Honoring Leonora Indira King: the guiding light to our mission ✨
A visionary for community empowerment
In the midst of a global pandemic in the spring of 2021, Leonora founded the PECC as a powerful avenue to uplift and support the women of her neighbourhood. Her goal was simple: to celebrate their culture, creativity, and help them gain more economic certainty through the universal language of food.
Beyond the Collective, Leonora was a dedicated community worker for Afrique au Féminin, where she organized vital informational workshops and intercultural outings for newcomer women, truly bringing people together. This deep commitment to justice also saw her actively engaged in local politics, running for Montreal borough municipal councillor in 2021 to help gain more visibility for her humanitarian work.
Academic excellence and migrant justice
Leonora combined her hands-on community action with rigorous academic pursuit, fueled by her passion for migrant justice. She earned her PhD from McGill University’s Department of Psychiatry, followed by two impactful post-doctoral degrees. Her research respectively focused on facilitating arts-based interventions for newly-arrived asylum seekers and examining the experience of Black youth in the Quebec school system.
Joy, action and legacy
Leonora lived a life rich with action and joy. She was active as a community organizer, and her vibrant personal life included practicing Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu, finding rhythm in dancing, and, naturally, cooking and eating with an infectious zest.
Though she had big dreams and so much more planned, the incredible progress she made in just a few short years ensures her dream does not end here. Her love and passion touched hundreds, and her legacy continues through her devoted family: her mother Nadira (now President and Chairperson of the Collective), her father Roger, her late bother Ricky, her surviving brothers Mario and Stephen, and her endless network of friends, supporters, and the community she built.
We honor her memory with unwavering determination, ensuring the continuation of her work and fulfilling the next steps to see her vision flourish. Leonora’s spirit lives in every meal we share and every life we empower.
