Leigh Barba will tell you she has had a fear of heights. But one summer she decided to face that fear in dramatic fashion. “When visiting the beautiful Italian island of Capri, my husband’s hometown, I saw adults and children alike jumping from high rocks into the sea below. They looked like they were having so much fun that I decided it was time for me to get over my fear so, though my knees knocked for a good couple of minutes, I did dive from the rocks into the sea. Now, whenever I am faced with a challenge that I’m afraid I can’t handle — I take a deep breath, say a prayer and just ‘take that leap!’”

That same fearlessness comes through when she sits down at the piano. She has played since she was a child. In fact, when she recently sat down at the Steinway grand piano in Shorter University’s chapel, she was whisked back in time. “I played my first concert on this very piano when I was 5 years old,” she recalled. “I love this piano.”

And it is obvious the classically trained singer and pianist who studied at Shorter loves to perform. “All trouble just seems to fall away when I am playing.”

As the executive director of the Rome Area History Museum, local history is another passion. Her personal roots run deep here. “My family (on my father’s side — the Brock family) has lived in Floyd County since before its official founding, around 1830.” That’s why her title of “Miss Rome” at the age 17 remains such a special memory too.

Leigh works part time with her husband Piero in their global wine and food import business Emilia Imports. And as if that doesn’t keep her busy enough, she’s back at Shorter studying international business and history. “I would love to combine my love of languages and different cultures with my love of Georgia, and Northwest Georgia in particular, in order to bring more business and economic resources to our region and our state. We have so much to offer here — I want the world to know.”

Staying active is a priority for Leigh. “I love to hike, swim and get out into the natural beauty that surrounds us,” says the woman who is such a strong swimmer that she loves swimming into underwater sea caves. “In spare quiet moments, I also enjoy a good book — mostly the classics. I adore rare out-of-print books as well.”

As one of Rome’s 40 and under women community leaders, Leigh loves to nurture leadership qualities in others. “We should all be leaders in our jobs and in our lives. Every member of a team is important.”