Eliezer Margolis is a rehabilitation psychologist who maintained an independent practice in Evanston, Illinois, from October 1,1992 to July 1, 2013. He specialized in bringing a collaborative, existential psychotherapeutic approach to the struggles of adults who were dealing with chronic and/or serious medical illness, trauma, physical disability, sexual difficulty, or death and dying. He utilized his subspecialty training and clinical experience in working with people (and their families) who had “different” central nervous systems due to brain injury or other neurological problems.
Since retiring from active practice as a licensed psychologist, Dr. Margolis has divided his outer-directed energies between studying the distinctive nature of rehabilitation in the carceral context and directing The Returning Wealth Philanthropic Fund.
Current Projects
Redirected Lives
Beginning with the Spring 2022 semester, Dr. Margolis began volunteer teaching at Mount Tamalpais College in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (formerly San Quentin State Prison) and subsequently for another five semesters. Through volunteering, he utilized his training and experience as a rehabilitation psychologist as a lens through which to gain understanding of the rehabilitation process peculiar to the behavioral ecology of prison. This understanding motivated Dr. Margolis to spearhead the Redirected Lives project.
Click to read pitch document for Redirected Lives
The Returning Wealth Philanthropic Fund
The Returning Wealth Philanthropic Fund is a donor advised fund administered by the Jewish Communal Fund of New York that Dr. Margolis began directing in 1994. The early prime objectives of the fund were two-fold: to support American Indian education and environmental organizations. Since 2016, the fund’s chief mission has been to support “peace camp” organizations involved in bringing an end to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and ending Israel’s catastrophic dispossession of the Palestinian People and the suppression of their striving for autonomous nationhood. Implicit in this mission is the goal of achieving a shared existence for all the peoples of Israel-Palestine in which dignity, equity, full equal rights, and a secure future are assured.