Leslie is an instructional technology coach in her hometown. In her position, she works with elementary, middle, and high schools in the district. Her responsibilities include assisting with the implementation of G Suite for Education, Canvas, Nearpod/Flocabulary, Audio Enhancement/EPIC, and Safari Montage as well as training teachers how to integrate technology, digital citizenship, and 21st century skills into their daily lessons. Prior to becoming an instructional technology coach, Leslie was a middle school language arts teacher for four years and a high school English teacher for seven years. Growing up, she primarily lived in New York and spent two years in Ankara, Turkey. When her career Army father retired, the family moved back down south. She holds a BA in Political Science from West Georgia College, an MS in Rural and Small Town Planning from the State University of West Georgia, and certification in Administration and Supervision from the University of West Georgia. She is enrolled in the Instructional Technology Media and Design EdS program at the University of West Georgia. Leslie is hoping to add to her toolbox additional ways to successfully engage students so that they are active participants in their learning. She has taken an interest in learning how to use Unity, Unreal Engine, and eSports.

Since she did not graduate from college with a traditional teaching degree, Leslie pursued other employment opportunities. As a 4-H Program Assistant with the Spalding County Cooperative Extension Service, she worked with the local school system to provide programming for the 1,200 youth members enrolled in 4-H. Upon leaving the Extension Service, she worked for two different Girl Scout Councils with increasing levels of responsibility which included girl and adult recruitment and retention, programming, training, and evaluation as well as the multi-million dollar cookie program.

After graduate school, Leslie was able to realize her dream of becoming an educator. She currently holds T5 Certification (Gifted-in-Field) in Middle Grades (4-8) Social Studies and English Language Arts and 7-12 English. She also holds the Coaching and STEM Endorsements from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.  Leslie previously served as the coach of the swim team and the debate team.  In addition, she advised the activities of the student council, the 4-H Club, and the Students Against Destructive Decisions Chapter.

Since becoming an instructional technology coach, Leslie has become a Google Certified Educator Levels 1 and 2,  a Google For Education Certified Trainer, and a Google Innovator.  Leslie was a contributing author for #Edumatch 16: Snapshot in Education, an anthology of pieces from educators around the world.  She has presented at several conferences including the Griffin RESA Technology Drive-In Conference, the Georgia Educational Technology Conference, the Georgia Council of Teachers of English Conference, and the International Society for Technology in Education Conference. Conference session titles include Social Media Awareness for Parents, From Tin Cans to Twitter: Maximizing Your Personal Learning Network,  Digital Storytelling: This Is How I See the World, Ready to Ignite: Online Professional Development in Griffin-Spalding County Schools, Simplifying by Chromifying: Making Google Apps Work for You, and Anytime and Anywhere: Online Professional Learning.  Leslie was also a member of the International Society of Technology in Education’s Ed Tech Coaches Network PLN Leadership Team and is a current Community Leader for ISTE.

In her free time, she likes traveling internationally, photography, eating out at fine dining establishments, and spending time with friends and family. Her biggest joy comes from being mother to her eleven year old son and participating in his activities which currently include Pathfinders, Boy Scouts, football, piano, Jack and Jill of America, wrestling, and soccer. Leslie and her son, Clark, co-authored a chapter in #EduMatch 22: Snapshot in Education. Their chapter is entitled, “If You Know Me, You Can Teach Me”.