Leila is a Wiradjuri woman, whose family is from Erambie Mission outside Cowra in central New South Wales. Raised in Canberra, Leila holds a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Cambridge and Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University. She is the Deputy CEO of the Aurora Education Foundation.

Prior to the Aurora Education Foundation, Leila was the Knowledge Translation Manager at the Lowitja Institute, and a Senior Management Consultant at Nous Group. She also worked in a range of health and data organisations including as the Policy Manager at the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association, a data analyst at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and a Research Officer at the Australian Social Science Data Archive, and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.