A proud Nevadan for over 26 years, Leslie Hare officially assumed her current position as the executive president of behavioral health for Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health and Life in May 2022. Since graduating from Capella University with a Master of Science in organization and management in 2008, Hare has dedicated over 20 years to Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health and Life.
Q: What are you reading?
A: I’m an avid reader with multiple books on my current rotation. Rick Hanson’s “Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence” has been very informative on how behavior modification and thought processes impacts our brain while providing brilliant insight on how we can rewire our brains. I am also a huge fan of Malcom Gladwell’s unique perspective on a variety of subjects and recently picked up “Talking to Strangers.” For fun, “The Storyteller’s Secret” by Sejal Badani has been a great read so far with wonderful storytelling and loveable characters.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant? Where do you take your clients to dinner?
A: Juan’s Flaming Fajitas is one of our favorites and we frequently enjoy casual, relaxing dinners there on Friday nights. For clients and friends, we love showing off some of the city’s best at local favorites like Cleaver and Esther’s Kitchen, both serving excellent food that highlights the local palate.
Q: Where do you work out, or play your favorite sport?
A: I prefer to keep active at home rather than at a gym. Most of the time, I work out through light weight lifting or running on the treadmill, but as the weather cools, we love taking our dogs out into the desert for a walk every evening.
Q: How do you decompress after a hard week?
A: We love cooking and hosting meals with our family and friends. There is always a big crowd, so we try to have plenty of food to feed the growing kids. Outside of family time, my husband and I love to frequent comedy clubs and VGK games throughout the week.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Las Vegas in the next five years?
A: One of the biggest challenges that we are working on is helping people work on taking their first steps towards a healthier life. While we are in a mental health crisis, we understand the need for care is not strictly limited to behavioral/mental and physical health needs. As someone working in health care, I take my commitment to helping people live healthier lives seriously — it is the driving force behind what I do every day at Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health and Life. We have to help meet people where they are and provide high quality help. We have such a huge obligation here in this community and we have the tools and people to continue to make a difference by focusing on helping people take steps toward health. I am so privileged to work along an exceptional team that cares deeply about providing assistance in providing much-needed support to the community through everything from doctor’s visits to classes that both improve mental and physical health.
