Leanna is a Chicago-based BCBA originally from Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Leanna graduated from East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Development and a minor in Communicative Disorders. While attending her undergraduate program at ETSU, Leanna completed an internship under two speech language pathologists at the ETSU Nave Language Center, a program for children with autism spectrum disorder and related communication and social pragmatic disorders. During this time, she worked as a lead preschool teacher at a local childcare center. Upon graduating, Leanna moved to Nashville to pursue her passion for working with children at First Steps Inc.; a nonprofit organization that provides early intervention services to Tennessee children with disabilities or delays. During her time as a developmental therapist, Leanna enjoyed the opportunity to provide one-on-one parent/caregiver coaching in both the home and childcare setting. In addition to being a developmental therapist, Leanna also taught English as a second language, online, to children in China. Leanna then decided to pursue her dream of becoming a BCBA and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2023 and earned BCBA certification shortly thereafter. Leanna enjoys working with families to create positive change within their everyday lives and loves to see children gain new skills.
Fun fact: In her spare time, Leanna enjoys doing hot yoga, snowboarding, attending dance classes, and trying out new restaurants around Chicago.
