Leisha Toory

Leisha Toory (she/her) is an international undergraduate student at Memorial University, pursuing a major in Political Science with Concentration in Global Studies, a minor in French for Francophones and a Certificate in Public Policy with concentration in Governance. She is the founder of the Period Priority Project which aims at fighting period poverty by making period products accessible to everyone who needs them. Within 7 months, over 15,500 menstrual products have been distributed across Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Alberta. Leisha has also partnered with the Prince of Wales Collegiate to host reusable cloth pads sewing workshop for students. With collaboration with the Social Justice Cooperative NL, Period Priority Project is also distributing menstrual cups.Leisha has also distributed 24 period underwear to students who expressed interest. 6 free menstrual products stations have also been set up in the gender inclusive washrooms at Memorial University to send the message that not all cisgender women menstruate and not all those who menstruate are cisgender women. The free menstrual products stations are now also set up in the washrooms at the Marine Institute, St. John's College and the College of the North Atlantic. To break barriers, challenge stereotypes and normalize conversations on menstruation, Leisha has also started a podcast titled the Period Priority Project: Period Positivity Podcast where guest speakers talk about period poverty, period shaming, endometriosis and the menstrual experience, the gaps in health care, education , accessing spaces and services for trans and non-binary folks who menstruate, inter-alia. To further encourage discussions on periods, folks can now fill a Google form titled "People who Period Initiative" where people who menstruate share their first period mishaps, important resources, advice, and things they wish they knew to help others. Leisha has also written articles for local newspapers in both English and French, to highlight the importance of better policies to advance period equity, shame free period representation in television and period poverty as a public health crisis for youth in remote Indigenous communities, etc. In Dec 2022, Leisha was nominated for the Human Rights Award NL for her advocacy in the menstrual equity movement.