It was hard to miss the positive energy and joyful engagement Leah Wright radiated as she took pictures and chatted with grantees at the latest KFW Day event. In her new role as grant manager, Leah relishes the chance to combine arts and advocacy as she guides prospective grantees through the application process and gets to see the impact of their work far beyond the grant cycle.
She is no stranger to the challenges of grant writing. Leah previously held the position of Outreach, Grants, and Advocacy Manager for The Kwek Society. a nonprofit organization with the mission of ending period poverty for Indigenous North America by providing predominantly Indigenous communities with access to period supplies, and native teachings about puberty/menstruation.
Leah has a Master of Arts: Forensic & Legal Psychology from Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts: Criminology/ Criminal Justice from Morehead State University.
She has done mitigation work on nationwide capital defense cases trying to keep people off of death row in DC, and worked with at-risk youth at Maryhurst in Louisville.
“I have been a feminist for as long as I can remember. I have also been an artist and an advocate for as long as I can remember. From my early years as a strong-willed little girl who ferociously advocated for my sister who has special needs, to my early twenties where I spent my career fighting to defend people in capital cases against a system that dehumanizes them, and every moment in between. It was all fueled by a whirlpool of feminism,” said Leah.
She described her role at KFW the best of both worlds combining social justice and art and believes it will inspire her to create more art of her own.
Her goal is to make artists, especially newer artists, feel empowered and capable of entering into the art world. “I’m here and KFW is here to support you, have your back and uplift you. Feel confident in what you’re doing, claim your title as an artist boldly.”
An artist herself, Leah does painting and mixed media work and is planning an upcoming art and advocacy event. She also hosts a podcast that provides a safe space creatives, artists, entrepreneurs, and everyone in between to discuss the realness of creating their own path in the art/business world. She does this under the name L. Rose. When not fostering art and artists, she also loves hiking and traveling. “My wife and I actually lived on the road and went out west on a cross country trip one summer. So that’s always very important to me, just connecting with nature and exploring.”
You can contact Leah at leah@kfw.org