Lesley McClendon teaches 7th grade Special Education/Language Arts at Shiloh Middle School, a Bring Your Own (BYOD) school at Gwinnett County Public Schools.

She also serves as a Language Arts teacher for the Reach for Excellence program, a tuition free educational and leadership program that prepares underserved Atlanta-based students for a path to college.

She was named one of the 100 2014 PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators and a top 16 "Lead PBS Digital Innovator.

She grew up in Roswell and received a Bachelor's degree in English from Rhodes College in Tennessee. She is finishing up requirements for an M.Ed in Reading, Language and Literacy at Georgia State University and plans to pursue Ed.S with a concentration in middle grade literacy and instructional technology.