NEWS RELEASE – April 8, 2026
Leslie Hammer has been named Executive Director of the ARH Foundation for Healthier Communities
Lexington, KY – Leslie Hammer has been named Executive Director of the
ARH Foundation for Healthier Communities, bringing more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy. Throughout her career, she has led efforts in annual giving, major and planned gifts, and organizational management, with a focus on building meaningful donor relationships and advancing mission‑driven impact.
In her new role, Hammer will lead the ARH Foundation’s strategic fundraising efforts, strengthening philanthropic support to advance healthcare, education, and community initiatives across Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia.
Prior to joining the ARH Foundation, Hammer served as Senior Philanthropy Director for the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Foundation. There, she played a key role in identifying, cultivating, and securing major gifts, while also serving as capital campaign director for the Markey Cancer Center. Her work contributed to expanding donor engagement and advancing critical cancer care initiatives across the region.
After earning her undergraduate degree in Public Relations and Marketing from Western Kentucky University, Hammer began her career with the American Cancer Society, where she spent 19 years. During her tenure, she served as Relay for Life Regional Director, Major Gift Officer, Planned Giving Director, and Regional Market Director for Kentucky and Tennessee, earning national recognition for excellence in major gift fundraising and for leading top‑performing teams in the Mid‑South Division.
Hammer is an active member of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the National Association of Cancer Development Officers, and she serves on the Sigma Kappa National Corporation Board. She is also a Certified Fundraising Executive, demonstrating professional achievement and commitment to the fundraising profession.
A native of Somerset, Kentucky, Hammer relocated to Lexington in 2021. She is the proud mother of one daughter, Sharon, a fifth-grade teacher in Lexington.
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About Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH)
Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) traces its roots back to 1955, when the United Mine Workers of America opened the Miners Memorial Hospital system – a network of 10 hospitals dedicated to providing care throughout the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. Seventy years later, ARH has grown into a 14-hospital not-for-profit health system that serves more than 500,000 residents of central Appalachia each year. ARH hospitals in Barbourville, Harlan, Hazard, Hyden, Martin, McDowell, Middlesboro, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, West Liberty, Whitesburg, and South Williamson in Kentucky, and Beckley and Hinton in West Virginia, ensure that residents, tucked away in even the most remote areas, can access the highest quality of care without traveling hours from home. ARH’s hospitals, clinics, multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, home medical equipment stores, retail pharmacies, and medical spas boast more than 6,700 employees with a network of more than 1,300 providers, making it the single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third-largest private employer in southern West Virginia.