Leah is a first-year graduate student at UCCS in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program with a focus on Trauma Psychology. After medically retiring as a paramedic from the Chicago Fire Department, she earned her B.A. in Psychology from Lewis University and her M.S. in Psychology from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Cognition, Emotion, and Well-Being Lab in the Fall of 2024.

Leah’s research focuses broadly on the various aspects of trauma in the first responder population, specifically firefighters and paramedics. She is interested in examining how trauma impacts the different first responder roles as well as how the different roles influence the development of Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders, such as PTSD. Leah has remained a licensed paramedic since 2005.