Lauren Leach joined Samford University in November 2025 as chief of staff to the president and vice president for strategy. She brings nearly two decades of strategic leadership experience from UAB Health System, where she played a key role in shaping enterprise-wide planning, guiding cross-functional teams and advising senior executives in a complex academic health care environment. 

During her 18 years at UAB, Leach served in a series of progressively senior roles within the Department of Strategic Planning and Business Development. Most recently, as a senior strategic advisor to executive leadership, she helped align organizational vision with operational execution across academic, clinical and administrative units. She led major strategic-planning efforts, facilitated department wide and service-line planning sessions and helped create cohesive five-year plans for academic, research and clinical areas across UAB Medicine. 

Leach advanced multiple systemwide initiatives, including the UAB Medicine Strategic Plan, the organization’s revised mission and vision statements and UAB Medicine’s Value-Based Care strategic plan. Her work as co-lead of the Value Based Care Oversight Committee shaped modeling and preparation for emerging payment models across the system. Earlier in her tenure, she directed strategy and business development projects, oversaw health care reform task forces, managed CMS bundled-payment initiatives, and developed the first comprehensive faculty recruitment projections for UAB Medicine’s clinical needs. 

Leach is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in management and an MBA with a concentration in strategy.  

In her role at Samford, Leach oversees daily operations for the Office of the President, serves as the primary liaison to the Board of Trustees and leads university-wide strategic planning. She chairs University Council, oversees the Office of Institutional Research and Analytics and supports long-range institutional visioning. 

Lauren is married to Caleb Leach, and they have two sons. They are members of Homewood Community Church.