Leele is a Dallas, Texas native and a proud Ethiopian with a passion for social justice, belonging, and communication accessibility. During her college years at RIT/NTID, she served as a mentor and student leader for several committees, helping students gain the tools they needed to navigate their journeys with greater ease. She studied and learned how resources could be developed to best address students’ needs and how to instill those skills as they entered the real world, including providing advocacy and self-advocacy tools to high school juniors and seniors transitioning into college or the workforce.

After attending RIT/NTID, she worked with multiple professional advocates- locally, statewide, and nationwide- to spread awareness about their nonprofit organizations. She also absorbed and shared information with the Deaf community through in-person outreach and social media platforms.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Leele worked as an Access Specialist for the City of Dallas, advocating for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals of all ages by breaking down barriers when accessing services from public and private entities, including workplaces, medical offices, legal hearings, housing, and more. Having firsthand experience navigating obstacles as an Ethiopian Deaf woman, she recognized social media as a crucial tool for accessing resources and saw the advantage of using multiple platforms to share information and connect with others.

As social media became an integral part of community engagement, Leele grew passionate about intertwining communities at the touch of their fingertips. By bridging her passions for advocacy and accessible content, she strives to engage the community in learning how to navigate systems and become expert advocates without barriers.