Chaplain Leslie Klipstein is a staff chaplain at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, CA.
She received her BA with honors with a double major in English and Women’s Studies from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. She also holds two Masters of Education degrees, one in elementary education with a focus in reading acquisition and the other in secondary education and adolescent development. Leslie spent almost 20 years as an educator before pivoting to become a chaplain. While earning her Master of Jewish Studies from the Academy for Jewish Religion California, Leslie completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education, including internships with Methodist Hospital, USC Arcadia Hospital, and Beit T’Shuvah addiction treatment center. Her Master’s Thesis is titled: Nefesh and Neshamah: Honoring our Animal Companions and Each Other: Supporting Pet Loss & Bereavement as a Jewish Chaplain.
Leslie is a former board member and current lay leader & congregant at Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock in LA; co-founder of NELA Nashim, a group of Jewish women reclaiming our time and traditions; and has led bereavement support groups at several local synagogues, including PJTC and Adat Ari El.
Chaplain Leslie is active in interfaith work and believes that every encounter, every conversation, and every connection is holy ground, if only we stop to notice and wonder.
She can be reached via email at lesklip@gmail.com.