Board of Directors - Health & Medicine Policy Research Group

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Founding Chairman
Quentin D. Young, MD
Born on Chicago’s South Side, Quentin Young was drawn to politics and the struggle for justice at an early age after seeing the oppressive rise to power of Hitler and Moussolini and (closer to home) the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre where Chicago police killed unarmed demonstrators supporting striking steelworkers.
Always a doctor and activist, Quentin provided care for Freedom Summer volunteers in Mississippi as part of the Medical Committee for Human Rights. He did the same for those hurt during the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention protests and was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee for his involvement. He was the local physician to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and marched at his side during the Marquette Park protest; he treated the Chicago Seven, the Beatles, Studs Terkel, Mayor Harold Washington, and many of Chicago’s most famous residents.
He trained, worked, and was eventually named Chairman of the Department of Medicine at his beloved Cook County Hospital while maintaining a private practice in Hyde Park. In addition to medicine, Quentin was a lifelong supporter of single-payer healthcare and a leader in public health policy. Appalled by the conditions for both patients and staff at segregated Chicago hospitals, he and his colleagues seized the opportunity presented by the tragic Laura Lingo case to prove using demographic data that racial discrimination existed in Chicago medical institutions and to implement policies encouraging change. Quentin served as President of the Chicago Board of Health and President of the American Public Health Association.
In 1981, Quentin co-founded Health & Medicine Policy Research Group where his legacy as an activist, teacher, mentor, and leader on behalf of health equity continues. He was unwavering and optimistic in his quest for change, and he leaves a giant footprint on the movement to address inequities and the hearts of all who knew him.
Executive Committee Officers
steve rothschild
President
Steven K. Rothschild, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine, Rush University Medical Center
claudia fegan
Vice President
Claudia Fegan, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Cook County Health & Hospitals System
Treasurer
Lon Berkeley
Project Director, CHC Accreditation (Retired)
The Joint Commission
jennifer mcgown
Secretary
Jennifer McGowan-Tomke, MPH
Associate Director
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chicago
Board Members
karen aguirre
Karen Aguirre, MPH
Program Manager
West Side United, Rush University Medical Center
Suzanne Carlberg-Racich, PhD, MSPH
Assistant Professor
DePaul University
Max Clermont, MPH
Senior Project Lead
Partners In Health
Misty Drake, MA
Chief Operating Officer
Piedmont Health Services, Inc.
joe feinglass
Research Professor of Medicine
Northwestern University’s Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
Michael Gelder
Consultant
Robyn L. Golden, MA, LCSW
Director of Health and Aging
Rush University Medical Center
sara lindholm
Sara Lindholm
Regional Director of Development (Retired)
The Community Builders, Inc.
ray mendez
Ray Mendez, MD, MA
Founder and President
Salud LatinX, LLC
Linda Rae Murray, MD, MPH
Chief Medical Officer (Retired)
Cook County Department of Public Health
Heather O’Donnell, JD, LLM
Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy
Thresholds
Elena Quintana, PhD
Executive Director
Institute on Public Safety & Social Justice (IPSSJ)
Adler School of Professional Psychology
Rachel Reichlin, MPH, MSN, CTN-B
Program Officer
Michael Reese Health Trust
Gayle Riedmann, CNM
West Suburban Midwife Associates
Melissa Simon, MD, MPH
Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
kai tao
Kai Tao, ND, MPH, CNM
Deputy Commissioner – Chief Program Officer
Chicago Department of Public Health
mildred williamson
Mildred Williamson, PhD, MSW
Director, Research & Regulatory Affairs
Cook County Health & Hospitals System
tom wilson
Tom Wilson
Community Organizer
Access Living (Retired)
Joseph Zanoni, MILR, PhD
Research Assistant Professor (Retired)
Illinois Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Education and Research Center
School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago