Leonie has been awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree (Wollongong), a Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy and a Master of Health Planning (NSW) and is a registered dental practitioner – dental therapist – with the Dental Board of Australia. She has worked at five universities and has helped establish Australia’s first dual-skilled Bachelor of Oral Health degree at the University of Queensland in 1998, Australia’s first new dental school for 57 years at Griffith University in 2004 and the Bachelor of Oral Health degree at CQUniversity in 2012.
Leonie was the 56th woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in the 39th Parliament of Australia in 2001, the first dental therapist to be appointed to the Australian Dental Council in 2004 and was the first dental therapist to become a member of the Australasian Council of Dental Schools in 2012. Leonie is keen to progress the oral health therapy profession in terms of research, knowledge and skill development.