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Andrea Leonard, MS | Founder & President, Cancer Exercise Training Institute

Andrea Leonard is an internationally recognized authority in oncology exercise science and the founder and president of the Cancer Exercise Training Institute (CETI) - the global gold standard in cancer exercise education. A pioneer whose research and clinical programming predates the formal emergence of exercise oncology as a recognized discipline, Andrea has spent more than three decades developing and advancing the evidence-based frameworks that now define best practice in cancer rehabilitation and survivorship care worldwide.

Academic Credentials and Professional Certifications

Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland (1990) and a Master of Science in Health and Wellness Coaching from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (2023). Since 1992, she has maintained an exceptional portfolio of advanced professional credentials, including Corrective Exercise Specialist and Performance Enhancement Specialist designations through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), and Personal Trainer certifications through NASM, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the American Council on Exercise (ACE). She is further recognized as a Special Populations Expert by the Cooper Institute. In 2019, Andrea was honored as PFP/Club Industry Personal Trainer of the Year in recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to cancer rehabilitation and functional exercise programming.

A Foundation Built on Personal and Clinical Experience

Andrea's commitment to oncology exercise science is rooted in lived experience as much as academic rigor. Diagnosed with thyroid cancer at eighteen and a 42-year cancer survivor, she underwent a complete thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment - an experience that ignited her lifelong dedication to restoring physical function and vitality following illness and medical intervention. Having lost her father to multiple cancers and currently supporting her mother through metastatic breast cancer following a 23-year remission, Andrea has navigated the realities of cancer from every dimension - as survivor, caregiver, and clinical advocate.

Andrea launched her professional career in 1992 at the National Capital YMCA in Washington, D.C., where she rose to Director of Personal Training. During this period, she developed the Leading Edge Fitness and EMPOWER (Energizing, Mobilizing, Post-Operative Workout Enhancing Recovery) programs - structured rehabilitative exercise frameworks designed to restore physical function following surgical intervention. Her clinical mission deepened profoundly in 1996 following her mother's second breast cancer diagnosis, prompting Andrea to assemble a multidisciplinary medical advisory team from Georgetown University, George Washington University, and Johns Hopkins University Medical Centers. That collaboration produced "Essential Exercises for Breast Cancer Survivors," published by Harvard Common Press in 2000 - a seminal clinical reference that established the evidentiary foundation for structured exercise programming in breast cancer recovery.

Institutional Impact and Global Reach

Following the publication of Essential Exercises, Andrea founded The Breast Cancer Survivor's Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving quality of life for cancer survivors and their families. Recognizing the critical need to scale evidence-based oncology exercise education beyond individual clinical practice, she established the Cancer Exercise Training Institute in 2004 and developed the OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialist certification - the most comprehensive oncology exercise credentialing program available to health and fitness professionals globally.

To date, CETI has trained over 20,000 OncoVie® Cancer Exercise Specialists across 60 countries - more than any other organization worldwide. Andrea has delivered CETI workshops and keynote addresses across North America, Europe, and Asia at leading professional and medical conferences including IDEA World, the Healthy Aging Summit, the Asia Fitness Conference, the Medical Fitness Tour, and the Kaiser Permanente Thriving with Cancer Conference, as well as at prominent academic medical institutions and health systems including Georgetown University Hospital, Johns Hopkins/Suburban Hospital, the OHSU School of Nursing, Memorial Hermann, Sanford Health System, Avera McKennan Prairie Cancer Center, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, and numerous others.

Her evidence-based curriculum and clinical framework have served as the foundational model for cancer exercise and survivorship programs at universities, medical centers, and health and fitness organizations throughout the world, shaping an entire generation of practitioners and redefining how post-treatment recovery and exercise oncology are approached in both clinical and community settings.

Publications and Media

Andrea is the author of 21 books on cancer and exercise and a widely sought international speaker and educator. Her clinical expertise has been featured in The Washington Post, PFP Magazine, ACE Certified, NASM's Training Edge, Club Solutions, Dallas Morning News, The Oregonian, and Bethesda Today, among numerous other publications. She has appeared in dozens of educational video productions, including the Heartflex Breast Cancer Recovery series, and has served as a recurring fitness and rehabilitation expert on AM Northwest.

A Legacy That Defines a Field

Andrea Leonard did not simply enter the field of oncology exercise science - she created it. Through more than three decades of clinical research, multidisciplinary collaboration, global education, and deeply personal advocacy, she has fundamentally redefined the role of therapeutic movement in cancer recovery and survivorship. Her work continues to transform clinical practice, elevate professional standards, and - most importantly - restore strength, function, and quality of life to cancer survivors around the world.