Vanessa Leonard

E-mail: vanessa.leonard@arapahoe.edu

I am a full time stay at home mom with three kids: Caitlin, Darby and Nathan.  They are the light of my life and keep me very busy. My family and I live in Highlands Ranch and I am a Colorado native. In my "spare time" (meaning when the kids are sleeping), I teach Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication. I have been teaching at ACC since 2003, and have also taught for several years at other institutions.

My teaching strategy is to help students overcome their fear of speaking in front of groups by providing an open and laid back classroom environment. I hope that the material that I share in class can be applied to real-world situations that students encounter in their current and future careers. I also believe that service to our community is important so, one of the assignments I require for Interpersonal Communication is to complete 10 hours of community service or 10 hours at an internship. The time spent during this service, is applied to the final research paper. I like to keep things light in the classroom and I always learn new things from my Public Speaking and Interpersonal students.