About The Kennedy Forum Illinois (KFI)

KFI works to advance mental health equity on a local level by focusing on stigma reduction, access to care, quality and efficiency of care, prevention, early childhood brain health, and technological innovations. The organization serves as both a think tank and an incubator for state level policies and programs that could potentially make a difference nationwide. Learn more about KFI’s priorities, initiatives, and special events at www.TheKennedyForumIllinois.org.

Leadership Council

Heather Alderman
President, Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation
Honorable Steven Andersson
Illinois General Assembly, House of Representatives (R-65th District, Retired)
Lindsey Artola
Vice President, Sage Health Strategy
John Atkinson
Managing Partner, Willis Towers Watson
The Honorable Patricia Bellock
Illinois General Assembly, House of Representatives (R-47th District, Retired)
Norman R. Bobins
Chairman, ThePrivateBank; Norman Bobins Consulting, LLC
The Honorable Anne Burke
Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
Carey Carlock
Chief Executive Officer, Riveredge Hospital
Dr. Colleen Ciccetti
Pediatric Psychologist, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Clayton Ciha
President & CEO, Senior VP Behavioral Health Institute, AMITA Health
Gary Cohen
Co-President, Employee Resource Systems, Inc.
Patrick Corrigan, Psy.D.
Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology
Dr. John Csernansky
Gilman Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich
Archdiocese of Chicago
The Honorable Lee Daniels
House of Representatives (R-40th & 46th Districts, Retired); Attorney and Owner, Lee Daniels & Associates, LLC
Rich Daniels
Owner and Musical Director, City Lights Orchestra/Local 10-208 Chicago Federation of Musicians
Michael Darcy
Retired President and CEO, Gateway Foundation
The Honorable Tom Dart
Cook County Sheriff
Kathe Dellacecca
Director, Ambulatory Behavioral Health, Advocate Physician Partners
Paul Dillon
Vietnam Veteran; Owner, Dillon Consulting Services
Jay Doherty
Reverend Scott Donahue
President & CEO, Mercy Home for Boys & Girls
The Honorable Jim Durkin
House Minority Leader, Illinois General Assembly, House of Representatives (R-82nd District)
Bernard Dyme
President & CEO, Perspectives Ltd.
John Edelman
Head of Global Citizenship, Edelman
Tim Egan
President & CEO, Roseland Community Hospital
Judy Erwin
Managing Director, Kivvit
The Honorable Sara Feigenholtz
Assistant Majority Leader, Illinois General Assembly, House of Representatives (D-12th District)
Joe Feldman*
Joseph Feldman Associates
The Honorable Kim Foxx
Cook County State’s Attorney
Mark Frey
President & CEO, AMITA Health Medical Group
The Honorable Robyn Gabel
Illinois General Assembly, House of Representatives (D-18th District)
Dr. Teresa Garate
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Engagement, Gateway Foundation
Mary Garrison
Professor, Millikin University
Dr. Larry Goodman
President & CEO, Rush University Medical Center
Ron Grais
Director, Thresholds; Of Counsel and Pro Bono Director, Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Hammer LLC
Christie Hahn
Population Health Specialist Lead, Aetna Better Health
Samantha Handley
President & CEO, Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare
Pastor Christopher Harris
Pastor, Bright Star Church Chicago; Founder, The Urban Resilience Network
The Honorable Karen Hasara
Former Mayor of Springfield, Illinois
Bill Heffernan
CEO, Employee Resource System
Mark Ishaug
CEO, Thresholds
Alexa James
Executive Director, NAMI Chicago
Erica Jeffries
Chief of Staff, Worldwide Global Services, Johnson & Johnson
Dr. Robin Jones
Medical Director, Harmony Health Plan, Inc.
Dr. David Kemp
Co-Medical Director of Behavioral Health Service line, Advocate Health Care
Dr. Larry Kroll
President & CEO, Family Guidance Centers
Kara Kukfa
Chief of Staff, The Kennedy Forum
Dr. Anand Kumar
Department Head and Lizzie Gilman Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Psychiatry
The Honorable Lou Lang
Illinois General Assembly, House of Representatives (D-16th District)
Mimi LeClair
President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago
Connie Lindsay
Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity & Inclusion, Northern Trust
Patrick Magoon
President & CEO, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Rock Marasco*
Owner, School of Rock, Shorewood
Brandon Marshall
Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, PROJECT 375; NFL wide-receiver
Mary Lou Mastro
President & CEO, Edwards-Elmhurst Health
Earl Melamed
Partner, Neal, Gerber, & Eisenberg LLP
Steve Moore
Co-Chair, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; Partner, Rowland & Moore LLP
Dr. Orson Morrison
Director, DePaul University, Family & Community Services
Mark Mroz
Vice President of Strategic Development, MADO Healthcare
Laurence Msall
President, The Civic Federation
Peter O’Brien
President, MADO Healthcare
Heather O’Donnell
Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy, Thresholds
Samantha Olds Frey
Executive Director, Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans
Kerry Peck
Managing Partner, Peck Ritchey, LLC
Paul Pendler, Psy.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine; Vice President, JPMorgan Chase
Daniel Perlman
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, LLP
Linda Price
Executive Vice President at Alliant/Mesirow Insurance Services
Dr. Lorrie Rickman-Jones
President, Behavioral Health Innovations
Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Ph.D
Illinois Licensed Clinical Psychologist; President, Rom-Rymer and Associates
Jesse Ruiz
Partner, Drinker, Biddle & Reath
Jon Samuels
Partner, The Vistria Group
John Jay Shannon, M.D.
CEO, Cook County Health and Hospitals System
Gina Sharp
President, Linden Oaks
Elizabeth Simer
EOSimer LLC
Andrew Smith
President & Co-Founder, Impact Advisors
David Snyder
Chief Operating Officer, Chicago CRED
Dr. Shastri Swaminathan
Karen Teitelbaum
President & CEO, Sinai Health System
Ross Westreich
Market Vice President, Humana
Dr. Cheryl Whitaker
CEO, NextLevel Health Partners, Inc.
Dr. Eric E. Whitaker
CEO, TWG Partners, LLC
AJ Wilhelmi
President & CEO, Illinois Hospital Association
Donna Zarcone
President & CEO, The Economic Club of Chicago
The Honorable Kathryn Zenoff
Appellate Court Justice 2nd District, Illinois