Dr. Kimberly Leeks is a seasoned public health leader and evaluation expert with more than two decades of experience in strategic planning, program evaluation, and health policy research at the federal and institutional levels. Previously, Dr. Leeks served as a Senior Health Science Policy Analyst in the Office of Science Policy, Planning, Evaluation & Reporting at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this role, she led strategic planning and evaluation activities for the forthcoming NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities Strategic Plan (2026–2030), coordinated performance monitoring, developed logic models and performance frameworks, and led agency-wide stakeholder engagement to advance NIH’s commitment to health equity. Before joining NIH, Dr. Leeks held multiple leadership and scientific positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she specialized in program evaluation, performance measurement, and evidence-based practice. Her portfolio included developing evaluation frameworks and indicators, leading systematic reviews, designing and implementing community-based evaluations, and providing evaluation technical assistance to funded recipients, researchers, and federal partners. Dr. Leeks earned her PhD in Health Education and Health Promotion from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior/Health Education from Emory University, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Spelman College.