Leslie J. Winner is a North Carolina attorney and the executive director of the Winston-Salem-based Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. At the time of her selection to succeed Thomas W. Ross at the foundation, Winner was general counsel and vice president for the University of North Carolina system.
A native of Asheville, Winner received the A.B. degree from Brown University and the J.D. degree from Northeastern University School of Law. She served six years (three terms) in the North Carolina Senate, representing part of Mecklenburg County as a Democrat. From 1998 to 2000, Winner was general counsel for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system.