Dr. Leslie Eisenberg served on the board of the Natural Path Sanctuary from 2017 to 2022. She received her Ph.D. from New York University in 1986 and Board Certification in Forensic Anthropology from the American Board of Forensic Anthropology (D-A.B.F.A.) in 1997. She is one of only 70 actively practicing Board Certified forensic anthropologists in North America and the only Board Certified forensic anthropologist in the state of Wisconsin. Her experience includes university teaching, legislative work, and consulting for the New York City Medical Examiner’s office in forensic anthropology (1986-1993). Leslie works full-time at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison as an archaeologist and was, for many years, the Program Coordinator for the Burial Sites Preservation office. She began her archaeological fieldwork training in 1974 and, since that time, has worked on many prehistoric and historic sites in the United States and abroad, applying those skills to the search, location, mapping and excavation of clandestine graves and other items of evidentiary value. For the past two summers, Leslie served as the Recovery Team Leader for the search and excavation of a downed WWII aircraft in northern France.
Leslie served for seven years as the North American Editor of the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology and currently serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Forensic Sciences. In 2005, she completed an elected six-year term on the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, serving as Board Secretary for the last three years of that service. Professional memberships include the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Fellow), the Register of Professional Archaeologists, the Wisconsin Association for Identification (WAI), the Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators (WAHI), and the Wisconsin Coroner’s and Medical Examiner’s Association, among others.
Leslie is a long-time Region V member of the Department of Health & Human Services’ Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT), responding to assist when the scope of a disaster exceeds the capabilities of local resources. She also serves as the on-call forensic anthropologist for the Cook County (Chicago) Medical Examiner’s Disaster Response Team. Leslie provides forensic anthropological assistance (field & lab) and training to all jurisdictions in Wisconsin, and elsewhere, and is pleased to have the opportunity to participate annually in the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Death Investigation School.