Leah Terranova
- Associate Dean, Academic & Student Affairs
Contact Info
Biography —
Leah Terranova is the associate dean for academic and student affairs at KU Law. Terranova has been with KU Law since 2012, previously serving as the school’s director of career and student counseling services. Terranova supports and advises law students and coordinates programming on various aspects of student wellness, academic and professional development.
Terranova practiced for 13 years in New York City, working first as a litigation associate with Heidell, Pittoni Murphy & Bach, and later as a public defender with New York County Defender Services. She currently serves as the chair-elect for the AALS Section on Balance in Legal Education, sits on the executive board of KC LEGAL, serves on the Kansas Task Force for Lawyer Well-Being, and was the NALP Small and Solo CSO Section Chair from 2015-2017. She was selected for the 2019-2020 KU Staff Fellows program. Terranova has undergraduate degrees in English and dance from Trinity College and a J.D. from Hofstra University.
Professional Leadership & Training
AALS Section on Balance and Well-being in Legal Education: Section Chair, 2022; Co-Chair conference planning committee, 2020 & 2021
Campus Connect, Suicide Prevention Trainer: Offer suicide prevention trainings to university departments, Lawrence, KS 2019-present
Co-Active Training Institute: Completed 180 hours of coaching towards certification, New York, NY, 2015 - 2017
Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center: Ambassador, Certified in Mental Health First Aid, Lawrence, KS, 2014
Education —
Teaching —
University of Kansas, Supervisory Training for Excellence in Performance (STEP), Lecturer: create and teach module of STEP program to train supervisors from across university in best practices for supporting staff mental health in the workplace, 2020-2021
Selected Publications —
Engaging Your Faculty, National Association of Law Placement Bulletin, Oct. 2016 (with Alison Lintal)
Selected Presentations —
"Well-being in the Time of COVID: Lessons learned in times of uncertainty," National Association of Law Placement, Newer Professionals Forum, Louisville, KY 2022; Plenary Speaker
"Getting comfortable with our discomfort when we talk about race," National Association of Law Placement Annual Conference, virtual, 2021
"Calm in the Storm: Effectively Addressing Law Student Mental Health as a Career Counselor," National Association of Law Placement Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, 2020 (postponed due to COVID)
"The Class Divide: Academic and Practical Strategies Addressing Law Students in Serious Financial Need," Association of American Law Schools Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., 2020
"Engaging Your Core; Working with Your Better Bottom Half," National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., 2019
"Counseling the Silent Majority: Guiding Students with Accommodations Successfully Through Law School & Beyond," National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., 2019
"It Takes a Village: Marshaling Your Resources to “Raise” Your 2Ls," National Association of Law Placement Annual Education Conference, San Francisco, CA, 2017
"Counseling the Silent Majority: Guiding Students with Accommodations Successfully Through Law School & Beyond," National Association of Law Placement Annual Education Conference, San Francisco, CA, 2017
"Teaching Your 1Ls to Fish – How to Coach Your Students Towards Stronger Self-Sufficiency," National Association of Law Placement Annual Education Conference, Boston, MA, 2016
"Advancing Women’s Leadership in Law School and Beyond," National Association of Law Placement Diversity Summit, Chicago, IL, 2015
"Strategic CSO/Faculty Partnerships: Expand your Employer Outreach and Support Student Career Development Goals," National Association of Law Placement Annual Education Conference, Seattle, WA, 2014
Memberships —
University of Kansas Staff Fellows Program: selected twice, as 1 of 13 senior staff members, to serve on year-long fellowship to identify and examine stigma, perceptions and barriers around mental health across campus and implement institutional supports, 2019-2020 & 2021-2022
KBA Task Force on Lawyer & Law Student Well-Being: Chair of the Law School subcommittee, 2018 - present
National Association of Law Placement Wellbeing Section: Vice Chair of Membership, 2019 - 2020
KC LEGAL: Executive Board Member, 2014 - present
National Association of Law Placement Small & Solo CSO Section: Section Chair, 2015 - 2017