After gaining a first class honours degree in media production with animation from the University of the West of England, Bristol, Lea has had a varied career in events at the BBC, as a rep on a ship, organising events for a hotel, as an all-rounder for a start-up Will register, and in various customer-facing roles at Britvic Soft Drinks.
Following this, Lea worked at the engineering firm Renishaw for 10 years in various corporate head-office roles (projects, sustainability, trade compliance), where she also worked for over two of those years in Germany. Lea is now a digital marketing project manager at Cognizant, where she has been developing her project management and leadership skills, alongside studying for an MBA in Technology Management with the Open University. In addition to this, Lea is one of four volunteer directors for a community interest company that runs her housing estate of around 450 properties, and 1000 residents. In her spare time, Lea designs and makes silver jewellery and has this year pledged to donate some of her creations to support charitable causes. Lea has been conducting research into the sustainability and environmental issues surrounding jewellery making, initiating discussions with the Environment Agency, and bringing together various parties in the industry to tackle this important topic.