LESLIE HABER , 32

MPA ’02
Division Administrator,
Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery,
NYU Medical Center

Each year, more than 3,000 patients walk in or are carried through the doors of NYU Medical Center’s Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery. They come with faces disfigured by nerve disorders, with severed limbs, with cleft palates, and with other deformities. Most are children.

They leave not just with changed bodies but changed lives. That fact is gratifying for Leslie Haber, at age 32 the youngest person to run the renowned institute in its 50-year history.

“The problems they come here with affect them both physically and mentally. It’s wonderful to see when a surgical repair leads to a mental fix,” says Haber. “And we see that all the time with our patients.”

As division administrator, Haber coordinates the work of 25 talented surgeons and 50 staff members at the institute, which is the largest of its kind in the world. The program provides a complete range of plastic and reconstructive surgery services, a residency program to train young surgeons, and a pro bono program to help children from around the world who are born with deformities.

Before joining NYU in 2003, Haber built her reputation as a health care administrator at the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She attended Baruch part time.

“I love Baruch. I loved my professors and the students, who are real-life New Yorkers,” said Haber, who was raised in Manhattan. “I am making a career of providing health care services to this community, and being at Baruch taught me so much about who makes up this
community.”

—Bonnie Hede Striegel

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