Alumna Spotlight: Louise Langheier ’03’s Journey into Public Service 

Louise Langheier ’03 was actively committed to public service upon her arrival at Yale, which was shaped by growing up in San Francisco during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, where she witnessed first-hand the experiences of the communities that it affected. Doing research into HIV/AIDS was what sparked her deep interest in public health, which would ultimately be a guidepost for her life. 

At Yale, she attended the Dwight Hall Public Service Fair, where she connected with Sabrina Baronberg ’01, a Dwight Hall Public School Intern, who introduced her to Wilbur Cross High School. Through her volunteer work, Sabrina and Louise and their Co-Founders heard about a significant need for health education directly from the students themselves.  

In 1999, Louise, along with five fellow undergraduate students through Dwight Hall, co-founded Community Health Educators in response to this need. Responding to New Haven’s elimination of funding for public school health education, Community Health Educators formed to present health education workshops in the city’s public middle schools and high schools.  

Louise stated that one of the strengths Yale students brought to these schools was not their ability to teach, but rather to connect with students who were also young through health education. Due to their proximity in age, they were often more effective at communicating about health-related issues in ways that felt relatable, which spurred Louise to focus throughout her career on the importance of partnering with communities and listening to their perspectives. 

Through her Community Health Educators experience, Louise recognized that there was a greater need for health education across public high schools nationwide, which led her to co-found Peer Health Exchange (PHE) in 2003 with Katy Dion ‘02. 

In addition to its founding moments that were rooted in her conversations with the students at Wilbur Cross, Louise stated that one of the proudest moments for her at Peer Health Exchange was during the pandemic, when PHE directly responded to the needs of students via digital platforms. 

“During the pandemic, we had to shift everything to a remote format. We were reaching out to schools and working through all the bureaucratic processes required to make that happen. Then, in late March 2020, a group of high school students from Los Angeles challenged us, where they essentially asked, ‘Why are you waiting when people are struggling right now? You already have the platform and resources, so you need to use it and make it accessible to everyone.’” 

That conversation spurred Peer Health Exchange to implement and distribute digital resources to anyone who might need it via Selfsea. 

As she has developed her own practice, she has come to view public service not as a one-way act of giving, but as a reciprocal relationship built on mutual growth and learning. 

“I’ve come to see the importance of mutual relationships. Earlier in my career, I viewed service primarily as filling a need. What has shifted for me is recognizing that service benefits everyone involved. While service certainly addresses real needs, it also creates opportunities for learning, growth, and connections for those who serve. That reciprocity helps reshape traditional power dynamics and fosters more meaningful engagement. Those experiences inform not only my current work but also the way I choose to give back and support others.” 

Now, Louise is the co-founder and CEO of Luminary Impact Fund, a new venture capital philanthropy that is working to improve family mental health. Luminary invests in nonprofits and early-stage companies that are working to provide high-quality mental health care to all families. 

In her work at Luminary Impact Fund, Louise is not merely focusing on the individual, but on the family. 

“One of the central ideas of the fund is that families—whether biological or chosen—are at its heart. We often think of service as something focused on individuals, but so much of its impact is rooted in relationships. The fund emphasizes a relational approach, showing how caring for and supporting one another creates ripple effects that extend far beyond a single person. Service is not just about helping individuals; it is about strengthening the networks of relationships and communities that sustain them.” 

Louise continued to emphasize the importance of the connections and relationships that a space like Dwight Hall provided for her to continue her work in public service. Through connections with individuals that she met at Dwight Hall and Yale, she has met some of the best people who joined her in her efforts at Peer Health Exchange and Luminary. She also volunteers as a Board member for I AM ALS, a patient-led movement to end ALS founded by Brian Wallach, Yale ’03. 

“For me the takeaway is that one of the most valuable things that you get from your time at Yale is the friends you make, personally and professionally, and the chance to do meaningful work together. These friends and contacts are not only fundamental to your life, but also a way that you can tackle an issue that you all care about.” 

She encourages students to begin with self-examination, as everyone has lived experiences that shape what they care about—whether it involves a loved one facing illness or an issue affecting their community. Rather than focusing on which cause might look most impressive on a résumé, she has observed that those who remain deeply committed to a cause are often motivated by a personal connection to the issue. 

Louise’s commitment to shift the landscape of public service and mental health exemplifies Dwight Hall’s Grow pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model, striving to develop students’ intellectual, as well as moral and civic awareness. Like Louise, Dwight Hall encourages students to serve their communities through volunteering or professionally. Dwight Hall enables Yale students to explore this vital civic and moral piece during their time in New Haven.