Leigh D.C. Spencer
Birthday: 1971
Leigh Danielle Carducci Spencer spent the first 18 years of her life as a Jersey girl who likes Bon Jovi, but NOT Bruce Springsteen. Many speculate her disdain for The Boss's music is what got her kicked out, though she maintains she left willingly to pursue her BA in English Literature at the University of Arizona.
Falling in love with the desert landscapes and all the wonderful reptiles (once a Reptigeek, always a Reptigeek), Leigh chose to make Arizona her permanent home. (Minus a two-year stint in Buffalo, NY. Great wings, but we won't talk about the SNOW.) Leigh got married, had a son, got divorced, got married again, got a job in Gender & Women's Studies (GWS), had another son, and did a whole bunch of other stuff. But let's talk about GWS for a minute.
Leigh served as the Program Coordinator for GWS from December 2006 - January 2024. During that time, she worked with the phenomenal community volunteers of WOSAC (the Women's Studies Advisory/Advocacy Council), planning events and raising funds, friends, and awareness for UA Gender & Women's Studies, and coordinating projects in the beautiful and inspirational Women's Plaza of Honor. Being celebrated by her WOSAC, GWS, and SBS colleagues in the Plaza is a huge, heartfelt honor that Leigh will cherish for the rest of her days. It was also a challenging surprise as Leigh managed all Plaza engraving orders, but the honoring team, led by the incomparable Betsy Bolding, snuck this one right past her.
After 17 years (and serving under almost as many department heads - most of them really great), Leigh made the difficult decision to leave her GWS family and follow her original career dream of becoming an English teacher. In spring of 2024, Leigh will begin her journey as a 53-year-old graduate student with the UA Teach Arizona program, earning her master's degree and getting certified to teach her very own middle school classroom in Fall of 2025.
Leigh proudly serves on the board of F*ST! Female Storytellers, boosting the signal of female-identifying voices and fiercely supporting the notion that everyone has a story to tell. She is a writer, a baker, a reptile enthusiast, a comedian, and a crazy dog lady.
Leigh shares her anxious, chaotic, and generally awesome life with husband Earl, sons Zac and Henry, a revolving cast of many pets, and an abundant band of friends (real and imaginary) - all of whom she adores beyond measure.
Leigh is...me! And I am so lucky and grateful.