June 16, 2025

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Emily Leedom, executive director of The Lourdes Center.

Name: Emily Leedom

Age: 33

Hometown: Sioux Falls

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I was born and raised in Sioux Falls! I went to college in the Twin Cities and wondered if that’s where I would land, but a series of fortunate events brought me home, and I haven’t looked back since!

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

My life is so full here. I have incredible family, wonderful friends, a deeply fulfilling job, a formative school system for my children and a vibrant church community. Sioux Falls has provided abundantly rich soil for me to build a life with my husband and our children, and I am immensely grateful for that.

What’s your favorite thing about your job? 

I get a front-row seat to people rediscovering hope and freedom in their lives every single day. Plus, I get to experience that alongside an amazing team! Through our programs or counseling services, I think we give people permission to be loved, even in the mess. I also really enjoy visioning and communicating ideas, and my role is well suited for that!

How did you get connected to your industry?

I took a class from this amazing professor in college on the psychology of marriage and family, and I remember thinking, “How do people go through life not knowing this stuff?!” That, combined with a profound encounter with God, planted in me a deep interest and reverence for the human person. Then, several years later, I had the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in psychology, and I was very interested in how the psychological sciences could be blended with ministry work. Shortly after finishing my master’s degree, a job opportunity opened up as the executive director of The Lourdes Center — Catholic Family Services at the time. I pitched this vision for blending the best of the psychological sciences with an authentically Catholic-Christian vision of the human person, and we have been building this beautiful ship ever since!

Describe your workplace in three words.

Humbling, sacred, joyful.

What is something someone might be surprised to learn about you?

I am an avid fiction reader, my dream car is a Jeep Wrangler, and I love a good whiskey coke!

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

I love connecting people. I may not always have the resources, tools or information someone needs, but I can usually track down someone who does! Any community is, at its core, a series of relationships, and I enjoy helping to connect and expand those relationships.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

In my view, Sioux Falls was officially complete with the arrival of Chipotle! That being said, as a lover of the TJ Maxx/Home Goods/Marshalls family, I would love to see a Sierra!

If you had $1 million to start a business, what kind of business would it be?

Is it cheating to say I would build The Lourdes Center again and again? I believe so deeply in what we are doing here and its far reaching impact on individuals, families and the community that I would be hard-pressed to want to do much else. The only difference I would make with the extra million would be to have a bit more space to host programs or incorporate wellness opportunities within our services! If that’s cheating, my plan B would be to talk my husband into being the Chip to my Jo and renovating homes! I think I would enjoy that kind of creative work!