María Florencia Leiva is a student of the 2023-2024 LL.M. in National and Global Health Law. She is originally from Argentina.
Leiva is interested in the intersection between noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), health, and human rights. She is also interested in the role of international organizations and civil society in global health governance.
Currently, Leiva serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Buenos Aires Law School. She is an active member of international youth alliances promoting human rights.
Prior to enrolling at Georgetown Law, Leiva worked as a senior legal and advocacy advisor for the Fundación InterAmericana del Corazón (Argentina). In this role, she promoted tobacco control regulations at national and subnational level, worked on food policy, and other NCDs modifiable risk factors’ policies. She also worked as a paralegal at a law firm in Buenos Aires.
Leiva received a postgraduate diploma in economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights from the University of Buenos Aires and graduated cum laude. She also holds a postgraduate certificate in global tobacco control from John Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. Additionally, she received training on law and noncommunicable diseases at McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer in Australia and tobacco industry monitoring research and accountability at the University of Bath in England.
While a law student, Leiva was a finalist in the Jean Pictet Competition. She was awarded the UBAINT scholarship for an exchange program at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where she obtained a magna cum laude certificate.