Kelsey Leonard | |
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Nationality | Shinnecock Nation |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Harvard University (B.A.) University of Oxford (M.Sc.) Duquesne University School of Law (J.D.) McMaster University (Ph.D.) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Waterloo |
Website | https://www.kelseyleonard.com |
Kelsey Leonard is a water governance researcher specializing in Indigenous water rights at the University of Waterloo. [1] She was the first Native American woman to earn a science degree from the University of Oxford,which she earned in 2012. [2] She earned an MSc in water science,policy and management from St. Cross College, [3] one of the thirty-eight colleges of the University of Oxford. [2] Her master's thesis,“Water Quality For Native Nations:Achieving A Trust Responsibility”,discusses water quality regulation and how water resources on tribal land are not protected. [4]
Kelsey Leonard is an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and is originally from the Shinnecock Indian Reservation on Long Island,New York. [5] [6] [7] In 2010,she was the first member of the Shinnecock Nation to graduate from Harvard University. [8] [4] Her Harvard degree is a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and anthropology with a secondary field in ethnic studies.
Leonard earned a JD from Duquesne University School of Law,and a PhD in political science from McMaster University. [1] She is now an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo. [1]
Leonard's TED Talk,"Why lakes and rivers should have the same rights as humans",has had 3.5 million views as of October 2023. [9]