Leela joined Civic News Company as the Senior Advisor to the CEO. Most recently she was the Chief Development & Marketing Officer at College Track, a national organization serving students to become the first in their families to graduate from college and to achieve professional and economic mobility. Prior to College Track, Leela held several positions in the private sector in strategy, marketing, communications, and sales. In addition to working in the BioOncology Division at Genentech and as a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company, she was appointed to serve as a White House Fellow in the Clinton Administration. 

In the first chapter of her career, Leela was a principal ballet dancer with Hubbard Street Dance Company, touring throughout the U.S. and  internationally. She then went on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago with an A.B. in Biopsychology and earned her M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Leela serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Making Waves Education Foundation, and resides in San Francisco with her husband, daughter, and labrador.