Leigh Anne Jasheway, M.P.H.
Award Winning Humor Speaker and AuthorABOUT LEIGH ANNE
Who am I, you may be asking? (Not “Who am I?” as in who are you, but “Who am I?” as in “Who is this Leigh Anne Jasheway person and why is her name so long?”
Good question. I’d want to know the same thing if I were you. The short answer is that I have been a stress management and humor expert, comedy writer, stand-up comic, and comedy instructor/coach for the past 29 years. I have an M.P.H. degree which is either stands for masters of public health or mistress of public humor (and, occasionally, miles per hour, but only if I’ve had too many espressos). Until I semi-retired at the end of 2022 , I consulted with organizations (and disorganizations) on how to use humor to manage stress, change, and conflict, and boost creativity, teamwork and morale. I still do some of that, but mostly for organizations in the Eugene/Springfield area and for virtual conferences. My mission, if I decide to accept it, is to help the world become healthier and more sane through laughter.
In 2003, I won the Erma Bombeck Award for Humor Writing, which probably explains why I have laugh lines on my face, my stomach, and oddly, my pancreas. I have 28 published books and my work has appeared in more than a dozen anthologies, including the Chicken Soup series and Marlo Thomas’ The Right Words at the Right Time 2. I wrote a regular humor column for The Comic News for almost 10 years and for the Weekend section of The Register Guard for 9. I’ve edited five published books and continue to do editing work.
I have hosted two radio programs, Women Under the Influence of Laughter, on KOPT AM in Eugene, Oregon and the Giggle Spot, on All Comedy 1450.
Until 2023, I taught comedy writing and stand-up, both at my local community college and online. I still occasionally teach comedy classes online. I was also a part-time faculty member at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.
If you need a speaker for an event in Eugene/Springfield or a virtual conference, check out my presentations. And if you need a comedian who can work clean or dirty, a fun emcee, someone to develop a gameshow or help your group learn to play, I may be must what the doctor ordered. It’s hard to tell. Their handwriting is awful.