Experience & Education

Education

Doctor of Ministry, Pastoral Counseling
Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, 2020

Master of Arts, Pastoral Care and Counseling
New York Theological Seminary, 2016

Clinical Pastoral Education (4 Units)
New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, 2013–2015

Certifications

  • Realization Process Therapist (2026)

  • Association of Professional Chaplains (2025)
    Chaplaincy Board Certification

  • Paul Ferrini Spiritual Psychotherapy (2025)

  • Realization Process Trauma Repair Therapist (2021)

  • AEDP Immersion (2021)

  • Dignity Therapy Training, Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit (2017)

  • Foundations in Contemplative Care Training Program (2011)

  • Certified Practitioner, Realization Process

  • Certified Teacher, Gesture of Awareness

Professional History

Mount Sinai Medical Center 2015–2026

Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Palliative Care Chaplain (Fellows Ambulatory Palliative Medicine Clinic) – (2022-2026)

Palliative Care Chaplain (Consults) – (2015 to 2020)

Chaplain Internship (2013-2015)

Assess and support the spiritual, emotional, and psychological needs of patients and/or their families as they struggle with serious illness, hospitalization, and end-of-life trajectory through individual visits, family meetings, and rounds with interdisciplinary team.  Provide a safe space where patients can be seen and heard.  Facilitate life/illness/spiritual review.

New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care 2015–2019

Caregiver Support Circle Facilitator Mentor, - (2015–2017)

Mentor, Foundations in Contemplative Care Training Program – (2015–2017)

Supported and co-taught a multidisciplinary training program for healthcare professionals and caregivers. I mentored a cohort of students over a nine-month period, offering monthly supervision and ongoing guidance, and collaborated on curriculum development.

A narrow city street with sunlight streaming through a gap between buildings, illuminating the sidewalk. Several people walk along the street, with shadows cast on the pavement, and old-style street lamps are attached to the buildings.
A narrow city street with sunlight streaming through a gap between buildings, illuminating the sidewalk. Several people walk along the street, with shadows cast on the pavement, and old-style street lamps are attached to the buildings.
A Buddhist nun in maroon robes sitting next to a man in a short-sleeved, button-up shirt, both smiling, with a wooden-framed glass door in the background.

Co-founder & Director

Dongyu Gatsal Ling Initiatives (501c3) - 2009–2012

Co-founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving education and living conditions for Tibetan Buddhist nuns in the Himalayas through fundraising and awareness initiatives.

Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, India - 2009–2012

Development Director, Endowment Fund

Created and led a comprehensive fundraising program to support the long-term sustainability of a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery. This included developing digital outreach, managing publication and marketing for the book Into the Heart of Life by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, and co-leading an international pilgrimage fundraiser. I continue to serve as a trustee for the U.S. endowment.

Selected Presentation & Publication

Presenter-Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) Certification Program, Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium, CAPC (2025- current)

Presenter- Redesigning Your Mortality Series, New York, NY – JCC (2026)

Presenter- Enhancing Palliative Care in Oncology collaboration program with the American Cancer Society. Center to Advance Palliative Care (2025)

Befriending Our Own Mortality: An Innovative Curriculum to Engage with Palliative Care Clinician Countertransference, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2021)

Presenter: The Graying Rainbow—Caring for the Aging LGBTQ Patient, Saint Barnabas Medical Center (2017)

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Befriending Our Own Mortality: An Innovative Curriculum to Engage with Palliative Care Clinician Countertransference (Abstract) (2020) Edith M. Meyerson, DMin ∙ Evan Zazula, MAPCC ∙ Ana Berlin, MD MPH FACS ∙ Ankita Mehta, MD∙ Winnie S. Wang, MD

Use of Ketamine and an Interdisciplinary Team Approach to Rapidly Taper a Patient's Ultra-High Opioid Regimen (Abstract) (2024)A Gordon, EL Zazula, JD Elder, EJ Hong, J Nickel-Dubin, Y Shindo, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 67 (5), e755-e756

Who Cares for Chronic Pain? Exploring A Case of Palliative Intervention in Systemic Sclerosis
Sarah A. Lim, Rohin Aggarwal, Debora Afezolli, Diane E. Meier, ... Evan L. Zazula

Teaching

Co-developed and co-taught Thursdays with Mort, an experiential course for Palliative Care fellows focused on understanding clinicians’ responses to mortality. The curriculum emphasizes self-reflection, emotional awareness, and compassionate engagement.