Leslie began her career at Columbia University in 1998 as the coordinator of more than 15 screening sites in which the youth mental health check-up technique was first developed.  The success of and data derived from these sites enabled the launch of TeenScreen nationally in 1999.  Leslie has spearheaded the TeenScreen National Center’s work in schools, community-based settings and, more recently, primary care doctors’ offices and other medical settings.  Today, Leslie is proud to have played a key role in working with more than 900 communities throughout the country that have made mental health screening a part of their efforts to help young people live healthy, happy lives.

Recognized by her peers as a national expert in mental health screening and early intervention, Leslie is a frequent speaker at national health care conferences. She has also published several articles on mental health screening in peer-reviewed medical journals and other mainstream publications.

Prior to her work at Columbia, Leslie engaged in clinical work with children, adolescents and adults, and was involved in research in the areas of AIDS and childhood sexual abuse while pursuing her master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan. Leslie received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lafayette College in Easton PA.