Leonard is currently the A/g Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and has been in this role since June 2023. Leonard has held a number of other Senior Executive Service (SES) Officer roles in a long public service career including Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer at AIATSIS; Executive Director, Collections Services Group at AIATSIS, and Assistant Secretary Culture Branch with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Leonard is a descendent of the Ngemba people from North West NSW. He draws his Indigenous heritage from his mother who was born and raised in Brewarrina in North Western NSW, and who spent her childhood living on the Aboriginal Mission in Brewarrina until her early teens.
Leonard has worked in the Australian Indigenous Affairs space since the early 1990’s in a number of roles across the Australian Government, NSW State Government, as well as local Aboriginal Community Organisations. Some of these roles include Indigenous Coordination Centre (ICC) Manager and Deputy Manager roles in a number of ICC’s across NSW; Indigenous Education Manager (DEST); TAFE NSW Campus Manager at a number of NSW TAFE Campuses including the Eora Centre for Indigenous Performing Arts in Redfern; and the Assistant Manager of a CDEP in Brewarrina.
Leonard has also undertaken a number of roles on local community and volunteer organisation boards including as Public Officer – Brewarrina Aboriginal Medical Service; Treasurer – Gainmara Birrilee Aboriginal Pre-school; and is currently a Director on the board of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aborignal Health and Community Services in Canberra, and a Director on the Board of the Australian Red Cross Society.
Leonard has been involved in and led a number of Australian Government Delegations on International engagements including to Germany, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Vietnam, UK, USA and the United Nations including leading the Australian delegation to the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous peoples (UN EMRIP) in Geneva in 2018. Leonard also led an AIATSIS delegation to Mexico in September 2019 to discuss Indigenous Policy and culture as it relates to National cultural and collecting Institutions.