Maxinne Rhea Leighton is an eclectic writer who follows the story not the genre. Her published work includes: author of the children's book An Ellis Island Christmas (recipient of the Marion Vannett Ridgway award; co-author of Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives (recipient of Chartered Builders of the United Kingdom Silver Literary Awards); co-author of Educating for Social Justice, A Dangerous Game: Matilda Joslyn Gage Center (Journal of Museum Studies). She also co-edited The Future of Cities: An Integrated Approach to Urban Challenges (2016). As well, she has authored creative non-fiction as part of anthology collections—The Man with the Big Hands in The Other Woman and The He of She, in He Said What? Women Write About Moments When Everything Changed.

Dr. Leighton's recently completed dissertation (2020), Arising: The Impact of Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy on Design & Planning Professionals (architects, engineers, planners, landscape architects), used a research methodology that integrated a data-driven approach with narrative inquiry. This work is illustrative of her voice as a narrative change agent and reflective practitioner passionately dedicated to fostering human dignity and ecological sustainability within the built environment.