Health & Medicine maintains a small staff with broad policy and organizational development expertise (including part-time consultants working on our girls in prison and our long-term care projects) as well as a group of diverse, highly qualified graduate students and committed volunteers – allowing us to remain focused and on mission while successfully stewarding operational resources.
Staff
Margie Schaps, MPH, Executive Director
Margie has been Health & Medicine Policy Research Group’s Executive Director since 1993. Prior to taking the position, she was a Health & Medicine board member and served as the organization’s vice president. While maintaining overall responsibility of all of HMPRG’s activities, her specific policy expertise is in public health systems development and women’s health. Prior to joining Health & Medicine, Margie, who holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from the University of Illinois and a Bachelors Degree from Washington University in St. Louis, served for eight years as the Director of the Women’s Health Resource Center at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, the nation’s first hospital-based comprehensive primary care center for women. She is passionate about creating a just health system that will improve the health of the public; speaks nationally and locally on a variety of health systems issues, and has published articles on women’s health issues, heath care safety net issues, health system reform, and public health policies. Contact Margie
Matt Kelly, Office Manager
Matt is a native of Rhode Island who moved to Chicago in 1998 to attend the University of Chicago. He is currently the office manager at HMPRG, a veteran of numerous Chicago stage productions, and a powerful softball hitter. Contact Matt
Kristen Pavle, MSW, Policy Analyst, Long Term Care
Kristen, a Licensed Social Worker, earned her Master of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago in May 2009 with a focus on Health. She is a John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Fellow and was awarded a scholarship to focus on social work and aging during the 2nd year of her MSW program at Loyola. Kristen is particularly interested in care coordination and transitional care, and promoting the social work profession into a leadership role in this field of healthcare. Outside of Health & Medicine, she is involved with the emerging aging professional group The Chicago Bridge, and is a member of its Blog Team and Mentorship Committee. Kristen loves riding her bike, rock climbing, vintage clothes, and dive bars. Contact Kristen
Karin Pritikin, MPH, Development Officer
Karin, who has been an activist, folksinger and professional screenwriter for TV and film, spent 20+ years as a business/brand strategist before bringing her skills to the “social sector” and earning an MPH in Health Policy Administration. Her nonprofit work has involved designing, building, reinforcing and integrating operational systems, processes and infrastructure critical to organizational sustainability and success. She is also interested in new media & messaging channels, and new capitalization and impact assessment models for social programs. Karin joined Health and Medicine in 2007; outside of work she spends time at her historic home in Galena and is studying to become a Conservative Cantor. Contact Karin
Janna Stansell, MPH, Policy Analyst; Program Associate, Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program
Janna came to Health & Medicine in September 2008 as a graduate of the UIC School of Public Health. She works on issues related to the region’s health care safety net in her role as a Policy Analyst and is also the Program Associate for the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program. A 2007 Schweitzer Fellow, Janna now enjoys being closely involved with the Fellows for Life alumni program. Janna attended California State University, Long Beach, studying psychology and health science. Since coming to Chicago, her 14 years as a gymnast has compelled her to maintain an active lifestyle; she channels her energies into volleyball, bicycling, gymnastics and general city exploration. Contact Janna
Ray Wang, Policy Analyst; Program Director, Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program
Ray has been the director of the Schweitzer Fellowship Program since 2005. Like the fellows he works with, he has a passion for service. Community work has been a theme throughout his life; from teaching English to immigrants, to working with food pantries. Ray, who has had a longstanding interest in health but “got distracted by the arts,” holds a BA from Columbia College and an MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. In his “previous life” he was an accomplished film maker and taught film and video for ten years. Prior to joining HMPRG, Ray worked for the Chicago-Cook County Community Health Council, where he coordinated community outreach events and advocacy efforts for the uninsured and underserved throughout the city. He is committed to developing new models for working with underserved communities and fosters this goal within the fellows he works with. Contact Ray
Consultants
* Martha Holstein, PhD; Long -Term Care Contact Martha
* Phyllis Mitzen, MSW; Long -Term Care Contact Phyllis
* Laura McAlpine, MSW; Operations Contact Laura
* Sarah Schriber; Senior Policy Consultant, Girls in Prison Contact Sarah
