Announcing Literacy Champion Award Recipient 2018, Dr. Leora Mogilner

Danny WangJuly 31, 2018

Photo Credit: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

We are thrilled to announce that the Reach Out and Read of Greater New York Medical Director, instrumental in founding the organization 20 years ago, Dr. Leora Mogilner, will accept the Literacy Champion award at our upcoming 20th Anniversary Benefit Gala on June 5, 2018 at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park.

Dr. Mogilner is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where she oversees resident training in Advocacy and Community Pediatrics and is Associate Program Director for the pediatric residency program.  

Dr. Mogilner founded the Mount Sinai Reach Out and Read program in 1997 and has been Medical Director of Reach Out and Read of Greater New York since 2009. She was one of the founding Board members of ROR GNY and still serves on the Board where she is a member of the Program and Special Initiatives Committee.  

Speaking with families about reading together and giving out books to her patients is one of her favorite parts of her job as a pediatrician. Dr. Mogilner is a founder and co-director of the New York State Pediatric Advocacy Coalition (NYSPAC), a consortium of pediatric physicians and community organizations in New York State dedicated to improving resident training in Advocacy and Community Pediatrics and promoting children’s health in NY State.  

Dr. Mogilner lives in Manhattan with her husband Richard Linhart and their four children. Some of her earliest memories are reading “Are You My Mother” and “The Little House” (among other favorites) with her own parents.

“One of the things I love most about Reach Out and Read is that, as pediatricians, we’re so often saying ‘no, don’t put cereal in the bottle,’ ‘don’t put your baby to sleep on their belly,’” says Dr. Mogilner.  “Reading is something positive you can do. It’s a fun, wonderful thing you can do with your child. This is guidance we need to give to the families we serve.”