Maria Leão holds a BA in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2011-2015), where she focused her studies in Anthropology; Gender and Sexuality; Memory; and Social Movements. She is a PhD student in Public Health in the research field of Human Sciences and Health at the Institute of Social Medicine of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (2018-present), where she is developing the research “Pedagogical guerrillas: Strategies for survival, alliance, and resistance of basic education teachers of the state of Rio de Janeiro in contexts of conservatism,” under the guidance of profs. Dr. Sergio Carrara and Dr. Vanessa Leite. She obtained her title of Master in Public Health at the same institution, also under the guidance of profs. Dr. Sergio Carrara and Dr. Vanessa Leite, with the research thesis “The unicorns at the end of the rainbow: female bisexuality, identities, and politics at the 8th National Lesbian Seminar” (2016-2018).

Since 2012, Leão has been a speaker and facilitator of activities within gender studies, focusing on the mental and sexual health of lesbian and bisexual women, as well as combating intimate partner violence and sexual harassment. In 2018, she performed gender consultancy work at the Oga Mitá school (Rio de Janeiro), for the joint development of an institutional policy to promote respect for gender and sexuality diversity in educational contexts. She has experience in the areas of Anthropology, Health, and Education, working mainly on the following areas of interest: Gender Anthropology; Gender, Sexuality, and Health; Social movements; Memory; and Sociology of Education.