as someone who’s rhetoric and views my kids will be exposed to over the next few years. At CHOICES we are in a “wait and see” mode. But we will continue to serve our patients and we will continue to talk in the community about the importance of sexual/reproductive health and freedom. Our motto for 2017 is ONWARD, we are all thinking of getting tattoos. — Katy Leopard
A few minutes into my interview with Katy Leopard, I realize I am dealing with a powerhouse. A self-proclaimed “PTA soccer mom”, she balances her work as the Community Partnerships Director at CHOICES with raising kids and doing meaningful volunteer work related to social justice and human rights issues, seemingly with ease. Over plates of Indian food, I learned what brought her to Memphis and why she is such a passionate advocate for human rights and the LGBTQ community.
A native Floridian, Katy moved to Memphis twenty years ago when she and her husband took jobs here. Despite plans to relocate, staying in Memphis quickly became a conscious decision. They bought a house and started a family. Two decades later Katy is more committed to Memphis than ever. “Once we decided to put down roots, we started to see little ways to become involved, and I’m a joiner, so I couldn’t help myself.” Katy is less interested in what she considers band aid fixes to issues. “What appeals to me more is, ‘What are the root causes of issues and how do we fix them?’” For Katy, the answer was education, so she became involved in her neighborhood’s public schools by working with the PTA/PTO.
After staying home with her children for eleven years, Katy returned to the workforce at CHOICES, a clinic that offers reproductive healthcare. Her first role was to manage a grant helping people living with HIV access good reproductive healthcare. “At the time, people with HIV were being told not to have sex, or [told] to wear a condom. There was no realization that this is a whole human being, and they have lives outside their diagnosis.” Katy’s work at CHOICES ultimately became a full-time gig managing development initiatives, including a current $3 million campaign to build a birthing center (covered in the Sept/Oct 2016 issue of Focus).
Katy appears to be taking it all in stride, but one frustration she shared was the unwillingness of funders to be associated with the work of her organization. “It has been eye-opening to me the number of people who are supportive and do understand a woman’s right to control her own body and reproductive health, but don’t donate, and don’t want their names on anything.” This places people who are willing to be public about their support into a special category for Katy. “I couldn’t love them more. They’re super awesome.”
When it comes to human rights issues, Katy sees them as all as being interconnected. “A woman’s right to control her body and her reproductive life is a fundamental right and a civil right. And it’s the same fundamentally as the rights of the LGBTQ community, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the living wage movement. All those issues are about being able to control your body, your personal liberty, your freedom, and being able to live the life you want to live.”
It wasn’t just her work with CHOICES that made her such a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community. Katy owes that to her upbringing, which was very sex positive. This has led to open dialogue about sex and sexuality with her own children. She laughs when I ask how her work and her values integrate into raising her two sons and daughter. It’s not surprising to learn that reading books about sex and puberty to her oldest son was once a nighttime ritual, and that condoms are kept openly in the bathroom alongside toothbrushes, deodorant, and razors.
Katy got divorced last year and says she is regrouping and staying close to home. She stays busy spending time with her close friends, continuing her volunteer work, and destressing in a women’s soccer league, “The Ruby Slippers”.
