Leah Aki Wood was born and raised in the small town of Oberlin, Ohio where she spent much of her time drawing, writing, playing violin, and at soccer practice. At 13 years old she had a formative experience of backpacking 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail with her family, instilling in her a deep respect and appreciation for nature. Upon graduation from high school, she went to Japan for a year to connect more deeply with her mother’s family and spent four months on a small farm in Kyushu as part of the WWOOF program. Leah then attended Oberlin College, graduating in 2016 with her bachelor of arts in Cinema Studies and East Asian Studies. She worked for two years as a documentary filmmaker for StoryLens Pictures, an assistant teacher for Apollo Outreach Initiative supporting young people with filmmaking and storytelling, and taught taiko drumming to community members. Leah then received a two-year Oberlin Shansi Fellowship to teach English in Machida, Japan. While there, she discovered an interest in mental health through a volunteer opportunity for an English lifeline. Leah returned to the U.S. in 2020 and in the following year pursued her masters in clinical mental health counseling at Heidelberg University, graduating in December of 2023. She now works as a Licensed Professional Counselor at Building Resilience Counseling Services in Strongsville.