Leah Juliett

Juliett was born on January 30, 1997, in Waterbury, Connecticut.[9] They served as President of the Student Government and Gay-Straight Alliance at Wolcott High School[10] and attended Western Connecticut State University, where they majored in Political Science with honors.[11][12] Juliett was a victim of child-sexual abuse imagery (CSAM) and revenge porn when they were a teenager.[13]

In 2016, as a college student, Juliett founded March Against Revenge Porn, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of technology-facilitated sexual abuse.[14][15] On April 1, 2017, Juliett led a march across the Brooklyn Bridge that received national news coverage.[16][17] In 2018, Juliett was recognized by Glamour Magazine as a College Woman of the Year, GLAAD Rising Star,[18] and was the 2018 recipient of the Delta Airlines Accelerating Acceptance grant. In 2020, Juliett was honored by L’Oreal Paris as a Woman of Worth[19] and was introduced by Academy Award winner Helen Mirren on primetime television.[20] Juliett is also a George H.W. Bush Point of Light,[21] and in 2021 was named a "Champion of Pride" by The Advocate Magazine.[22]

In 2018, beauty publication Very Good Light noted that Juliett "shows courage beyond their years in fighting for LGBTQ rights."[23]

In June 2022, Juliett appeared in L'Oréal's All Love is Worth It[24] campaign for Pride Month.[25]

In September 2022, Juliett's story was featured in the law book The Fight for Privacy by MacArthur Fellow Danielle Keats Citron.[26]

In December 2022, Juliett appeared on Good Morning Connecticut to announce they were organizing a benefit concert following the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.[27][28]

From 2017 to 2019, Juliett worked in Congress for Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, Senator Chris Murphy, and as a Writer for Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.[29] In 2018, Juliett wrote an open letter to Congress about gun violence that was signed by over 100 college activists from around the country.[30]

In In 2018, Juliett was a recipient of an "Excellence in Journalism" award from the National Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.[31] Their writing has been published in Glamour Magazine,[32] Salty World,[33] and MTV News.[34] In 2021, Juliett published their debut book of poetry Naked in Public after their popular online essay of the same name.[35][33] Juliett has also served as both an Ambassador and Writer for GLAAD .[36]

In 2017, Juliett delivered a keynote speech at the University of Minnesota School of Law for their 40th anniversary.[37] In 2018, Juliett spoke at the GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel,[38] and introduced American Olympian figure skater Adam Rippon at New York City Hall.[39]

Since 2020, Juliett has been actively involved in the Miss America organization through the Miss Connecticut competition,[40][8] and has raised awareness for the need for increased representation of LGBTQ+ pageant candidates.[41] In 2022, Juliett announced their partnership with poet[42] and podcast host Sierra DeMulder[43][44] and DuVide Media[45] to produce the podcast "There They Are", following Juliett's journey in pageantry.[46]

Juliett came out as gay when they were thirteen years old and nonbinary when they were nineteen years old.[7] In a 2021 interview with L'Oreal Paris, Juliett called themself a "liberated, unapologetically queer, fat, trans, tattooed, survivor of sexual violence living with mental illness".[7]

• March Against Revenge Porn, Inc.