Ep. 11: Margaret and Claire: Lesbian Advocates for Equality

In this episode, you will hear from Margaret Leonard and Claire Sheils, two activists who have been serving the queer community in Santa Cruz County for decades. Margaret grew up in Santa Cruz, attended Harbor High and worked as a lawyer for most of her career. Claire grew up in New York, moved to Santa Cruz in 1982, and began working alongside Margaret in public relations and media relations, and later as a legal assistant. The two have been together ever since. Margaret and Claire share their own experiences with the changing legislation and legalization of same sex marriage in Santa Cruz and California, and discuss how they were able to provide legal aid to other couples facing similar struggles. They shed light on the work that goes into reaching landmark achievements like marriage equality, and describe the process of raising $1 million dollars for the Diversity Partnership Fund at the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County in 2005 that continues to provide funding for County LGBTQ+ causes today.