

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Leesa Truesdell
Director and Founder
Leesa Truesdell is a passionate advocate for helping others achieve their goals and dreams. She has dedicated her career to the public sector and is focused on serving others. Leesa has enjoyed the good fortune of working with some of the country’s leaders in state and federal governments, education, and nonprofit sectors. She is currently working as a director for Dreams Abroad, in addition to teaching English online. On Fridays, you can find Leesa hosting the online 24-hour Global Foodie Friends discussion, which she founded to connect people from different cultures through food.
Leesa trained as an International Student Advisor at Florida State University, where she assisted foreign students with course enrollment, employment, and traveling while living in the United States. She helped hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students while they studied in the USA. Her most recent position abroad, as an English teacher in Spain, gave her the opportunity to shape the futures of over 500 Spanish teenagers aiming to be proficient in English and interested in learning about American culture. Prior to living in Spain, Leesa served in the Florida legislature, providing research and analysis on public policy initiatives. She frequently served as a policy advisor and, to gain background and perspective, would meet with community leaders and stakeholders throughout the state.
Leesa attributes her success and inspiration in public service to the many mentors she has had in the “chapters” of her life. She believes that each person has taught her valuable lessons, has always learned from making mistakes, and bounces back more resilient than ever… a viewpoint that encapsulates her secret to success!
Leesa Truesdell launched the Teach Abroad interview series and the Dreams Abroad website to showcase the stories of her colleagues and friends while educating overseas. Over the past few years, she has found that her life has been enriched by embracing the uncertainty of living abroad. However, as Leesa puts it, the experience has forced her to “step out of [her] comfort zone.” One of the website’s themes is that everyone in life is doing the best they can with what they have, no matter where they are located.
Orlando Lewis was raised in St. Catherine, Jamaica. He is an undergraduate student studying computer software engineering at Florida State…
Legacy: 2020 A Memorable Year
Leesa Truesdell’s beloved grandma, Tata, is a continuing influence on her travels, inspiring her to fall in love with adventures…
My L’Oreal Internship: A Dutch Workation
By Leesa Truesdell Since Ajay’s first interview, he’s returned from his study abroad program in Singapore. Ajay is currently interning…
Life in Medellin, Colombia During Lockdown
By Leesa Truesdell In June 2020, Lamon and I were in our own separate spaces lounging a responsible six feet…
The London School of Economics: How I Selected My Dissertation
By Leesa Truesdell I saw that I could apply recent learnings about the role of social conventions and ideas in…
How to Teach in Mexico Amid COVID-19
by Leesa Truesdell In our previous interview, Stephanie Vargas spoke about her school and what it was like to be…
Introducing 2020’s Mid-Year Most Popular Travel Articles
by Leesa Truesdell We are halfway through 2020! A couple of years ago, we started publishing a mid-year review to…
How to Teach in Thailand
by Leesa Truesdell In our last interview, Diego Ambrosio talked about wrapping up his school year by giving final exams. He…