Hi, I'm Heather Knoxville. I'm a survivor, and kind of a badass.
I'm a queer, neurodivergent woman who has spent most of my life being hurt by the people around me. After a childhood of being put last by my parents (both biological and adoptive), I spent 15 years in a severely abusive marriage. My abuser kept me extremely isolated, financially controlled, and scared to the point that I walked on eggshells every second of those 15 years.
Once I left that situation, I knew that I had to find my power and take control of my life, because no one would ever hurt me like that again. As I found support and started healing, I realized that so many other people were being abused, not just by individuals like their partners but by outdated ideals, institutions, and systems that were not built with them in mind. Women, LGBTQIA+ folks, people of color, immigrants, disabled people, the list goes on...all of these communities were suffering abuse and discrimination from the people around them too. I knew I had to be a part of helping to change that.
I started volunteering for my local Planned Parenthood and political campaigns in my area, and began working as the Social Media Manager for a grassroots non-profit that serves the trans community. Now, I'm a Communications & Fundraising Director, having helped build said nonprofit to the point that it's now one of the largest providers of direct aid to the trans community. I've worked really hard to heal and learn, and I'm finally beginning to live my dreams.
Since leaving my abuser in 2019, I've joined a semi-pro women's tackle football team, and I've worked and volunteered for progressive political campaigns from the local to the federal level (having personally mobilized thousands of voters ahead of the 2020 elections is one of my proudest accomplishments). I've raised over $250k for the nonprofit I work for, and I've become an advocate for myself and all others who have been marginalized and abused. I even single-handedly built and launched a pen pal project to provide support for incarcerated trans people that now has over 100 people signed up to write letters to trans people in prison. I've also worked really hard to heal myself from the trauma that I've been through so that I can use my past to make the future brighter for others.
As I began this journey to reclaim my power, I realized that my story could be a powerful tool to motivate and inspire others, and I can't wait to share it with folks who need help realizing their own power.
I consider myself a people-person and would be interested in speaking on topics like childhood trauma, domestic violence/abuse, leaving abusive situations and how to heal afterward, finding and claiming your feminine power, fundraising and comms for grassroots nonprofits and political campaigns, women's rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and how cis white folks can be better allies and anti-racists.
