Analiesa Leonhardt

I was raised in a small town in southern Wisconsin, and am the oldest daughter in a family of two girls and seven boys. Both of my parents converted to the church just a few years before meeting each other. After taking classes at three different universities, I graduated a year ago from BYU with a degree in Botany. Two of my favorite projects I was a part of at BYU included performing ethnobotanical research on Moroccan plants, where I tested plant extracts on various pathogens and cancer cell lines; I also contributed to the WomanStats Project, working with a team of researches to compile the most comprehensive database on women in the world. My educational journey also included spending a number of months working and teaching on a demonstration farm in an impoverished village along the coast of Ecuador. A year later the Lord called me back to serve as a full-time missionary in the same country.


I moved to Salt Lake City this fall and have my first 'real' full-time job. I am an Education Specialist for The Leonardo, a hands-on science-art-technology museum opening in Salt Lake next April. In addition to helping to create the education programs for the museum, I also take a travelling science museum to middle schools all around the state of Utah. I've become rather adept at hitching up and driving our 25-foot long cargo trailer! Besides botany and education, I am also very passionate about birth. I've been trained as a doula and plan to soon return to school to become a midwife. I dream of one day fusing all three of these passions by studying and documenting the medicinal plants used by traditional midwives, along with providing training to maternal health workers in rural and impoverished areas. But, for now I just voraciously read about these things. As spring creeps in, I look forward to going out foraging for wild edibles in our area. Let me know if you'd ever like to join me!