Leah has worked as a government relations representative for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR), where she was a voice for the need to advance AIDS research, prevention, treatment and care for people living with HIV and AIDS in the United States and around the world. She later brought her expertise to the Alameda County Health Consortium, where she worked to ensure funding for the medically underserved and uninsured, particularly at a consortium of community-based health centers. She and her husband, Pete D’Alessandro, are the parents of two young children, Kate, and Benjamin. She attended Smith College and Georgetown University Law Center.