Profession:

Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Arts Administration, University of Kentucky

Five Words About Me:

Curious, Eager, Kind, Creative, Go-Getter

One Surprising Skill:

Ich kann Deutsch. (I can speak German.)

In 2014, Leah’s dear friend and fellow arts manager experienced a tragic active shooter situation during a theater event. Since then, Leah has dedicated her work and research to emergency and disaster management in the arts. It is the focus of her curricular and teaching work at the University of Kentucky. It was the sole topic of her Master’s thesis—Arts Facility Preparedness in the State of Missouri (2016). It is a consistent theme in her current research projects and in her Ph.D. dissertation work. She has presented her arts emergency management research at the International Conference on Social Theory, Politics, and the Arts, the European Network for Cultural Management and Policy Conference, and the Association of Arts Administration Educators.  Before her move to academia, Leah served as the Executive Director of the leading arts agency in Southwest Missouri, the Springfield Regional Arts Council. She is honored to be a member of AAAE (Arts Administration Educators Association), the Gender and Disaster Network, and Americans for the Arts.