By Lisa Gaskin
Many words have been used to describe Dr. Jonnie McLeod, including pioneer, social activist, groundbreaking, and inspiring. Her legacy can be summed up in one word: extraordinary. The city of Charlotte has been changed by her dedication to the Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) mission to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women, and improve the community.
Her list of accomplishments reads like a collection of goals made by an organization. It’s amazing to consider the impact made by this one vibrant woman. Her accolades and achievements include: WBT Woman of the Year; an honorary degree from Davidson College; founding Open House, which later became the McLeod Addictive Disease Center; starting the Charlotte Drug Education Center; serving several governors on the NC Drug Commission; and serving on the faculty of UNC Charlotte. The McLeod Institute in the Department of Counseling at UNC Charlotte offers hands-on training related to substance abuse training, one of Dr. McLeod’s passions.
Inspired by following her father around his medical practice throughout her childhood in Mississippi, Jonnie McLeod embodied the slogan JLC Leads by attending Tulane University and becoming a pediatrician at a time when it was rare for women to enter the field. Assisting in delivering a baby at age 13 cemented her career choice. Growing up with a socially-conscious mother made her certain that the title of doctor carried a civic duty that paired well with her natural compassion. In 1953, Dr. Jonnie McLeod and her husband, a fellow physician, moved to Charlotte and began to change the landscape of the community.
Jumping right in to service by joining the JLC and taking prominent roles in several other organizations, Jonnie was groundbreaking in her leadership and impact in pediatrics, sex education, AIDS prevention, drug prevention, and substance abuse treatment. She was forward-thinking, willing to go to the streets to meet the needs of the community and advocating for individuals, as well as the public. Especially determined to reach young people, she sought to impart values, principles, and self-esteem as a means to help them strive for a better life. She treated everyone with equal respect, from the individuals she assisted at the substance abuse treatment center to the state officials she met with while serving on a commission.
In September of 1971, Dr. McLeod started the Charlotte Drug Education Center, a revolutionary organization that sought to employ science-based research, education and community outreach in proactive – rather than reactive – approaches to the substance abuse epidemic. Dr. McLeod’s vision for the Drug Education Center was bolstered by a $25,000 grant from the Junior League of Charlotte – funds that were instrumental in ensuring the Center could grow its mission. The Charlotte Drug Education Center was renamed the Center for Prevention Services in 2011 and still carries on Dr. McLeod’s remarkable legacy today.
Her strong foundation of faith sustained her while she gave to others. She found the need to list her priorities in order to protect her time and define her goals. When she sat down to write her priorities, she also wrote what would become her legacy. Dr. Jonnie McLeod used her life “to help the needy, the lonely, empty rich, those who do not know how to use their own talents, change policies or laws, influence people in power for the good of the majority, or simply perhaps elevate us into more God-like humanity.1”
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