Leslie is a project coordinator for IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services), representing Connecticut on a multi-year New England health research collaboration. She began her work with IRIS in 2012 as health coordinator, later transitioning to health promoter. While at IRIS she completed her MPH which involved an internship in Amman, Jordan assisting in a study assessing the impact of a mental health intervention for Syrian refugee children. For her thesis she implemented a Photovoice project documenting the health and wellness implications of acculturation on refugee women in New Haven. Previous roles included work as a court stenographer at the UN war crimes tribunal in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and as closed-caption writer for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Passionate about exploring our world’s many fascinating peoples and cultures and with a vision of gender equity, Leslie supports non-profits at home and abroad in delivering impactful programs that create opportunity. She is an American Red Cross volunteer active both locally and nationally through disaster recovery deployments.
