Dr. Leah Purpuri (née Fieger) is a woman who has learned to wholeheartedly embrace her faith, authenticity, and imperfection, grounding her strength and resolve in the continuous support of her Father. Raised in Ocean County, New Jersey in a godly pastor's home, she is a lifelong believer and has always loved the Lord. Now, her personal life is rooted in a deep partnership with her savior and her husband, Luke—her best friend and better half—with whom she has been since they were 17. Together they are raising their two beautiful, bright children. This commitment to the triune God, family, and community prepared her for the most significant transition of her professional life: earlier this year, she made the difficult but obedient decision to leave a successful and cherished career to serve the Lord vocationally, after serving in various capacities within the helping profession. Leah has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology (Messiah College), Master's Degree in Counseling (Messiah College), and Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership (Monmouth University). 

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Prior to this shift, Leah built an impressive professional portfolio characterized by high-impact leadership and crisis response. Her work included overseeing the counseling and case management of over 10,000 individuals, navigating crisis scenarios, and leading teams in both the education and non-profit arenas. Beyond direct service, she wrote a dissertation (Expressions of Superintendent Resiliency in the Wake of COVID-19) and published books, served as president over a couple of county-wide organizations, and created influential colloquiums. In late 2024, she felt a clear call to surrender her work to the Lord, prompting her to step away from her career of service in education in the summer of 2025 and embrace a new chapter of service in vocational ministry.

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She counts everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus her Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him—a joy unequaled].

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Service in ministry has been a constant theme throughout Leah's entire life, including years spent leading and growing her lifelong church's Thanksgiving Basket ministry by 300%, coordinating various fundraisers for populations at-risk, assisting with youth groups, teaching teens in Sunday school, administrating, outreaching and spearheading ministry events. Now, fully dedicated to her calling, the next culmination of this obedience was the “Women of Heritage” retreat weekend this Fall. While she has led conferences before, this one was particularly important. Leah believed that this retreat was a direct response to a call from the Lord, who had a specific and powerful message for His daughters who were gathered for the weekend.

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And He did not disappoint.

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