Leah Barrett
Wyoming native Dr. Leah A. Barrett has served as the president of Northeast Community College since 2020. The main campus of Northeast Community College is in Norfolk, NE. It is the proud home of a 650-acre operating farm, several outdoor classrooms dedicated to the training of new and current utility-line professionals, and the 2024 NJCAA Division II National Champion Men’s Soccer team. The College serves a 20-county service region with extended campuses in South Sioux City, O'Neill, and West Point and boasts more than 2,700 dual enrollment students from 123 high schools in 107 communities. Northeast has been recognized as a top community college by the Aspen Institute since 2011.
President Barrett is an active volunteer in the state of Nebraska serving as the President of Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Education Reporting System/NSWERS, as a member of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission and the Vision for Healthcare Transformation Commission. She also serving on the board for the Nebraska Diplomats and a founding board member of the Norfolk Area Childcare Collaborative.
Barrett holds a Doctor of Education in executive leadership from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Wyoming. She has worked in higher education since 1992 at colleges and universities throughout the United States. She has been happily married for more than 25 years and is proud that both sons chose Northeast Community College for their post-secondary studies.
Leah joins the Nebraska Children board in 2026.
