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Leslie manages Capstrat’s extensive public affairs work. An expert lobbyist with a reputation for insightful and vigorous advocacy, Leslie is sought after by legislators and community leaders as a trustworthy resource on issues that matter. She represents Capstrat clients before the N.C. General Assembly and in the executive branch agencies of state government and has helped clients such as Land for Tomorrow, Quintiles and the N.C. Cable Telecommunications Association to build positive relationships with local and state government. According to Leslie, lobbying is all about relationships with people and solving problems. She is comfortable with political veterans and freshman legislators alike. Her goal: To make sure she knows everyone and everyone knows her at the General Assembly. Thanks to her tenacity, strategic mind and to some degree, her distinctive Southern drawl, Leslie has been helping solve North Carolina’s thorniest policy problems for more than 30 years. In 2004 Leslie ranked 6th in the NC Center for Public Policy Research's listing of 50 most effective lobbyists, making her the highest ranked female lobbyist in the state’s history. Not surprising she was also one of the first non-attorneys to lobby for a law firm in North Carolina. Before coming to Capstrat, Leslie also served as vice president of governmental affairs for North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry (NCCBI). The N.C. affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NCBBI represents nearly 2,300 member companies and associations in North Carolina. There, she led successful statewide bond referendum campaigns for self-financing bonds, higher education, water and sewer, schools and roads. Prior to her work with NCCBI, Leslie served four years on the staff of Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., where she helped him make appointments to more than 400 state boards and commissions. She also worked with Willis Whichard, a state senator and a N.C. Supreme Court justice. Leslie also spent 12 years as director of government affairs for the law firm of Power, Porter and Alphin (now Maupin, Taylor and Ellis). A native of Goldsboro, N.C., Leslie attended Guilford College and North Carolina State University. She serves on the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. | 