Leslie accepted the role of President and CEO just as the Affordable Care Act was taking effect, and many expected the numbers of uninsured residents to sharply decline. Unsure if she was the right leader for a moment of such uncertainty, Leslie said yes anyway. And the universe laughed, because the Affordable Care Act turned out to be the least of anyone’s operating environment fears.
She has seen PCC through multiple federal administrations and even a global pandemic. Her tenure saw exponential growth in the number of uninsured children served through Care for Kids—from just over 3,000 in FY14 to nearly 11,000 in FY25—and the creation of the Nexus Montgomery Regional Partnership—where local hospitals jointly invest in the health of their shared community.
Leslie oversaw PCC’s transition from a mission based around developing a community-based healthcare system to one focused on building the many systems and partnerships necessary to support better health, from a vision focused on our local geography to a broader view of healthy community. She led us through not just the strategic planning to define our approach but the operational planning to enact it. And she has combined her steadfast approach with an abiding sense of joy.
Annice, who has worked closely with Leslie on Nexus Montgomery as well as during this time of transition, calls her “a generous colleague who has made our collaboration over the past ten years both rewarding and fun.”
Her husband, Jim, says that on the days Leslie works from home he can her laughter during video calls. Leslie herself says her workdays have been “as joyful as our work is deeply meaningful.”
“When the PCC leadership torch passed to me in 2014, I said I knew I had big shoes to fill. I also knew I had my own feet and wore very different shoes.” Leslie remembers. “Stability is good, and so is change.”
We wish Leslie well in her next chapter of nonprofit consulting and more time with family and friends, with eternal gratitude for the shoes she leaves behind.