May 31, 2022

The Board of Directors of Jewish Family Service of Greater New Haven is delighted to announce the appointment of Alissa Wurtzel as their new CEO.

For the past twenty years, Alissa has spent her professional life improving the social and emotional welfare of individuals and families, most recently as the Clinical Director at Jewish Family Service of Greater New Haven. In that role, Alissa is leading the agency’s implementation of a new electronic health record system and has reimagined and restructured a number of critical programs serving the most vulnerable in the community. Working with the agency’s leadership team, Alissa has helped ensure their post-pandemic roadmap includes enhancing timely and accessible services for seniors, Holocaust Survivors and their caregivers, those struggling with mental health issues, those in need of emergency assistance, food and/or housing support.

During her career, she has worked as the Director of Psychological Health for the Connecticut Army National Guard as well as a Senior Clinician with Community Health Center Inc. Before joining JFS of Greater New Haven, Alissa worked as a medical social worker for the Hartford Health Care Hospice Program, empowering families with the education, materials, and access to spiritual, religious, and cultural supports they needed to care for their loved ones at the end of their lives.

A Connecticut native, Alissa earned both her BA and Master’s Degree at UCONN. At school, throughout her career, and now at JFS of Greater New Haven, Alissa has worked diligently and passionately to ensure equity and inclusion are cornerstones of her practice and that people of diverse backgrounds, especially those who are traditionally underserved, feel welcome and supported whenever accessing and receiving care.  Please feel free to welcome Alissa personally at: awurtzel@jfsnh.org