Leah has been leading Open Arms of Minnesota since 2013, after more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership positions. A nonprofit Executive Director since 1999, Leah has worked in the arts, community education, and reproductive and community health care. She began her career out of college as a victim advocate at a battered women’s shelter – an experience that ignited a deep commitment to justice and access to resources for underserved and vulnerable populations. A mother herself at age 17, who had to ask for help, Leah is committed to ensuring that everyone who asks for help is treated with dignity and respect.

Since joining Open Arms, Leah has overseen significant organizational expansion, including the opening of a second Open Arms facility in St. Paul to increase production capacity and broaden its reach in the East metro. She has served on a variety of boards of directors and community coalitions and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the National Food is Medicine Coalition, the Second Harvest Heartland Make Hunger History Advisory Council, the Advisory Board for the Women in Leadership Certificate Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a handful of coalitions focused on the needs of aging adults, nutrition and/or hunger.