Monica Leslie

Monica Leslie is a dedicated STEAM educator and recent graduate of the Master of Architecture program at the University of California, Berkeley. With a passion for design justice, eco design, and health equity, Monica’s work bridges the worlds of architecture, education, and community engagement. At UC Berkeley, she specialized in reimagining architectural practice so that it is used as a liberatory tool rather than how the practice has been deployed historically.

Monica’s experience spans from developing innovative STEAM curricula for diverse learners to coordinating community-driven health equity initiatives in Louisville, where she worked to address systemic disparities in health and housing. Her approach is rooted in the belief that thoughtful design and inclusive education can transform communities and foster well-being for all.

Whether leading participatory budgeting pilots, designing sustainable spaces, or mentoring future changemakers, Monica brings warmth, creativity, and a collaborative spirit to every project. She is committed to empowering others and building a more just, healthy, and sustainable world-one lesson, one space, and one community at a time

Custodian (September 2025 - Present)
Exploratorium

On-Campus Lead Instructor - Promoted to Camp Director (June 2025-August-2025) KidzToPros (at Brains in Motion Summer Camp)
Offered technical support and motivation to staff in addition to delivering engaging,
hands-on STEAM curriculum in coding, robotics, and engineering mechanical systems to diverse student groups in a fun, safe, and inclusive camp environment through strong leadership, crisis management, and effective communication with families and teams.

Instructor-Independent Contractor (May 2025-present)
Learn2CodeLive.com (Whizara)
Delivered high-quality, student-centered STEAM education classes to diverse Bay Area youth in coding, robotics, graphic design, videography, animation, etc. to foster problem-solving and computational thinking in a safe, inclusive environment.

Design Intern (May 2024 - August 2024)
Designing Justice + Designing Spaces
Supported DJDS’s Architecture and Design Team on a range of trauma informed design projects and activities incl. drawings, renderings, & provided model-making support for Cooper Hewitt exhibition.

Research Intern (May 2023 - August 2023)
Center for Economic Democracy
Conducted and published research on precedents and best practices to ensure the City of Boston's Participatory Budgeting Pilot produced equitable outcomes.

Gallery Intern (January 2023 - December 2023)
Worth Ryder Gallery
Assisted with gallery operations, exhibition photography, & fostered a welcoming, inclusive environment for visitors.

Community Engagement Coordinator (February 2018 - June 2022)
Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness
Center for Health Equity, Louisville, KY
Analyzed how housing & economic development policy shape health disparities. Used PMBOK to coordinate county and district-wide events to codesign and pilot community-led policy interventions with residents.

Instructional Media & Faculty Support Specialist (2016 - 2018)
Learning House Inc. Weld North, Louisville, KY
Edtech. Built online courses for higher education institutions.

Digital & Event Marketing Intern (August 2015 - September 2016)
Kre8now Makerspace, Lexington, KY
Supported high-tech makerspace operations by creating networking opportunities that increased participant engagement, strategic partnerships, new product development.

Team Alpha Intern | Product Development (August 2015 - August 2016)
Awesome Inc., Lexington, KY
As a Product Management Intern at Team Alpha Services, I helped coordinate client discovery, project management, and DevOps for high-tech accelerator web development services. I also assisted with local economic development, small business development, and VC capital investment marketing for LEAN enterprise startups, coding school, professional networking events, web content, market validation planning, and event calendars.

Administrative Assistant at Seabury Center (June 2012 - February 2015) Berea College Athletics
Responsible for providing support to the athletic director and Seabury Center facility manager in a 106,996 sq. ft higher education recreation facility. First point of contact for membership sales and client services, increased member for health and wellness programs. In addition to contract management, marketing, and managing receivables, I also coordinated travel logistics and reported expenses for up to 18 division II inter-collegiate athletics teams (NAIA, KIAC, USCAA).Provided workforce development training of student-athletes and supervisory personnel. Led to a significant decrease in attrition and an increase in worker retention from 36% to 69% (approx. 60+ staff).

Master of Architecture
College of Environmental Design, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA Bachelor of Science (May 2012)

Industrial Arts and Technology Management, Berea College, Berea, KY

Certificate, Regenerative Ecological Design (August 2010)
ECOSA Institute, Prescott College, Prescott, AZ