Vee Leonard

Vee Leonard, Esq.
VP & General Counsel
Florida Gulf Coast University

Vee is a native Floridian, born and reared in Orlando Florida. She grew up in a poor neighborhood but not really cognizant, until adulthood, that she was poor. Though Vee had good grades, she didn’t make plans to go to college. She just thought it would happen, but didn’t really know how that worked. Fortunately, one of her cousins encouraged her mother to send her to him in Louisiana to go to college, which she did. As a first generation college student, Vee was so unprepared, but despite her lack of preparedness, she got in and attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for approximately two years, but did not finish.

After a long diversion and five children later Vee returned to college, attending and graduating from the University of Central Florida (UCF). Attending UCF changed her life. But it wasn’t the institution that changed her life, for an institution only acts through its employees. Several of Vee’s professors encouraged her to consider law school, but she just wanted a college degree to get a good job. However, one professor in particular kept in contact with Vee after graduation and called one day and said “It’s time for you to apply for law school.” Previous to that definitive statement, Vee really hadn’t taken law school as a serious option. Where would the money come from? What about her children? But her professor thought about this. Timing was everything.

Vee was accepted into the University of Florida’s law school and graduated three years later. This accomplishment was truly life changing. Vee secured a job with a large, prestigious, national law firm and fifteen years later she is Vice President and General Counsel at one of the state’s universities.

Life is full of surprises!