Biography

Passionate about people, purpose, and productivity, Leigh is committed to finding new ways to provide access to quality education and training for the most challenged sectors of the world’s population. With over 30 years of experience with schools, colleges, and universities, her contributions have encompassed: futures studies, visioning and strategy road mapping for global business strategy; education marketing and communications; careers access for underprivileged youth; successful major grant seeking and writing; creating global alumni networks; high-level stakeholder management; major fundraising initiatives and public event management. Leigh is a published triple language translator (French, Spanish, English) and functions at high capacity and performance in diverse cultures and work environments.

In international development circles, Leigh is an experienced, India-based CSR manager; a qualified teacher, teacher trainer and corporate workshop facilitator; a major project manager in public education; and state level events founder. Her 40+ year track record of social and community achievement crosses both developed and developing worlds. Leigh works for positive change and social transformation through collaborations and partnerships, linking global strategy to local implementation. Currently based in Australia, Leigh is pursuing PhD research in India’s Anganwadi, following her involvement in recent, grassroots projects in Telangana.

With a late life MBA, Leigh has worked as lead Business Strategist for OCR, Cambridge Assessment (CA), UK, and Education and Training specialist for AKDN agencies in India (AKESI, AKFI, Academies). Managing CSR External Relations & Partnerships from 2015-2019, Leigh brokered major PPP’s with several Telangana State Departments for the training of government teachers, teacher trainers, and Master Trainers, (Education, Schools, and Minorities) and a successful Anganwadi digitization project with Mahbubnagar District and WD&CW. Her work for Microsoft’s first global education conference on ‘School Leadership for Innovation’ connected Microsoft Innovation Centre and ISB Hyderabad to India wide school principals. Leigh’s enduring contribution to Hyderabad is the design and execution of the Telangana International Kite Festival (TIKF) for the TS Department of Tourism (2016-18) – now boasting an annual attendance of over 1 million during Sankranti season.

In 2017 Leigh was awarded the ‘Black Swan Award’ for her contribution to India’s Women Empowerment agenda and delivered a presentation on ‘Marketing for Schools’ at a Mumbai IB conference. By 2018 she was an active partner in creating India-wide networks for CSR; Independent Schools for Admissions & Marketing and the Indian Alumni of Hult Business School. Leigh has continued professional learning in India through Executive Education courses in CSR (2017) and FDI (2019) at ISB, Hyderabad. In 2020, she represented Telangana’s Anganwadi Transformation Project as the TS Secretary of WCD at MIT’s India Initiative event in Mumbai.

Leigh’s academic profile includes a triple-accredited MBA from Hult-Ashridge Business School, UK; BA (Biology, Psychology, and Health) from The Open University UK; a Post Graduate Certificate in Science Education (PGCE) from the University of Exeter, UK, and qualifications in TESOL and EFL from American University Cairo (AUC) and Edinburgh. In 2012 Leigh was awarded a competitive scholarship to Ashridge Business School for ‘Women in Leadership’. An early Rotary International Youth Ambassador from Australia to India, Leigh retains her Bombay Main Rotary Club networks in Maharashtra.

Leigh’s qualitative MBA research project into ‘UN Education for All’ revealed new barriers to this important global agenda, leading to a presentation on ‘Disruptive Innovation in Education’ at the first BIBAC Conference, Homerton College, Cambridge University, UK (2014). Leigh loves applying business best practice and benchmarking to positively benefit the ‘underserved’.