Leilani is a Faculty Affiliate in STEM Education at the School of Education and an Associate Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is an expert in STEM discipline-based education research who focuses on post-secondary geoscience education specifically and STEM education in general. Research areas of interest include novice conceptions of Earth processes and phenomena, assessment design, constructivist approaches to education, and the impact of teaching-focused professional development on post-secondary STEM education. She teaches education-focused courses for pre-service science teachers, in-service science teachers, and future STEM faculty. She also teaches geoscience courses that meet the university’s natural science requirements for undergraduates and geoscience courses for majors in the Department of Geological Sciences.