Leila teaches music education at Lawrence University and is the WMEA State Chair for Composition and Improvisation, the College Music Society chair for the Committee on Cultural Inclusion, the creator and curator for the Music Education Team at the Mile of Music, and serves on the Smithsonian Folkways Committee for Music Education. She taught general music and orchestra in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Texas. She believes music is a birthright, and that collaborative creativity is at the heart of inclusive community and powerful music making.