RC is Pro-life

From Section Director to Stork Bus: Lisa Leonard’s New Mission

For years, Lisa Leonard was an integral part of Tri-state leadership as Section Director — guiding others in faith formation, leadership, apostolic mission, running retreats, team leader meetings, and so much more. When she stepped down a few years ago, there was a big hole. To me, it was like she disappeared. I wondered, “what happened to Lisa?”

I have since learned Lisa is a nurse, and as such, her profession called her elsewhere. Later, I heard she was using those nursing skills to help at a pregnancy center. But it was when I heard about a Stork Bus- I knew I needed to find out more!

When I was able to catch up with Lisa, she was excited to tell me about her new mission. It began with a simple “yes”. Lisa was always saying yes as evidenced by her great involvement in Regnum Christi. This “yes”, however, was to her Pastor. He wanted to open a new pregnancy care center and asked Lisa to serve on the Board of Directors.

It was during their first board meeting that the first, small “yes” turned into a greater vocation. He needed nurses to be trained to do limited obstetrical ultrasounds. Lisa, a nurse, naturally raised her hand to volunteer. Then came the question of how to fit this in with all of her other responsibilities. Would she be able to make space for this?

I asked Lisa, “When there are so many good things we can do, and all of these things can be done to serve God and others, sometimes it can get confusing to know which thing we are actually being called to do—how did you know which thing to choose?”

Her answer was simple. “It occurred to me that the leadership role wasn’t mine alone to hold but to pass on and share. I also realized that the ability to serve as a nurse was a gift from God. If I could realign my time, I could use that gift to serve God in a way he has appointed me to do.”

Discerning that now was the time to follow God in a different direction, Lisa was able to let go of what had grown familiar, transferring her many leadership roles over to others and focusing her time on a new call- a new challenge: learning how to help pregnant mothers — a call that led her to Gianna House.

Gianna House is a Catholic pregnancy resource center in Brewster, New York, founded on the feast of St. Gianna Molla in May 2023. Gianna House exists to reach women who feel abortion is their only option and to offer them hope, compassion, and practical help.

An extension of this became Lisa’s new mission—aboard a mobile medical unit known as the “Stork Bus.” The medical arm of Gianna House, called TilmaCare, helps bring pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, and emotional support directly to women in need across lower Westchester, the Bronx, and Poughkeepsie.

“Our goal,” she explains, “is to meet women at the very moment they think they’re out of options and remind them that there are always options.”

Statistics show that three out of four women considering abortion haven’t yet made up their minds. Many are in shock, scared, and unsure of where to turn. Gianna House offers real help and a listening ear instead of pressure or profit.

Lisa and her team of nurses, advocates, and volunteers provide more than medical information. They offer tangible solutions—helping women secure insurance, pay rent, or access baby supplies. One young mother chose life after Gianna House helped her family cover three months’ rent, allowing her to move into a safer, more affordable apartment, finish high school, and raise her baby with support and dignity.

Serving in this way hasn’t been easy. The Stork Bus has faced challenges, from legal pushback to logistical hurdles like parking restrictions near abortion clinics. But through prayer, perseverance, and faith, Lisa and the team continue to bring light into some of the darkest places. They’ve even faced lawsuits intended to silence their message about abortion pill reversal, a safe and medically supported treatment that has saved thousands of babies worldwide.

Yet, through it all, Lisa has remained steady- grounded in her faith and her belief that every woman deserves to know she is loved and that her life has value.

For Lisa Leonard, her first “yes” was simple and the mission remains simple: to bring Christ’s love to women in crisis, one heart at a time.

There is always a need for volunteers: nurses, client advocates (Spanish speaking especially), baby bottle drive coordinators for parishes. Reach out at Giannashouse.com or contact Lisa directly at Lisawillleonard91@gmail.com.