Lesley Hirsch joins the staff of the Center for Urban Research as the director of the NYC Labor Market Information Service (NYCLMIS), formed in 2008 as a joint endeavor of the New York City Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and the Center for Urban Research. The  purpose of the service is to provide timely, accurate, and relevant research responding to the needs of the City’s workforce and economic development policy makers and practitioners. The NYCLMIS works closely with the WIB, the city's Department of Small Business Services, and other WIB-served agencies.

Lesley has held senior research and evaluation positions developing policy-relevant research for over fifteen years, working with stakeholders to improve urban policies, programs, and practices. Most recently, she was the research director at the Education Law Center, a public interest law and advocacy firm representing more than 300,000 children who live in New Jersey’s poorest cities. She is a CUNY doctoral student in political science and has taught theories of the policy process and New York City politics at City College.