IPER Symposium

Naomi Tzril Saks, MA, MDiv, BCC, serves as an inpatient palliative care chaplain and Assistant Professor of Palliative Medicine in the Department of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

She is the Director of the Individual and Collective Wellbeing Program for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. She is a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi. She received a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Arts degree in Business Management from Antioch University and completed seminary with ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal.

Prior to UCSF, Naomi was the first palliative care chaplain with The Division of Palliative Care & Geriatric Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Director of Spiritual Care and Volunteer Services at Kaiser Permanente, Greater Southern Alameda Area, co-founded the Pediatric Palliative Care Service at Kaiser Permanente, East Bay, and was founding director for a national non-profit educational organization focused on economic wellbeing for women and girls experiencing poverty.

Professor Saks has contributed to numerous publications in the fields of spiritual and palliative care and co-edited and co-authored the book, "Intentionally Interprofessional Palliative Care", Oxford University Press, 2024.

Naomi has a particular interest and expertise in love, professional sustainability, mindfulness, non-pharmacological symptom intervention, interprofessional education and practice, neurospirituality, nonduality, pluralism in healing, and healthcare equity.

Clinical Health Care Chaplain

Director, Individual and Collective Wellbeing Program, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Assistant Adjunct Professor

Division of Palliative Medicine

UCSF Department of Medicine