Elizabeth Leatherman grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma after moving from New Jersey. She lived there with her parents, sister, and brother before moving to Texas with her then-husband. Always trying to help the environment, Leatherman actively helps keep the Earth clean by making green choices and donations.

“[My life goal] is to leave the [world] a better place than I found it. I try to […] help the environment and contribute to stopping gun violence.” Leatherman said.

Leatherman is always trying to find ways to make the world a better place. She contributes to multiple organizations she believes will help achieve that goal. In her younger days, she would go on missions with her step-brother. On one specific occasion, she volunteered in Honduras to help the people there medically, and served as something like a pharmacist. After getting married and having kids, finding time to volunteer or contribute in some way became difficult. 

“Time always seems tight. Just getting everything done that I need to do always seems to take precedent. The things that I aspire to doing always seem to get pushed aside,” Leatherman said.

Although Leatherman would like to contribute more to the world, she simply doesn’t have the time to do any volunteer work that takes up a lot of time. When she was younger, she would go on volunteer missions, but is unable to do anything of the sort with both kids and a job. Now, Leatherman tries to help in ways that do not require much of her time, or are integrated into her lifestyle.

“I realized that everybody has some self-consciousness […], and don’t be intimidated by different people. Everybody needs friends,” Leatherman said.

When Leatherman was in intermediate school, she had a hard time getting friends. All of her friends from her earlier childhood were still in New Jersey, where she had lived previously. She had a difficult time making friends of her own, especially because of her timidness, and only found a true friend in the eighth grade.

“I always wanted kids. When I was growing up, I would read books about families where there were lots of kids, and so I wanted a bunch of kids,” Leatherman said.

Though her then-husband initially opposed her, Leatherman eventually had three children. Her job allows her to be something like a stay-at-home mom when her kids are there, and work only when they are gone.

“I loved to travel, […] and sitting at a desk everyday and sending other people on trips [didn’t appeal to me],” Leatherman said.

Before she became a flight attendant, Leatherman worked at a travel agency. Wanting to do the traveling herself, she decided to apply for her current job as a flight attendant. Since she majored in linguistics, she was already familiar with other languages, and able to do international flights immediately. The flexibility of this position was also benefiting, as it allowed Leatherman to focus on her kids while they stayed with her, and work while the kids stayed at their father’s.

Leatherman is not afraid of change for the better, actively giving to multiple organizations she supports. Although she leads a busy lifestyle, she somehow manages without any support of her own.