Anna has developed expertise in community organizing and coalition building, membership development and retention, fundraising, and program implementation. She has led ABHC since its founding, growing the role from half-time Coordinator to full-time Director. Anna supports and partners with ABHC team members and neighborhood residents to identify and improve Allston-Brighton’s public health priorities; leads ABHC’s communication, operations and finances, and strategic growth aspects; and cultivates and grows a cross-sector collaborative membership that reflects the neighborhood’s strengths and opportunities.
Born and raised across the river in Cambridge, Anna earned her BA at the University of Montana, Missoula in 2007. She worked in education in New Orleans before earning her Masters of Public Health from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2012, before returning to Boston in 2013.
She lives in Somerville with her husband, and together they spend time in central Vermont cross-country skiing and repairing their civil war era farm house.
Embedding Equity in the Fabric of Our Work: Lessons from a Small Nonprofit
In a Q&A, Allston Brighton Health Collaborative Director Anna Leslie and Steering Committee member Walae Hayek reflect on successes, challenges, and lessons from collective efforts to embed equity at the organization.