Leah will share some of the photos and stories of the people experiencing homelessness whom she has met in major cities throughout the world, such as New York, Brisbane, Toronto, Washington, and Las Angeles. Her goal in doing so is to, both, humanize these individuals and shine a spotlight on their plight. The title of her talk is from a well-known quote by Edward Everett Hale who said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”
Leah is a Fashion, Beauty and Portrait Photographer. For the past six years, she has been traveling to cities throughout the world, such as Toronto, New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Brisbane, photographing people experiencing homelessness and recording their stories. Her fourth book, entitled Nowhere to Call Home--Photographs and Stories of People Experiencing Homelessness, Volume Four, was recently published by Europe Books.
In the summer of 2017, CBC's 'The National' aired a documentary about Leah's photography and stories of people experiencing homelessness. Since then, her work has attracted worldwide attention. She has been interviewed by such major media networks as the BBC, CBS, CTV, the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Toronto Life, Chatelaine, and the Corriere Della Sera in Italy. Recently a couple of her photos appeared in Vogue Italia, widely regarded as the world’s leading fashion magazine.
Leah attended, by invitation, ARTWALK NY 2017 and the Women of the World 2018 festival in Brisbane, Australia, where she exhibited and spoke. In 2017 she was invited to speak, along with Prince Harry and Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General to the U.N., at the Air Canada Centre for the WE Day and WE Family events where she addressed 40,000 people. She has been a keynote speaker at the annual She Talks events in Cambridge and Muskoka.
Leah has won several awards, including the IDRF Youth Impact Award 2018, Murray Clerkson Award 2019, SNAP Photo Competition 2020, and the Ascend Rising Star of the Year Award 2020.
