PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Hilary Costa
National-Media-Relations@kp.org
January 15, 2026
Beth Leonard to join Kaiser Permanente as SVP and chief public affairs officer
Experienced communications and advocacy strategist will lead the new public affairs function for the entire organization.
OAKLAND — Beth Leonard will join Kaiser Permanente as senior vice president and chief public affairs officer on February 2. In this new role, Leonard will lead all communications, government relations, and community relations activities at the federal, state, and local levels. She will report to Sam Glick, executive vice president, Enterprise Strategy and Business Development, and will work closely with other senior leaders, including regional presidents and executive medical directors.
“Beth is an extraordinary communications strategist and skilled advocate for high quality, affordable health care,” said Glick. “Her leadership of our new public affairs function will help ensure Kaiser Permanente continues to lead the national dialogue regarding health care transformation, as we strive to make our distinct brand of value-based care available to more people and communities.”
Leonard brings more than two decades of public affairs and health care industry experience to this role. Most recently, she served as chief corporate affairs officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance, where she led a team responsible for managing all internal and external relationships, including media relations, digital and social media, executive thought leadership, government affairs, policy, community engagement, partnerships, and events. Prior to that role, Leonard was chief corporate affairs officer at EmblemHealth, a New York not-for-profit health plan and provider organization serving more than three million members. She also served as executive vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives for AHIP (formerly America’s Health Insurance Plans), and earlier worked on multiple presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, and mayoral campaigns.
Leonard holds a master’s degree in political management from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.