Surgery

Leslie was born and raised in Edwards, Colorado and is honored to serve her hometown community as a general and trauma surgery physician assistant.  

She completed her physician assistant training at Yale School of Medicine and was elected to the Pi Alpha National Honor Society for Physician Assistants. As a student, she discovered her passion for caring for surgical patients including those with traumatic injury and critical illness. Her training took her from Yale to Mayo Clinic, Lenox Hill, St. Anthony’s, MD Anderson, and home to Vail Health where she completed rotations in critical care, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, interventional radiology, and general and trauma surgery. 

Her approach to care is enriched by over a decade of experience in integrative medicine. She holds a doctorate in acupuncture and Oriental medicine and completed dual residency programs in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China and integrative medicine at UCSF. She is also a certified practitioner through the Institute for Functional Medicine. 

Leslie’s passion for using food as medicine took her to UC Davis for postdoctoral training in nutritional biochemistry. Her research focuses on the immunobiology of fatty acids in neurodegenerative diseases, and she has presented her work at both national and international academic meetings. 

Outside of medicine, Leslie is an avid outdoorswoman with a love for skiing, hiking, and yoga. She enjoys cooking nutrient-dense meals and sharing both food and outdoor adventures with friends and family.