“He would go to far remote schools in the farms and speak with girls’ families about the importance of making sure their girls go to school and that it feeds back into farming and sustainability work,” Leckey said. “I always carried that with me.”

A career in politics is not what she’s seeking in her run for Congress; instead, she’s “seeking justice,” she said.

When Leckey moved to the United States at 20 years old, she took out loans, worked as a server, and attended the Borough of Manhattan Community College before transferring to Boston University. She immediately became involved on campus. Her background as an immigrant inspired her to emphasize the importance of international solidarity; while at BMCC, she joined Habitat for Humanity on a trip to de-mold homes in Louisiana a year after Hurricane Katrina.

“It was a tremendous experience; I really saw what climate change could do to communities. People lost everything,” Leckey recalled.

At BU, she joined UNICEF as a college ambassador and focused on education for girls in Africa. Post-college, she held jobs working in policy and regulation, did pro-bono work for food banks in Philadelphia, and remained active in protests going on in her community.

Whenever there are climate change actions in Boston, protests regarding immigration and indigenous policy or abortion, even vigils for victims of the latest mass shooting, Leckey is likely to be there, sign in hand. She was recently spotted speaking at an anti-war rally against the United States’ policy in Iran.

“I testified at the statehouse and shared my story multiple times. I’ve advocated for reproductive justice and other issues, like Medicare for All, immigrant justice, Safe Communities Act — so many issues,” Leckey said. “This isn’t about basic policies or political careers; there are people’s lives that are on the line.”

“That’s what immigrants do. We get here and we get to work.”

Leckey calls her platform a “justice agenda” that includes advocating for numerous issues: Medicare for All, universal family care, the Green New Deal, reducing gun violence and mass incarceration, racial, indigenous, and gender justice, disability justice, aid to Puerto Rico, and much more. Her justice agenda aims to reinvigorate our democracy, “prioritizing the voices and needs of the marginalized, and protecting the vulnerable,” which includes holding Big Money accountable.

Leckey calls herself “unapologetically progressive.” In years past, it wouldn’t be easy to run on a platform like hers. It still isn’t. However, Leckey says, with the election of representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she’s realized everyday Americans can be the ones walking the halls of Congress.

“We don’t need to wait in line or bow to party establishment when they are not doing the right thing,” she said.

Leckey pledged to refuse corporate donations in her belief that Congress should be for the people and run by the people of the U.S. Mohammed Missouri, executive director of Jetpac — an organization that seeks to increase political engagement among American Muslims — is acting as Leckey’s informal campaign advisor.

“During our first conversation, it was very clear to me that Ihssane is the real deal. She’s driven by a genuine desire to make our country and state a place where every person is guaranteed a life of dignity,” Missouri said. “She’s also super smart and has thought deeply about the solutions we need as a country and how she can work to help accomplish them, both as an activist and in Congress.”

Missouri says that what makes Leckey a strong candidate is her relatability to the issues she is fighting for. “We don’t have enough people in Congress who have a direct link — a personal link — to the policies that they’re working on. Ihssane’s entire life has been one of surviving traumatic events, and every single time she chose to thrive, despite her circumstances. She is the definition of a survivor and a fighter,” Missouri continued.