Leigh Sempeles, JD

Leigh Anne Sempeles joined the staff of The Dayton Foundation in 2021 as a Del Mar Encore Fellow for the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission. In this role, she worked on establishing age-friendly initiatives in the southwest region of Ohio, as part of the MVRPC’s Institute for Livable and Equitable Communities. In 2022, she took on the role of senior fellow, where she is responsible for leading the initiative, fulfilling its mission of engaging older adults in addressing significant community issues, leveraging the skills and experience of retired professionals as fellows and changing the conversation around aging.

Trained as an attorney, Leigh comes to the senior fellow role with more than 20 years in leadership positions in legal information services at LexisNexis and Bloomberg L.P. She also has applied her corporate experience to the nonprofit sector, serving as the executive director of St. Vincent de Paul in Dayton and executive director of the Foggy Bottom West End Village in Washington D.C., an organization which helps older adults age in place in their own homes and communities. Leigh has remained active in the field of aging and is a member of the board of directors for the Village to Village Network and serves on the Leadership Council for the Encore Network.

Leigh earned her BA in history from Wright State University. She also earned a master’s degree in management from Antioch College and a JD from the University of Dayton. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio.