Rev. Dr. Maria Leppäkari holds a Doctoral degree in Theology (2002) from Åbo Akademi University, Finland and is Docent, Adjunct Professor in Comparative Religion since 2012. Her expertise spans from academic research to applied leadership. In September 2019 Leppäkari was the first woman to be ordained Reverend in Jerusalem in the Arabic speaking congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), and is also Reverend in the Archdiocese of Turku, Finland.  

Between the years 2015–2022 she was the Director of the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem (STI). During the years 2022–2025 she was Life Force Director and Island Developer in the Archipelago City of Pargas. On the 20th of May 2025 she started a new position at the Finnish NGO, the Finnish Evagelican Lutheran Mission (FELM), a faith-based organization working holistically with church cooperation, development, peace, reconciliation, and humanitarian aid in collaboration with local stakeholders in 24 countries. Leppäkari’s position as the Country Manager in the Holy Land includes the Directorship of the Felm-Center in Jerusalem, starting August 2025. The Felm-Center in Jerusalem focuses on peace education, psychosocial support in diaconal work with the local churches, and promotes a theology of peace in collaboration with local partners.

Rev., Dr. Leppäkari was elected Secretary General of Religions for Peace Europe in May 2025. She holds commissions of trust in the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD) member of board, and is deputy board member of the Foundation of the Finnish Institute in the Middle-East. 

Leppäkari has published extensively on Jerusalem, specializing in apocalyptic representations, religion and politics in Israel, pilgrimage and religious tourism, and the symbolical significance of the city. She is best known for her book Apocalyptic Representations of Jerusalem. Numen Series nr. 111. Brill Academic Publishers: Leiden-Boston, 2006. Her most recent book is entitled Blessed are the Peacemakers. Theology, Compassion and Action for Global Mission. Essays in Honour of Munib Younan. Eds. Munther Isaac and Maria Leppäkari, Luther-Agricola-Seura, Studia missiologica et oecumenica Fennica 63. Helsinki 2023, 391 pp.