Leila Broadneck was a Black Foot Indian born in the early to mid 1800’s on a reservation through the strength of her mother and missionaries became educated in Eastern schools. She arrived in New York for at the tender age of eighteen unheard of in that day in age for a woman. After attending college at Oberlin she became a nurse and continued to work in New York throughout her life. She married John McKinney, a Cherokee Indian and had a daughter Leila also followed in her mother’s footsteps of medicine becoming a nurse (midwife) and married Joshua Washington a pastor and missionary. Leila’s sheer determination allowed for future generations to reach for the dreams through hard work and faith.
Gwendolyn Grace Washington is the great great great granddaughter of Leila Broadneck. Entering college in New York Gwen’s goal was to become a lawyer however; a brutal sexual assault by a fellow student changed this destiny. The attack and her experiences with school officials, teachers, and counselors gave her a purpose in life to prevent sexual assault on college campuses. While finishing her undergraduate degree in psychology at Kendall College she completed an internship with children that suffered emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. She has a M.S. in Counseling from Capella University and is an active member of various nonprofits that focus on women and children including RAINN, Chicago Women’s Aid Project, and GILDA’S CLUB.
Involved in charity work throughout her life, her mission has become to help eliminate campus violence. Professionally, she is co-owner of the coloring sheets company for kids and adults called Coloring books for Kidz and the founder of LUV TALK a company which links women with professional matchmakers and dating coaches.