logologologo
  • Client Info
  • DONATE
  • Get Help Now
  • Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

    If you or someone you
    know is in crisis, call or text:
    9-8-8
    (English/Spanish 24/7)

    Or chat with a crisis counselor:
    CHAT NOW

    Peer-to-peer support for teens (Teen Line)
    800-852-8336
    6pm-10pm PST

  • Get Services

    For mental health or substance use services, call intake:

    LA County:
    888-807-7250

    Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:00pm

  • Crisis Counseling

    If you or someone you know has experienced thoughts of suicide, made a suicide attempt, or lost someone to suicide, we provide healing during and through your crisis.


    GET HELP TODAY

  • About Us
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • Leadership
    • Locations
    • Partners, Grants & Contracts
    • Accreditations & Awards
    • Who Was Didi Hirsch?
  • Services
    • Suicide Prevention
    • Mental Health
    • Substance Use
  • Training
    • Suicide Prevention Training
    • Student Training Programs
    • Continuing Education
  • Impact
    • Erasing Stigma
    • Stories
    • Research & Evaluation
    • Annual Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Advocacy
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to Give
    • Events
    • Volunteer
    • Suicide Prevention Center Capital Campaign
  • Media
    • Media Queries
    • Recent Coverage
    • Press Releases
    • Media Guidelines
  • Careers
  • About Us
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • Leadership
    • Locations
    • Partners, Grants & Contracts
    • Accreditations & Awards
    • Who Was Didi Hirsch?
  • Services
    • Suicide Prevention
    • Mental Health
    • Substance Use
  • Training
    • Suicide Prevention Training
    • Student Training Programs
    • Continuing Education
  • Impact
    • Erasing Stigma
    • Stories
    • Research & Evaluation
    • Annual Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Advocacy
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to Give
    • Events
    • Volunteer
    • Suicide Prevention Center Capital Campaign
  • Media
    • Media Queries
    • Recent Coverage
    • Press Releases
    • Media Guidelines
  • Careers
  • Client Info
  • DONATE
  • Get Help Now
  • Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

    If you or someone you
    know is in crisis, call or text:
    9-8-8
    (English/Spanish 24/7)

    Or chat with a crisis counselor:
    CHAT NOW

    Peer-to-peer support for teens (Teen Line)
    800-852-8336
    6pm-10pm PST

  • Get Services

    For mental health or substance use services, call intake:

    LA County:
    888-807-7250

    Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:00pm

  • Crisis Counseling

    If you or someone you know has experienced thoughts of suicide, made a suicide attempt, or lost someone to suicide, we provide healing during and through your crisis.


    GET HELP TODAY

Laura Ornest

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Leadership
  • Laura Ornest

Laura Ornest

Board of Directors

Laura Ornest is an award-winning television and radio reporter and producer who joined Didi Hirsch’s Board in 1999 as a way to “give back” to her community and to help erase the stigma of mental illness.

A native of Canada, Ornest worked as Assistant General Manager for the Vancouver Canadians, a AAA Baseball team owned by her father, Harry Ornest, who subsequently owned the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

When her father sold the Vancouver Canadians in 1981, Ornest launched her broadcasting career as a sportscaster for CKNW radio in Vancouver. A year later, CBC Television hired her to host the 11 PM nightly news sportscast and a weekend sports show, making her the first female TV sportscaster in Western Canada.

Ornest began working as a freelance TV news reporter for Channel 9 and ESPN in Los Angeles in 1985. She also produced shows for E! Television, CNN and CBS before she crossed into broadcast news radio. She worked as a local news reporter for KFWB and then KNX 1070, where she earned several Golden Mikes and Associated Press awards for her work.

Ornest currently interviews, writes and produces features on the arts for KUSC Classical Radio 91.5. She also serves on the Board of Jewish Family Services and the Jewish Federation.

She spent a year at La Sorbonne in Paris before earning a BA in French, with a minor in Spanish, from UCLA. She lives in Santa Monica with her husband, Rick Leslie, an architect, and their teenage son.

Stay Connected

Sign Up Now
For Email Newsletters you can trust.

Follow us on Social Media

Social Feed

Didi Hirsch MHSFollow

Didi Hirsch MHS
DidiHirschDidi Hirsch MHS@DidiHirsch·
1h

The super bowl is 4 days away and even @rihanna has the ability to feel anxious. Let’s send her positive vibes! ☺️ ✌️

DidiHirschDidi Hirsch MHS@DidiHirsch·
6h

A healthy relationship where you both honor and respect each others boundaries >>>

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Practices
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. All rights reserved.