Meet Leslie

Service is in my DNA. Growing up in a small rural town in North Carolina, where I watched my parents work multiple jobs to raise my sisters and me, while still committed to helping our community thrive and always offering a hand up. I saw my mom, a social worker, and my dad, a corrections officer, always willing to help anyone who needed help. Their examples shaped me into the person I am today: someone who listens, fights for what’s right, and never backs down when there’s work to be done. 

For the past 20 years, I’ve built my career as a lawyer, advocating for fairness, justice, and the rights of everyday people. As the former Legal Director of the ACLU of Virginia, I fought for civil rights and constitutional protections. My commitment to service led to appointments by both Democratic and Republican governors—Governor Northam’s Commission on Racial Inequity in the Law and Governor Youngkin’s Rare Disease Council—because doing what’s right isn’t about party lines; it’s about people.

Healthcare advocacy is deeply personal to me. My oldest daughter, Brooke, passed away from Rett Syndrome in 2021 at just five years old. That experience opened my eyes even more to the challenges families face—not just in accessing care, but in navigating a system that too often fails those with rare and complex conditions. Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to making a difference, fighting for better healthcare policies and expanded support for all families who need it. As the interim CEO of the International Rett Syndrome Foundation, I work every day to push for research, funding, and the kind of healthcare reforms that save lives.