Serving as the Executive Director of End of Life Choices New York has been wonderful, meaningful work and I am proud of our accomplishments. However, as I grow older I become more aware that I have a limited amount of time to engage in other projects that I would like to pursue. The only way to create the time for them is to leave this position, so in December I asked our board to begin a search for a new Executive Director. I will continue to do some public speaking for EOLCNY and may assist in other ways, but on June 1 I am leaving the day to day leadership of our organization.
Fortunately, we have found an excellent person to be our new Executive Director: Chelsea Kline, an experienced advocate for social justice. Chelsea graduated from Smith College and Harvard Divinity School. She has worked in higher education, creating and overseeing programs for non-traditional college students. She ran a rigorous campaign in 2018 for Massachusetts State Senate, and won nearly 41% of the vote. Chelsea serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and was appointed by the State of Massachusetts as a Commissioner on the Status of Women and Girls. I am sure you will enjoy meeting her, and that she will prove to be an inspiring and enthusiastic leader.
I am very grateful to all the donors and volunteers who support our work. I have been touched by your generosity and your strong and passionate commitment to improving end of life care.
It has been a pleasure to work for the EOLCNY board of directors, led by Terry Perlin and Peter Rogatz. Our board members come from a variety of professions but have in common their unwavering support for social justice.
And I would like to thank the highly talented, deeply dedicated staff and consultants to End of Life Choices New York, who work so hard to educate health care professionals and the general public about end of life topics; advocate for laws that will improve end of life care; and counsel those nearing the end of life and their families. They are:
It has been a pleasure to work with such a talented team, and to have had the opportunity to help to improve end of life care, a cause to which I remain deeply committed.
Warm wishes,
Laurie Leonard
Executive Director