Updated 17.06.2026
LeighAnne Rauhala

Staff

LeighAnne Rauhala

Senior Lecturer

2025 - current

University of Eastern Finland, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies,  Doctoral Researcher

1996–1998

University of  Central Florida Orlando, FL  Master of Social Work. (Recognized by Opetushallitus 12.07)

1994-1996 

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL  Bachelor of Arts, Psychology 

2009- 2010

Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences Vocational Teacher Education (60 ECTS), Helsinki, Finland 

Wellbeing Team 2

Senior Lecturer, Researcher/Project Manager: Urban Social Work, Empowerment, Empathy and Sustainability

Contact us

Postal address:

PL 4000, 00079 Metropolia

Responsibilities and tasks

Senior Lecturer (development and implementation of courses in second and third year within the Degree Programme - English track).

I am part of the U!REKA Team in collaborative education, a project manager and doctoral researcher focusing on empathy, sense of place and planetary sustainability.  

Projects

Urban Age Ethics

U!REKA Collaborative Education

Doctoral Researcher (Exploring the Interplay of Empathy, Sense of Place, and Environmental Identity in Promoting Planetary Sustainability: The Mediating Role of a Lived Connection to Nature.)

Degrees, certifications and courses

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, SW6198

Language skills

English: Native Finnish: Intermediate

Publications

Our U!REKA Moment: Co-Creating Sustainability Education Across Urban European Contexts (2025). Rauhala L.A. & Van Holle, S. https://uasjournal.fi/4-2025/our-ureka-moment-co-creating-sustainability-education-across-urban-european-contexts/ 

Attracting the next generation: gamification in education (2021). Hiiltä ja Timanttia. Mäki-Reinikka E. & Rauhala L.A.

Qualified Empathy: “from understanding to action” (2021). Uudistuva sosiaalialan osaaminen: sosiaalialan opiskel…

Networks

  • Qualified Empathy Nordplus
  • Social Work in Urban Areas Collaboration
  • Urban SOS Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership 
  • Urban Age Ethics and Social Inclusion (URGE)
  • U!REKA European University Alliance

Association

  • Talentia
  • OAJ
  • American Women's Club

Interests

I am interested in the the intersections between Empathy, Sense of Place and Identity affecting choices for sustainability. I have focused on International collaborations and Urban Social Work.