Becca Simpson: A Heroine for a New Chapter
By Beck Havens
Originally written for Issue 4 of the W.A.N.D. in 2015
Becca Simpson and I shared a cab back to the Orlando International Airport together on the rebound from Leaky '14. Neither of us had cash to split the fare, which came to around fifty dollars. The driver implied he could split it over two cards, but eventually hope of that disappeared, and since I was the one with my hand on my credit card fastest, I paid the driver.
As we trotted through the airport, Becca assured me that she would get her half of the fare to me.
"Meh, it's only a few bucks," I protested. I'd just come into a new job, and I was quite happy to spot the bill—especially when we hadn't planned on it being so large and had hoped to take a cheaper means of transport.
"It's twenty-five dollars. I'll get it to you," she promised.
Before the week was out, twenty-five dollars was sitting in my PayPal account.
When people join Fandom Forward, many of them are becoming civically active in their communities for the first time. However, this was not the manner in which Becca Simpson arrived; she was already entirely devoted and enthralled "with service and activism, and I wanted to share that with my community," she says. "I had become really invested in the situation in Darfur and started to think about how I could be part of a movement to end the violence and impunity there."
Her multi-pronged approach to Fandom Forward involvement began after attending LeakyCon in 2009. Becca not only started a Chapter at her high school—which would go on to raise $1,000 as an American Cancer Society "Relay for Life" team and to donate over 250 books to a local literacy organization!—but she was also mingling with Fandom Forward volunteer staff, as well.
Becca has seen the Chapters program from nearly every possible angle: "I've been a CO (Chapter Organizer), a Chapters volunteer staffer, and now I’m a manager of the Chapters Program working on training and development initiatives for our 280-ish chapters." Since she's seen the program in a more intimate way than most, Becca is really able to empathize and strategize with the volunteers in an effective way. "You have to have a sense and understand where they are coming from and help from there."
In terms of the role Fandom Forward has played in shaping Becca's education and career, Becca argues that it has been pivotal: from an internship with the Enough Project, to her current work "on service learning–based initiatives at American University in a campus office that provides students with opportunities to connect their academics to community service in the D.C. area." Becca has a bright future and a kind heart that will set her up for success.
Becca is incredibly passionate outside of the organization as well. She loves to ride horses, spend time with her boyfriend and new puppy, Rosie, and watch Netflix. "I am currently finishing Gilmore Girls and also cannot resist a good Parks and Rec marathon."
Becca is one of Fandom Forwards's best and brightest—having been with the organization from a time when it was much smaller and through its significant growth and change—she is truly a heroine for a new chapter.