Leslie A. Kole, PA-C, has been a clinically practicing PA for more than 30 years. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Physician Assistant Program in 1980. Ms. Kole completed the Postgraduate Surgical Residency Program for Physician Assistants at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein School of Medicine in 1983. In 2014, Ms. Kole attained a MS in Physician Assistant Studies from Pace University.
Ms. Kole began her PA career in orthopedic surgery in Boston, where she had followed her twin sister, Linda, who was starting a PhD program in Economics at M.I.T. In 1987 she became the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA); she was the second PA to be hired full time to the professional staff by the American Academy of Physician Assistants. During her tenure as Editor-in-Chief of JAAPA, Ms. Kole was responsible for establishing editorial policies, developing clinical content and continuing medical education components, leading regular editorial board meetings, conducted medical writing workshops, working closely with journal authors, editing articles and writing editorials and features.
Ms. Kole currently works as a primary care PA for Mobile Medical Care, a federally qualified health center that provides medical services to uninsured and underinsured patients in Montgomery County, Maryland. She has three sons and a daughter who is just graduating from her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ms. Kole is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Maryland Academy of Physician Assistants. She also serves on the boards of the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences and the Physician Assistant History Society.
Acknowledgments: This biographical sketch was prepared by Michelle Schabowski with the assistance of Ms. Leslie Kole and submitted to the Society in April 2019. The photographs are courtesy of Ms. Kole.
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