Nan Leekley describes herself as a risk taker. She once biked across the entire United States. At age 50 she became a downhill ski racing coach – having only skied a handful of times – to support her sons’ interest in the sport. (By all accounts, she excelled at it.) And around 30 years ago, Nan and her then-partner were among the first same-sex couples in the state of Minnesota to adopt children.
“There was a movement within the gay and lesbian community to be able to adopt,” Nan recalled. “Minnesota had one of the largest groups of gay people who wanted to adopt kids in the United States, just behind California.”
In 2021, after retiring from a career at Stillwater Area Public Schools, she opened the Nan Leekley LGBTQ Youth Fund at SCVF – an endowed fund that will forever support LGBTQ+ youth within the district, and students with LGBTQ family members. As a donor designated fund, grants will automatically benefit the Partnership Plan, a nonprofit created to connect the community of Stillwater to its public schools. The Partnership Plan helps provide new funding for educational experiences and innovative projects, all to help enhance students’ educational experiences. Recently, the Partnership Plan has focused its efforts on mental health support. Nan’s fund will specifically support LGBTQ+ students and their families.
“My goal was to make it so that the kids who were experiencing these situations had access to funds of some kind to try to help make their experience different,” Nan said, listing mental health supports, acceptance education, and social club activities as some of the ways money from the fund could be used. She also hopes the fund could assist with housing and employment, as LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience homelessness or become victims of trafficking, according to the U of M’s Minnesota Student Survey.
Now retired, Nan has started thinking about her legacy. Although she notes a general trend toward acceptance during her lifetime, she sees the toll the recent political climate has taken on students. According to the Trevor Project, in 2024 more than 600 bills were introduced in legislatures across the country targeting inclusive school policies and questioning the rights of LGBTQ+ students. More than 70% of LGBTQ+ youth, including 86% of trans and nonbinary youth, say such laws have negatively impacted their mental health.
In the few years since it was established, the Nan Leekley LGBTQ Youth Fund has already made a difference. In 2022, staff members attended an LGBTQ+ Professional Development for Educators Conference. And, with an additional donation from Nan, around 45 Stillwater Area Public School students participated in a statewide LGBTQ+ conference.
"There are so many different panels you can go to at the summit," said a student, who attended several educational and leadership sessions as a sophomore. "Having opportunities like this where it's a safe space, an open space, and school funded is such an incredible opportunity for kids who are out, who aren't out, who just want to learn, who just want to be there for their friends. It's truly an amazing thing and I think it should be open to as many schools as possible."
Another student, (who identifies as a transgender girl) agreed that the conference felt safe and open – two feelings not always experienced by LGBTQ youth. The student’s experience was extremely positive, and the highlight was a dance class intended purely for fun.
“The people leading the session were amazing people,” she said. “Everyone in the room just kept the energy high, and it was a great experience.”
Nan's vision of the future, like SCVF’s, values openness, inclusivity, and a sense of true belonging for all students within their schools and the broader community.
“Everybody’s here for a short period of time, and what does your time here mean?” Nan recently reflected. “For me, the legacy part of it is that I plan to cram all my assets into the fund when I die, because my hope is that every school district has a fund like this – everywhere.”
You can support Stillwater's LGBTQ+ youth and their families today by donating to the Nan Leekley LGBTQ Youth Fund.
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