Zelda Foster
Social worker
About Zelda Foster
Lived 1934 – 2006 (aged 71–72). Zelda Foster was an American.
Zelda Foster (August 8, 1934 - July 4, 2006 Park Slope, Brooklyn) was a social worker who was a leader in the hospice movement. Foster also taught at the Columbia School of Social Work and was director of children's mental health at the Children's Aid Society.
Biography Early life She was born Zelda Phyllis Leader to Nathan and Ida Leader, owners of a candy store in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. She is a 1955 graduate of Brooklyn College and earned a master’s degree in 1957 from the Columbia University School of Social Work. Foster died in her home from cancer.
Legacy The Zelda Foster Studies Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care at the New York University Silver School of Social Work is named after her.
In 2005, the Columbia University School of Social Work Hall of Fame inducted her as a Pioneer.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Zelda Foster's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Zelda Foster?
social worker
When was Zelda Foster born?
Zelda Foster was born on 8 August 1934.
When did Zelda Foster die?
Zelda Foster died in 2006.
What nationality was Zelda Foster?
Zelda Foster was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Zelda Foster. https://biography.guide/zelda-foster/
MLA: "Zelda Foster." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/zelda-foster/.
Chicago: "Zelda Foster." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/zelda-foster/.
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