In 1988, the Leibovitch family established the Pearl Leibovitch Conference in memory of their mother Pearl, the manager of Professional Development, Jewish Family Services (now known as Ometz). Today, the conference continues to educate and inspire Montrealers thanks to the generous help and support of the Betty and Bernard S. Shapiro Family Endowment. The conference held in partnership with the Shaare Zion Congregation includes a professional development day and a public lecture which over the past 18 years has allowed thousands of Montrealers to learn from the world’s best and brightest mental health professionals and other related experts.

The goal of the conference is to explore emerging ideas with the aim of establishing a healthy society and strong community for all children, adults and families. We’ve listened to the poetic words of Stephen Lewis and sat in awe of the power and humility of Gloria Steinem. Rosalind Wiseman taught us to recognize the impact of bullying on our children and Sonia Lupien gave parents tools to help their anxious children. We sat among a huge crowd of 1500 to hear Alan Dershowitz remind us of our responsibilities to each other and our communities.

Thanks to the conference and the driving force of the Shapiro family, Montreal is home to better educators and health and social service professionals and more importantly, better parents and families.

For more information about the Pearl Leibovitch Clinical Day, please contact: