Jersey City, N.J. – March 8, 2024 – Saint Peter’s is proud to announce that Leah Leto, M.Ed. ’05, vice president for advancement and external affairs, was named to the 2024 ROI Influencers: Women in Business list. The list is issued annually and is designed to show that the state of New Jersey is “overflowing with amazingly impressive female leaders who are ready, willing, able and eager to take on any role.”
The profile from ROI-NJ highlighted Leto as a “longtime Peacock” who has been instrumental in Saint Peter’s record-breaking fundraising efforts. Leto is presently leading Peacocks Rise: The Campaign for Saint Peter’s University, the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the University’s 150+ year history. Its public phase was launched in December 2022 with $70 million secured during its quiet phase alone, breaking previous records.
Leto has served as vice president for advancement and external affairs at Saint Peter’s University since 2015. She began her career at Saint Peter’s in 2002 as an alumni relations officer and, prior to assuming the vice presidency, served myriad roles within the Office of Advancement. In her current role, Leto oversees all fundraising and operational functions of advancement and alumni and donor engagement.
During her time at Saint Peter’s, she played a leadership role in the Students at the Center campaign, which secured $64.7 million for the University, participated in the transition and rollout of university status, worked to secure two of the largest gifts in University history, built a robust leadership gifts and prospect management system and fortified donor stewardship and scholarship administration practices. She has presented nationally at conferences of AJCU (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities) and has served as an expert source on fundraising and donor relations in outlets such as Inside Higher Ed and Non-Profit Times.
Leto earned bachelor’s degrees in art history and French from Vassar College and began her career as a production assistant at the Metropolitan Opera Association. She went on to serve as an associate in the development and membership offices at The Newark Museum before joining the Saint Peter’s team. She obtained a master’s degree in education from Saint Peter’s in 2005.
View the complete 2024 ROI Influencers: Women in Business from ROI-NJ.
# # end # #
For more than 150 years, Saint Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit www.saintpeters.edu.