Chelle Leininger grew up on a farm near Hugoton, KS. She graduated from Barclay College in 1985 and married her husband Chuck in 1986. They spent two years as missionaries in Guatemala, C.A., then moved to Southern California where Chelle earned a M.Div at Azusa Pacific University in 1993 before becoming a fulltime wife and mother to their four children. In 2005, Chelle began teaching Spanish primarily to high school students, which she did for nine years. She then worked in a variety of capacities with youth and their families as the counselor at Hugoton High School and youth leader at Bethel Friends Church before becoming the Chair of Elementary Education department at Barclay College in 2021. Chelle completed requirements for her professional counseling license in May 2022, and she is currently a doctoral candidate at Kansas State University where she studies Education Leadership. Her dissertation explores how schools, churches, and communities can better know and serve individuals who have experienced developmental trauma and facilitate their journey toward wellness and resilience. The rest of the time she likes to read, make memories with her family, and practice learning to submit to Jesus so as to be useful for his work.