AAOP has been a young person-led, mostly femme and queer-led organization since 2016 and while you may have met staff and young leaders in community events, while volunteering for canvassing or even in the past, who are the people behind AAOP? Over the next few weeks, we’ll be re-introducing AAOP staff! Get to know who is part of AAOP, our likes and dislikes, experiences and stories.
Next up is leyen, Communications & Digital Director!
Favorite Part of Your Role: being able to connect with so many different people and organizations from different walks of life
Least Favorite Part of Your Role: meetings 🙁
What inspires your work? the youth and young people who are so enthusiastic and care so much about the community and the world we live in
Life motto or quote that inspires you: You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it; unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsibility for changing it. Grace Lee Boggs
Share a story or a memorable moment that happened while at AAOP: We used to have an office by 280 and University and the door would automatically lock behind itself! When we switched to remote, a couple of people would use the office to work because of its convenience. But oh the sheer number of times I’ve been called to come and unlock the door because someone got locked out… you know who you are.
Testimonies from other staff:
leyen is one of the most thoughtful and helpful people I know! Their involvement and ideas always improves our work and brings it to the next level. I’m so appreciative of all that they do to support all staff and make sure our work is high quality. leyen is also an amazing artist! – Clara
As someone that worked with Leyen since 2018, it amazes me at how much humility they had and continue to exude. Leyen does so much behind the scene that people may not see and their willingness to provide support whenever they can is inspiring because it grounds me in why I’m in this line of work. They also bring really grounding points to many of the meetings that I had with them. – Vang Xor
leyen is an amazing planner and detailed organizer for change. Their creativity and capacity to ensure our young leaders’ experiences and narratives are represented is super important in guiding our work. – Linda
leyen! They wear multiple hats and I’m always impressed with their ability to manage all of AAOP’s communications for all of the various programs at AAOP. leyen also offers their time and always goes the extra mile, even for odd end tasks. Her work ethic and support for others is always top notch (plus they are very humble)! – Michelle