Leanna Woodley is a Puerto Rican/Keetoowah Cherokee award-winning screenwriter whose multicultural background infuses her work with authentic, diverse perspectives. With a B.A. in Television Writing & Producing from Columbia College Chicago and mentorship from Story Summit founder and former Paramount Pictures president David Kirkpatrick, Leanna has established herself as a rising voice in both television and film.
Her scripts have garnered significant recognition in 2024, including eight international festival wins out of nine submissions, with the ninth being an honorable mention in Athens. Additional accolades for a women-led prestige feature include Official Selections at Oxford, Cambridge, and Berlin Film Festivals, as well as competition awards for her other scripts, including Austin Film Festival. Trained at Second City Chicago and the Gately-Poole Meisner Acting Conservatory in New York and Chicago, Leanna brings performance expertise to her character-driven narratives.
Drawing on her decade of experience in Los Angeles entertainment, Leanna returned to screenwriting in 2020. In this short amount of time, she has written multiple scripts spanning features and pilots for adults, YA, and children's programming. Her latest projects include an upper middle grade/YA fantasy novel series adapted from one of her award-winning pilot scripts. Her work consistently explores themes of cultural identity, found family, and personal growth through a dramedy lens.
Currently based on Spain's Costa del Sol, Leanna co-runs a study abroad program in León, Spain, after transitioning from their previous Digital Wellness GAP year experience. She is also opening a bilingual bookstore named after the shop in her novel series. She and her husband previously founded Youth Unplugged, a non-profit promoting tech-life balance through nature-based programs.
