Leah Binder, MA, MGA, is President & CEO of The Leapfrog Group, representing employers and other purchasers of health care calling for improved safety and quality in hospitals. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and consistently named among Modern Healthcare’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in healthcare.
Under her leadership, The Leapfrog Group launched the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, which assigns letter grades assessing the safety of general hospitals across the country. She has also fostered groundbreaking innovations in the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey, including partnerships to eliminate early elective deliveries, promote better hand hygiene in health care
settings, strengthen and recognize the nursing workforce, reduce infections, and promote use of health technology for patient safety.
She has served and led numerous national boards and councils, including the National Quality Forum, CMMI’s Accountable Care Action Collaborative, AHRQ Subcommittee of the National Advisory Committee, AARP’s Champions for Nursing National Strategic Advisory Council, the MAP Coordinating Council, and CGFNS.
Prior to her position at The Leapfrog Group, Leah spent eight years as vice president at Franklin Community Health Network, an award-winning rural hospital network in Farmington, Maine. Prior to that she served as senior policy advisor at the New York City Mayor’s Office. She started her career at the National League for Nursing, where she handled policy and communications for more than 6 years.
Ms. Binder has a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and two master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, one from the Annenberg School of Communication and the other from the Fels Institute of Government.