Leslie Kirzner is the Manager of the Pastoral Care & Education Department for the West Campus of New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH), overseeing coverage of the spiritual and emotional needs of patients, families and staff. The pastoral care team features 14 faith-specific chaplains and multi-faith chaplains, and the West Campus division of NYPH includes more than 1,300 beds and over 11,000 employees.
Leslie Kirzner earned a BA in English at Franklin & Marshall College and Caldwell University, and it is her thirst for knowledge that led her to the UTJ, where she completed studies in Talmud and Torah at both the UTJ’s Institute for Traditional Judaism in Teaneck, N.J., and the Academy of Jewish Religion. In fact, Leslie has the proud distinction of being the first woman to study formally at the UTJ’s Mechina program, which offered a comprehensive introduction to Jewish texts. “I was so welcomed as a Reform Jew and will never forget the warmth I experienced there,” she says. Today, Leslie sits on the UTJ’s Board of Directors.
During her Torah studies, Leslie also was studying Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J., and Christ Hospital in Jersey City, N.J. She has a total of six CPE units, each 400 hours, comprised of academic and clinical assignments. She was chosen to participate in NYPH's "Building Tomorrow's Leadership" program in advanced management training and graduated in July of 2014. Leslie is Staff Advisor for the Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC) and a member of the Advance Team for Survey Rounding for patient quality and safety. In the area of complementary medicine, Leslie is certified in the Isabell Gatto Method (IGM) of Intentional Wellness, therapeutic acupressure, and Reiki.
Leslie is also working with Ashraf Rameleh as president of Voice of the Copts, a human rights organization supporting refugees.
Leslie and her husband, Howard Kirzner, M.D., have been married for 37 years and live in New Jersey, where they raised their two daughters, Dori and Alana.