Rhode Island native, Nancyann Leeder found herself in Reno with three young children in 1964 where she found a position as a news reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Her main reporter “beats” were education, the Judicial College, courts, and. police. She obtained a B.A. at UNR in 1970 while still working for the newspaper. With recommendations from Judicial College judges, she left Reno for Southern Illinois University to obtain a Law Degree, and then returned to Reno. She was admitted to the Bar in 1977. Nancyann’s passions, from her years of news reporting on the topics, became alternative sentencing, domestic violence, and women’s rights. She became the second woman named as assistant Reno City Attorney, in October 1978, and Nevada Attorney for Injured Workers for over 20 years.
Nancyann Leeder was interviewed on December 7, 2023, by the Nevada Women’s History Project. This interview was funded by the Estelle J. Kelsey Foundation.