Over the course of his long career, Rich Leonard, a native of Welcome, North Carolina, has been a pioneering judge, a groundbreaking court administrator, a restorer of historic courthouses, and at age 29 the youngest U.S. District Court Clerk in the country, which gave him a front-row seat to some of the most sensational trials in North Carolina history.

He has also run marathons, climbed mountains, forged cross-continental friendships, and embraced life in all its majesty and messiness.

He worked as a special consultant to the U.S. Department of State, where for 20 years he helped developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa create workable court systems.

He has published three books. The first, a children’s book, “The House By the Creek,” is based on his family history, is set in North Carolina during the Revolutionary War.

The second a memoir, “From Welcome to Windhoek: A Judge's Journey,” is the remarkable story of how a boy from rural Welcome, North Carolina, grew up to become an innovative judge, global citizen, and go-to guy for court-building in emerging African nations.

The third, “The Grandma Stories,” is a collection of stories about his mother and her siblings growing up in Davie County on a dairy farm during the Depression.

He is currently the Dean of Campbell Law School in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he resides with his family.