Leise was a 1993 graduate of
Stanford University. She went to
Texas A&M University for graduate study, completing a Ph.D. there in 1998.[7][8] Her dissertation, An Analog to the Dirichlet-to-Nuemann Map and Its Application to Dynamic Elastic Fracture, was supervised by Jay R. Walton.[9]
After working as a visiting lecturer at
Indiana University, she joined the faculty of the
Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology in 1999. She moved to Amherst as a visiting assistant professor in 2004, obtained a regular-rank faculty position in 2007, and was promoted to full professor in 2018.[8]
Leise was co-chair of the Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Sciences,
sponsored by a group of seven major mathematical societies, from 2011 to 2014.[8]
She has also chaired the Amherst Ranked-Choice Voting Commission.[10]