Wake Technical Community College
Dean, Biotechnologies and NC BioNetwork Capstone Center
Leslie Isenhour is the Dean of the Biotechnologies Division and NC BioNetwork Capstone Center at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She oversees the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Biotechnology at the RTP Campus, AAS in Biopharmaceutical Technology at Southern Wake Campus, non-degree programs such as BioWork across multiple Wake Tech campuses, two high school programs (Vernon Malone High School, Wake Early College for Information and Biotechnologies) and industry training efforts at the Capstone Center, a simulated biomanufacturing facility on NC State’s Centennial Campus that serves any community college or biomanufacturing facility in the state. She has garnered industry support of programs, such as Eli Lilly’s $1.1million contribution to RTP biotechnology activities and manages multiple grants to facilitate faculty professional development and curriculum enhancements totaling over $6million. She is currently overseeing the development of a 10,000sq ft biopharmaceutical simulated work environment (biopharma SWE) located at the newest Eastern Wake campus.
Prior to joining Wake Tech, Isenhour served as the Department Chair of Biotechnology Programs at Johnston Community College. There she oversaw the construction of a 5,000-square-foot biotechnology simulated work environment, created an eighth-grade training program called Discover the Plasma with Grifols Therapeutics, and developed training programs for Novo Nordisk and Grifols through their expansion in Clayton, North Carolina. During her 13 years at the college, Isenhour oversaw the Bioprocess Technology degree program, BioWork certification, and biotechnology industry training. Previously, Isenhour was a pharmaceutical engineer for Pfizer, formerly Hospira.
Isenhour holds a master’s degree in technology management from East Carolina University and a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences from Campbell University.