Leigh-Anna Nielsen received her Bachelor of Arts in both Global Studies and Contemporary Dance in Spring 2021, with the highest academic honors. Notably, she received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award in Contemporary Dance for her film "La Colectiva: Immigrant Diaries", which is her debut film.

She is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, and is in constant search of her next adventure. She grew up as a lover of the arts, participating in theater and dance since the age of eight years old. Once in college, she originally came to New York City with plans of becoming a fashion designer only to quickly realize there were people in desperate need of help in this urban area. She knew she always wanted to help people but never knew how. She spent her four years gaining a social justice-based liberal arts education, being given exposure to the nonprofit and NGO world, which she quickly fell in love with. She also continued in her love for dance in a dual degree program, intersecting arts with her passion to uplift communities in need.

Leigh-Anna's academic and professional aspirations include working with marginalized communities, such as undocumented immigrants, women of color, and foster youth to find solutions to inequity. These solutions include restorative justice, mutual aid, and grassroots advocacy to create a more just society where people can have access to the resources necessary to succeed. She currently works as a Housing Justice Paralegal and Anti-Eviction Advocate at a legal aid nonprofit in New York City. With a background in dance and arts education, she explores creative outlets to connect with and give power back to communities in need. For her future, she plans to pursue her JD and become a public interest lawyer involved in Human Rights law. She also intends to never stop dancing, creating, and dreaming.