Mrs. Leonhart, who rose through the ranks of the DEA over a 28-year career, replaces Karen P. Tandy, who resigned after five years in October to become a senior vice president of Motorola Corporation's global government relations and public policy division.

     A former police officer in Baltimore, where she finished first at the Baltimore Police Academy in 1978, Mrs. Leonhart was the first woman to be named as a special agent in charge of a DEA field division. She was hired in Baltimore after being rejected from several other police departments because of her 5-foot, 4-inch stature. In Baltimore, her tenacity on the beat was well-established and she was known to many on the street as "Mighty Mike."

     Before coming to Washington, Mrs. Leonhart was the special agent in charge of the DEA's Los Angeles field division. In Los Angeles, she commanded DEA offices and enforcement operations in the Los Angeles area, as well as Nevada, Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.

     Mrs. Leonhart became a DEA deputy administrator in 2004 after unanimous confirmation by the Senate. The agency has 11,000 employees, including 4,600 agents in the U.S. and 85 foreign countries.

     Mrs. Leonhart was hired as a DEA special agent in 1980, again finishing first in her academy class, and was assigned to Minneapolis as her first duty station, where she worked for five years.

      For three years she was assigned as an instructor of the DEA Office of Training at the FBIAcademy, Quantico, VA.  Ms. Stansbury's assignments while at the Office of Training included instructor for the Practical Application's Unit and the Academic Operations Unit; as well as Class Coordinator for Basic Agent Classes #70, #74, #78, and #82.

      For more than four years Ms. Stansbury headed drug enforcement groups at the Baltimore District Office, and for two years she was assigned as Staff Coordinator in the Chemical Operations Section at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, VA.

      In 1999, Ms. Stansbury was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge where she commanded enforcement and technical operations as well as certain administrative matters in the New York Division's area of responsibility.

      In 2002, Ms. Stansbury was promoted to Associate Special Agent in Charge at the Houston Division Office. Through two assignments she has been responsible for management of all of the enforcement, diversion and intelligence programs in Houston, TX and all of the sub offices throughout the division.

      In 2005, Ms. Stansbury was named as the New England Field Division's Special Agent in Charge where she is responsible for oversight of the division's operations in furtherance of the DEA's mission to reduce the availability of illegal drugs through enforcement and education efforts.

      Ms. Stansbury has previous law enforcement experience as a police officer with the Detroit Police Department and also with CentralMichiganUniversity's Department of Public Safety. Ms. Stansbury is a published author.  Stansbury has been a speaker at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences' Conference, the International Symposium on the Future of Law Enforcement, the 1991 Interagency

Committee on Federal Women in Law Enforcement Conference (ICWIFLE), Maryland's 1996 Annual State Conference on Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting, the D.A.R.E. Officer's Training Conference in 1997, and numerous DEA sponsored training seminars. From 1997-1998, Ms. Stansbury was the recording secretary for the ICWIFLE.

      In 1997, Ms. Stansbury received a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Maryland. Her specialization in "Narcotic Law Enforcement" has led her to conduct research into "Drug Witness Related Violence" resulting in the reparation of papers, making presentations and policy change within DEA. Her doctoral dissertation, entitled "A Descriptive Exploratory Analysis of Corrupt Drug Agents and their Careers in Corruption" has formed the basis for several Ethics presentations. Stansbury received a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling from CentralMichiganUniversity in 1982. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from WayneStateUniversity in 1980.

      Ms. Stansbury has received numerous DEA sponsored awards. In 1993, Stansbury was the recipient of a Public Employees Roundtable Scholarship; and in 1995 she received a scholarship from FEAA.  Ms. Stansbury is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Ms. Stansbury has experience as a church trustee. In 1995, Ms. Stansbury developed a video-tape and presentation entitled "Dangerous Liaisons: Drug Dealers and You" designed to inform people about the dangers of involvement with drug dealers, and to provide information about how drug dealers behaviorally operate. She continues to educate community groups in a presentation entitled "Risky Business: How to Avoid Involvement in the Drug Trade" in an effort to reduce drug facilitation.