In August 2025, Leah Barton was appointed Executive Director for Harris County Public Health (HCPH), following her year of distinguished service as Interim Executive Director.
During her time in the interim role, HCPH increased healthcare access through mobile health expansion and the opening of the Sheldon Health Hub, brought the HART alternative first responder program in-house, and earned national recognition for chronic disease prevention efforts. Under her leadership HCPH has created new partnerships strengthening disease surveillance, opened the RISE Empowerment Center for violence prevention, and applied for PHAB reaccreditation. Leah leads the Department with a vision of building a healthier, more connected, resilient community, bringing together community members, partners, and HCPH in support of improved public health outcomes.
Prior to joining HCPH, Leah served as Harris County Deputy County Administrator and as Managing Director of the Office of County Administration’s Grants and Partnerships Division, overseeing the administration of $1B of COVID recovery funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act. She also incubated cross-departmental functions including the Office of Early Childhood and homelessness response strategies.
Leah's distinguished career spans nearly 20 years in the energy sector, serving in commercial, IT, finance, marketing, and operations leadership roles at Centrica plc/Direct Energy, MXenergy, Shell Chemical LP, and Nuvera Fuel Cells. Collectively, her achievements include leading divisional turnarounds, driving growth, and establishing effective performance management systems. Leah began her career as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania and speaks Spanish and Swahili.
Leah's commitment to community leadership is exemplified by her active involvement in various organizations and recognition as a "Woman Who Means Business in Energy" by the Houston Business Journal. She currently serves as Director of St. Paul’s United Methodist Foundation, as Advisory Board Member for ProUnitas, as Director of Amazing Place, and is an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow. She previously served as a Board Member of Child Advocates, Advisory Board Member of the UH Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and President of the UH Friends of Women’s Studies. As part of her commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace environment, Leah sponsored the LGBTQ+ employee resource group at Direct Energy. She was the founding board chair of EMERGE, a college access organization now serving thousands of students and graduates across the Houston region.
Leah earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Yale, a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.