Leslie McGraw began sorting out her surroundings through writing in third grade following a move with her family to a new school district. She discovered her voice through the pen, maturing into a prolific performance poet, blogger, online content writer and freelance journalist. Today she lends this voice to advocacy, where she is passionate about helping others share their stories of struggle and victory as an empowering tool. Leslie is a member of the Ann Arbor Writers Group, All Things Artistic Ministries, Inc. Writer’s Group, and The Peninsula Writers. She is also a recipient of The Leaven Center’s Eleanor S. Morrison Scholarship for Creative Writing for Social Justice and the University of Michigan’s Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award. She currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and an Associate of Business from Washtenaw Community College. Leslie began sharing her poetry in the open mic arena and has been a featured spoken word poet across Southeast Michigan for over 14 years. Leslie has created content for dozens of companies including Buyer Zone, Bounty Paper Towels, and Lifescript and is the owner of the award-winning blog, Tru Story (www.trustorysuccess.com) and Life by Poetry (www.lifebypoetry.tumblr.com).