Virginia Leach is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include intersectionality, disparities in breast cancer, and medical sociology. Her work serves to highlight the injustices in breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship of Black women. She is a member of four academic societies and organizations that strive for academic excellence and community partnership. Virginia mentors students across high school, undergraduate, and graduate studies for continued academic and professional success.

She is also the Manager of Research & Writing for the Tigerlily Foundation (TLF). In conjunction with team members of the Diversity & Inclusion team, Clinical Trials program, and Metastatic Young, Living in Focus, Empowered (MyLife) Magazine, Virginia specializes in writing academically informed papers for the public. She is responsible for producing written content for the Tigerlily Foundation rooted in scientific literature and patient-centered narrative. Virginia is a powerful force at TLF and uses her strategic planning mindset to accomplish projects. She develops opportunities for patient experts to share their breast cancer experiences with those inside and outside the organization. In addition, Virginia is responsible for developing and implementing several educational content-based projects, ensuring that the deliverables exceed quality and timeline expectations. Ms. Leach has six years of experience in education, managing project portfolios from proposal and budget development through completion.