McLeod graduated from Clemson University in 1991 with a BA in Biological Sciences and again in 1992 with a BS in Science Teaching from the College of Education. She then attended Appalachian State University and earned a Master of Arts in Communication Disorders (Speech-Language Pathology) in 1994. She then attended the University of SC and earned a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders/Speech-Language Pathology in 2001. After that, she was appointed to the faculty rank of Clinical Assistant Professor at USC in 2007 and was promoted to Clinical Associate Professor in 2012 within the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the Arnold School of Public Health. In January 2023, McLeod began an appointment as Director of the Montgomery Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic at USC.
