Speaker Presentations
John Cicero, Executive Director, Will County Health Department & Community Health Center
Topic: Health Inequities in Will County (PowerPoint)
John Cicero is the Executive Director of the Will County Health Department & Community Health Center, based in Joliet. A native of Rockford, Mr. Cicero earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in microbiology with a minor in chemistry from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He began his career at the Will County Health Department in 1979; he has worked in and subsequently managed the department's clinical, environmental, and forensics laboratories for more than a decade.
After completing a Master of Health Administration degree from Governors State University, Mr. Cicero assumed the role of Assistant Executive Director for the Health Department in 1992. In 2008 he was appointed the Executive Director of the Health Department by the Will County Board of Health.
The Will County Health Department is a state-certified local health department providing comprehensive public health programs and services in environmental health, maternal and child health, emergency preparedness, health promotion, and disease control and prevention. The Health Department also serves as the community mental health agency, providing adult, child, and adolescent behavioral health and substance abuse services. The Will County Community Health Center, a public entity model federally qualified health center developed under the auspices of the Health Department, provides primary health care and dental services to the medically underserved residents of Will County.
As part of the Chicago metropolitan area, Will County is a large urban and rural county serving a population of 700,000 residents in 37 municipalities and 24 townships covering 847 square miles.
Mr. Cicero's professional memberships include: The American Public Health Association, National Association of County & City Health Officials, Illinois Public Health Association and the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium. Mr. Cicero is also a member of the Governors State University Health Care Administration Advisory Committee.
Raul Garza, Chief Executive Officer, Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center, Inc.
Topic: Health Care Reform, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and the Need for Research (PowerPoint)
Raul Garza serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Aunt Martha’s Youth Services Center, Inc. After 10 years in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Garza began his employment with Aunt Martha’s 17 years ago, as Chief Financial Officer. Since June, 2009, Mr. Garza has serve as the organization's Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Mr. Garza is responsible for overseeing the agency’s 
operations and administration. Aunt Martha's currently consists of 10 divisions staffed by 950 employees who provide health care, behavioral care, child welfare, community-based, education, and counseling services.
During his employment with Aunt Martha’s, Mr. Garza has been responsible for the significant expansion of Healthcare Services. Under his leadership and vision, Aunt Martha’s has not only grown to be the third largest network of community health centers in the State of Illinois, but also continues to meet quality standards of care as evidenced by the continuous accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Through Mr. Garza's guidance and desire to increase access to healthcare, Aunt Martha’s has expanded from two to 17 Federally Qualified Health Centers. In calendar year 2009, the organization provided care to almost 80,0000 patients in more than 271,0000 patient visits. Services provided include care for diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular disease, oral, and mental health disorders.
Mr. Garza earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Government and Business from the University of Maryland. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business, a Master of Science Degree in Managerial Communication from Northwestern University, and a Master of Science Degree in Public Service from DePaul University. Most recently, Mr. Garza was admitted to Harvard University’s Managing Healthcare Delivery program (October 2010).
In 2005 Mr. Garza was recognized by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Management for having the outstanding Community Healthcare Improvement Project. This is a national award, given to the individual who has made the most significant healthcare improvements in his or her community.
Mr. Garza presented at the 2007 Latino Legislative Caucus and at Northwestern University on the effects of obesity on an individual's mental health. Mr. Garza also serves on the Illinois Latino Family Commission, and was a top five finalist for the Chicago Latino Network's Professional Latino of the year in 2007.
Mr. Garza is a member of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Child Care Association and the Success Center, a south suburban, nonprofit, community-based organization providing counseling and outreach services. He is also now serving on the Advisory Board for the College of Health and Human Services at GSU.
Aida Giachello, Ph.D., Director of the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training, and Policy Center
Topic: Community Research Models: What's Working? (PowerPoint)
Dr. Aida Giachello is Associate Professor and Director of the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since founding the center in 1993, she has conducted research on health disparities (e.g., diabetes, asthma, cancer, maternal and child health), engaging in policy work emerging from the research findings. She also trains Latino/minority investigators, professionals and community health workers across the United States and in Central and South America.
In addition to Dr. Giachello's research background, she has been trained as a community organizer and serves as an agent of social change, advocating on behalf of racial and ethnic minorities, women as a group, and the poor and elderly. Her research center follows community participatory action research and empowerment models which use research for community mobilization and action to address social justice issues.
In 2005 Dr. Giachello was named one of the 25 most influential Hispanic/Latino persons in America by TIME Magazine. In 2009, she was listed as one of 20 top leaders in Health and Medicine by the Latino Leaders Magazine, and received a 2010 Inspire award from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Dr. Giachello's life and work was also featured in the 2009 book titled: Social Workers Changing the World.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dr. Giachello holds a bachelor's degree in social sciences from the University of Puerto Rico; a master's degree in social services administration from the University of Chicago, specializing in community organizing, planning and social policy; and a Ph.D. in medical sociology, also from the University of Chicago, specializing in Hispanic/Latino/minority health.
José E. López, Executive Director of the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago
Topic: Community Research Models: What's Working?
José E. López is Executive Director of the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago and Instructor at Columbia College, University of Illinois and Northeastern Illinois University.
For more than 35 years, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) has served as a catalyst for addressing some of the most important historical events of the Puerto Rican diaspora and Latino communities in Chicago.
The work of the PRCC is indeed the hub of building what the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn called a community of resistance: "opposition to being invaded, occupied, assaulted and destroyed by the system. ... places where people can return to themselves more easily, where the conditions are such that they can heal themselves and recover their wholeness."
With its motto of “To Live and Help to Live,” the PRCC has sponsored a wide variety of community services, such as a licensed day care facility, a literacy program for single mothers, an alternative high school, a bilingual AIDS prevention program, and a monthly community newspaper. The PRCC has had a tremendous influence on the life, thought, and development of the Puerto Rican community in Chicago.
As an instructor, Mr. López has taught many of Chicago’s most prominent Latino leaders and has, for the past 30 years, been a leading figure in the struggle for Puerto Rican human rights and in the construction of a Latino Agenda in the United States and through the Americas. He has articulated numerous theories regarding the impact and intersection of racism, globalization, colonialism, the prison-industrial complex, and gentrification on oppressed communities in the United States.
Mr. López has been a guest lecturer or keynote speaker in more than 50 universities in the US and Puerto Rico, including the University of California at Berkeley, Carleton College (Northfield, MN), Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH) and Franklinton Center (Enfield, NC).
“The problems of racism and colonialism are not individual problems,” Mr. López says. “They are problems that society has to resolve. They are problems that can only be resolved when those affected fully exercise the human right of self-determination, self-actualization and self-reliance.”
Stephen A. Martin, Jr., Ph.D., M.P.H., COO, Cook County Department of Public Health
Topic: Health Inequities in the Chicago Southland (PowerPoint)
Dr. Martin was appointed the Chief Operating Officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health by then the Honorable John H. Stroger, Jr., President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, in 2002.
He is responsible for public health programs and services for one of the nation’s largest metropolitan health departments, ranging from emergency preparedness; disease prevention, control and epidemiology; health statistics; health promotion; maternal, child, adolescent, and women's health; STD/HIV; nutrition services; violence prevention; and environmental licensing, inspections and complaints.
The Cook County Department of Public Health is the state-certified local public health agency serving 125 local municipalities, covering a 700 square mile area, with a large urban population of approximately 2.3 million residents.
Dr. Martin holds a B.S. in Biology and a M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Tulane University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Epidemiologic Science. He is a member of the American College of Epidemiology, American Public Health Association, Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
Also, he is a fellow of the Leadership Greater Chicago, the Institute of Medicine of Chicago and a member of several boards and committees, including;
- Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium
- Illinois Department of Public Health – LHD Executive Advisory Group
- NACCHO Public Health Infrastructure and Systems Essential Services Committee
- Suburban Primary Health Care Council
- Illinois State Health Improvement Planning Team
- State of Illinois Maternal and Child Health Advisory Board
In addition, Dr. Martin serves as secretary/treasurer of the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium and serves on the faculty at the Texas A&M University School of Rural Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, and Governors State University.
Keynote Speaker: Terry Mason, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, CCHHS
Keynote Address: Terry Mason PowerPoint Presentation 
Terry Mason, M.D., is the Chief Medical Officer of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS). In that capacity, Dr. Mason is a member of the newly-created leadership team that oversees the operation of John H. Stroger Jr., Provident, and Oak Forest Hospitals, as well as the Ambulatory and Community Health Network, Cermak Health Services, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, and Cook County Department of Public Health.
As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Mason is committed to ensuring effective and efficient delivery of quality medical care to the people of Cook County. Combining his years of medical practice with his knowledge of the community, Dr. Mason is determined to help the Cook County Health and Hospitals System continue to grow, excel, and meet the needs of the community, while creating a model for public medicine throughout the country.
Prior to his current role, Dr. Mason served as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. During his tenure there, he introduced an active focus on fighting chronic disease by promoting healthier lifestyles for all, and by emphasizing the connection between body, mind and spirit. Dr. Mason has also brought the Department into the 21st Century with cutting-edge technological improvements and innovative management techniques.
A nationally known health educator and inspirational speaker, Dr. Mason champions wholistic approaches to health management, the role of families in building healthier communities, and the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health.
A board certified urologist, Dr. Mason has enjoyed a 25-year career in medical practice. In addition, he is a skilled health-marketing and public relations professional. His popular radio talk show, Doctor in the House, airs on WVON-AM 1690 each week; he is also a frequent guest on local and national television and radio programs.
A man of many and diverse talents, Dr. Mason has inspired all of Chicago with his dedication, enthusiasm, and incisive grasp of the issues that affect public health in today’s world.
Dwayne O. Mitchell, MHA, Chief Executive Officer, East Chicago Community Health Center
Topic: Health Care Reform, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and the Need for Research
(PowerPoint)
Dwayne O. Mitchell, MHA, is the Chief Executive Officer of the East Chicago Community Health Center, Inc., in East Chicago, Indiana. Since 2001, Mr. Mitchell has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Health Administration for the College of Health and Human Services at Governors State University (GSU). He is now a University Lecturer for GSU's College of Health and Human Services.
Mr. Mitchell has more than 25 years of experience as a healthcare administrator, where he has worked in areas ranging from ambulatory care management to quality assurance and facilities expansion and construction.
Prior to his appointment at the East Chicago Community Health Center, Mr. Mitchell served as Chief Operating Officer for the Chicago Family Health Center, Inc. He has also served as Associate Executive Director for Near North Health Service Corporation, and as Director of Clinical Services for the Will County Health Department. For seven years Mr. Mitchell served as administrator of the Department of OB/Gyne Medicine at Cook County Hospital, where he also assisted in the development of a 23-hour Observation Unit and a Same Day Surgery unit.
Mr. Mitchell is a member of the Legislative and Public Policy Committee and the Risk Management and Compliance Committee for the Illinois Primary Health Care Association. He is also affiliated with a number of other community and healthcare-related organizations, including the Calumet Branch of the Family Metropolitan Services, the South Side Health Care Collaborative, the IDHS Maternal Child Health Advisory Board, and the National Association of Health Services Executives.
Mr. Mitchell, a GSU alumnus, also holds certifications as a pharmacy technician, child sexual abuse trainer, and as an STD/HIV counselor.
Steven K. Rothschild, M.D. , Rush University Medical Center
Topic: Community Research Models: What's Working? (PowerPoint)
A family physician and researcher, Dr. Steven Rothschild is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Clinical Programs in the Department of Family Medicine at Rush University Medical Center; he is also an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Rush University Medical Center.
In addition to a 25-year clinical career with a focus on minority health issues, he is an established researcher focusing on health services research, chronic illness, and community-based approaches to addressing health disparities.
Dr. Rothschild is the Principal Investigator on several NIH-funded trials:
- MATCH, the Mexican American Trial of Community Health workers, is a behavioral randomized controlled trial of Community Health Workers delivering a self-management behavioral intervention to inner city Latinos with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
- Block-by-Block: The Humboldt Park Campaign against Diabetes (1 R01 NR11142-01) uses Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to reduce the impact of diabetes in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood; this study involves collaboration with several community agencies, and the use of grassroots organizing by Diabetes Block Captains.
- The BRIGHTEN Heart trial tests the effectiveness of an electronically networked virtual interdisciplinary team to reduce depression and cardiometabolic risk among elderly Latinos and African Americans.
Dr. Rothschild is also the Associate Director of the Rush Center for Urban Health Equity, one of 10 national P50 research centers developed to improve population health and to create interventions to reduce health disparities.
Dr. Rothschild is a practicing family physician, seeing patients 12 hours per week. He has served on several NIH review panels, the Chicago Board of Health, the State of Illinois’ Older Adult Services Advisory Committee, the Humboldt Park Diabetes Project, the Chicago-Cook County Community Health Council, the physician advisory committee for the Building a Healthier Chicago initiative, and the Board of Directors of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group.
Dr. Rothschild also serves on the Board of Central City Housing Ventures and Pilsen Homeless Services; he's also a volunteer physician at the free clinic at the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, an overnight homeless shelter on the west side.
Bonnie Schaafsma, R.N., Public Health Administrator, Kankakee County Health Department
Topic: Health Inequities in Kankakee County (PowerPoint)
Bonnie Schaafsma, R.N., is the Public Health administrator of the Kankakee County Health Department. She has been with the Kankakee Department for 23 years, having previously served as the Director of Nursing and as coordinator for Maternal Child Health services.
Mrs. Schaafsma received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Illinois Wesleyan University; she also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Olivet Nazarene University. A member of the Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators, Mrs. Schaafsma serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Public Health Mutual Aid System, and is a member of the Illinois Public Health association, the American Public Health Association, and the National Association of City, and County Health Officials.
Prior to joining the Health Department, Mrs. Schaafsma worked in critical care and was a clinical instructor in the nursing program at Kankakee Community College.
Dan Strick, President/CEO, South STAR Services
Topic: Community Research Models: What's Working? (PowerPoint)
Dan Strick is the President/CEO of SouthSTAR Services, a 60-year-old, full-service nonprofit organization for persons with developmental disabilities.
SouthSTAR Services, located in Chicago Heights, provides job training, employment, community living, and support services to adults with developmental disabilities for people living in south suburban Cook County and eastern Will County.
In his five years at SouthSTAR, the organization has significantly increased its employment services, self -advocacy and community supports for people with developmental disabilities. Mr. Strick has more than 25 years of human service experience in Illinois in program development, community organizing, and nonprofit senior management.
He has worked in the public and nonprofit sectors, as well as serving as a consultant to state and local governments. Mr. Strick has also served as the staff director of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission and testified numerous times on legislative issues.
Funding for this conference was made possible in part by P20MD001816 from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
