Leslie began her professional tapa making (siapo) career in 1974 when she was sked to assist in a University of Hawaii-Manoa workshop being taught by the premier South Pacific tapa artist, Mary Pritchard. As a niece of Mrs. Pritchard and a descendant of a long line of tapa makers, Leslie took this opportunity to immerse herself seriously in the art for the first time. Although she had been exposed to tapa making all her life, this began her long quest into the history, legacy and techniques of tapa and marks the time she began to train as a designer and artist in tapa.
In 1976 Leslie was included in a small group of native Hawaiian who came together to begin to make Hawaiian "kapa" for the first time in over a century. As with most tapa study, the group had to begin without written instruction. Working together with anthropologists and scholars from around the world, they were able to piece together remnants of a technique that reflected the forgotten past.
During Leslie's years in Hawaii, she was a member of the Pacific Handcrafters Guild, participated in many juried international shows, and had her own exhibits at two Hawaiian galleries.
Upon her return home to Samoa in 1984, Leslie had a private show sponsored by the Samoa Art Association. This was a catalyst for her commercial career and she began selling her work in South Pacific galleries and handicraft shops, as well as receiving many commissions.
Leslie has been honored three times by various Governors of American Samoa with the Governor's Awards for the Arts and has received special recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts for her "fresh approach to siapo."
