DR. LESLIE WOLTENBERG

With more than a decade of experience in education, Leslie Woltenberg, PhD, has served the UK and the greater Lexington community in a variety of teaching, assessment, and administrative capacities. Prior to joining the College of Health Sciences as a faculty member, she served as Associate Director of UK’s Center for Interprofessional Health Education and was instrumental in the redesign and evaluation of the University’s nationally recognized interprofessional curriculum. Her background also includes extensive experience in student services and enrollment management.

Woltenberg teaches in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies didactic curriculum and was just named director of the graduate studies PAS program. She also provides service through program evaluation coordination, student advising, and committee membership at the Department, College, and University levels. As a first-generation college student herself, she uses her own experiences to help connect with her classes.

“It was just such a formative time, with really great teachers and mentors that made it a remarkable experience,” she said. “It changed the trajectory of my life and the fact that (I can) do it at my alma mater — it really is magic.”

And that love for teaching is reflected in her students, who immediately love her classes.

“Figuring out how to teach in an effective, enjoyable, meaningful capacity that engages learners — those are the moments I think we remember from our own educational journey,” she said. “To be able to facilitate that on the other side now it's pretty good reason to wake up and get to work in the morning.”

But why CHS?

“There’s a million reasons; but to summarize, we talk about being the gateway to the health professions and that's what we do,” she said. “But we are a group of people really committed to this innovative learning and research in the development of the next generation of healthcare providers and professionals.

“We’re talking about making real measurable change in the health of Kentuckians,” she continued. “It’s a space where collaboration isn't just a term that appears in a goal or a mission statement. It really is how we function as a CHS family, and as someone who deeply values interprofessional and collaborative work this is where that kind of work comes alive. It’s a joy to be a part of.”