Rabbi Naomi Kalish is the Coordinator of Pastoral Care and Education at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, where she teaches Clinical Pastoral Education to religiously diverse groups of students. She teaches “Spirituality in Health” at the Columbia University Medical Center and is the incoming Vice Chair of the Pediatric Ethics Committee. Naomi has taught chaplaincy programs and courses at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat and the Academy for Jewish Religion and is a Past President of Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. Naomi has published articles and book chapters in the areas of spiritual care, pediatrics, disaster response, education, and caring for Jewish patients and families. She is a doctoral candidate in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University and is writing a history of the Jewish entry into the field of Chaplaincy Education.

Naomi is the Chair of Sadaqah-Tzedakah Day, a national community service program of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, an organization that cultivates relationship and understanding between Muslim and Jewish women. She is a Founding Board Member of the Hudson County Brotherhood/Sisterhood Association and is the Director of the Hudson Interfaith Teen Initiative in Hudson County, New Jersey, one of the most diverse counties in the United States. Previously Naomi served as the Assistant Director of the Seminarians Interacting Program through the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

Naomi is especially interested in exploring how caregiving practices and education can contribute to promoting peace. She identifies with the quotation by psychiatrist Jonathan Shay, MD, “Before analyzing, before classifying, before thinking, before trying to do anything–we should listen.”