Leilani Maldonado was raised in Southern California. She completed a Spanish-speaking mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chicago, and later graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Linguistics. After relocating to the Bay Area with her husband for work and becoming acquainted with a female immigration lawyer, she discovered she could combine her interest in international affairs, human rights, and peace-building with a family-friendly career by practicing immigration law. Leilani is now in her second year at BYU Law School. She was a 2014 Student Fellow for the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, working in Salt Lake City and Lima, Peru. She is a member of the Center's 2015-2016 Student Management Board.