OUR TEAM

Pat Rush worked as a physician with underserved populations in Chicago for 40 years.  Her scientific focus is complex chronic illness.  In 2001 she created Primary Care Plus, a trauma-informed, solo private practice.  Through care of 500 patients, she identified a group of high risk patients with a consistent pattern of:
   o   extreme stress at a young age
   o   who developed a profound sleep disorder
   o   and severe physical-emotional illness.
Partnering with her patients, Dr. Rush recognized the importance of applying System Science concepts in medicine - and understanding health and disease within unified Brain-Body Regulation.

An advocate for Chicago’s most vulnerable residents, Dr. Stillerman is a board-certified integrative family physician, Associate Director of Medical Affairs for the University of Illinois Office of Community Engagement and Neighborhood Health Partnerships, and Clinical Assistant Professor.  Since learning about the critical impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, she has made it her mission to share this critical information with colleagues, patients, students, and community members to galvanize transformation of our society and medical system.

Gene Griffin is a clinical psychologist working in child trauma, child welfare, children’s mental health, education, and juvenile justice; the Senior Fellow for Policy and Practice for the Child Trauma Academy. He is also the state-appointed Chair of the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership. Gene retired in 2013 from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago as assistant professor.

Dr. Hasnain is Professor and Associate Department Head of Family Medicine at University of Illinois at Chicago.  As a medical educator and public health scientist, addressing the social dimension of health and the gaps in health systems and policies that disadvantage vulnerable groups remains a unifying theme in Dr. Hasnain’s work. She has a special interest in humanism, empathy and social justice as core values.

Dr. Kim Mann is Deputy Director for DCFS Office of Child Well-Being.  Since joining DCFS in 2008, Dr. Mann has guided development of trauma-informed practices, served as Project Director for the Illinois Birth-Three Title IV-E Waiver and leads implementation of the Early Childhood Court Team.  Dr. Mann has more than 20 years of graduate and undergraduate teaching experience in Social Work and 30 years experience with youth and families, primarily in child welfare, public school and community settings.

Dr. Perry is the Principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of Child Trauma Academy, and adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern in Chicago.  Over the last thirty years, Dr. Perry has been an active teacher, clinician and researcher in children’s mental health and the neurosciences.  Dr. Perry developed the NeuroSequential Model, a developmentally-informed, biologically-respectful approach to working with at-risk children.

Born and raised in Bogotá, José earned his M.D. from The Colombian School of Medicine. In 1998, he moved to Chicago to earn his degree in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern. Between 1993 and 1998, Dr. Niño studied yoga and ayurveda in India. Interests include the effects of acculturation on mental health, the role of spirituality in healing, the therapeutic properties of yoga, and providing psychotherapy to a diverse Hispanic population.

Margie is Executive Director of Health & Medicine Policy Research Group.  Her policy expertise is in public health systems and  developmental and women’s health.  Margie teachers Public Health Policy and Advocacy at Northwestern’s School of Public Health. Margie is a leader in Trauma-Informed Care and acts as Co-Director of the Illinois ACE Response Collaborative.

As a physician double-boarded in internal medicine and pediatrics, Stan is an advocate for changing our health care system for underserved and disadvantaged communities.  A leader in medical education and activism to recognize the important of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Dr. Sonu an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at Emory University School of Medicine.

Dr. Larry Turner is a clinical psychologist, emergency room/psychiatric nurse, substance abuse therapist, yoga teacher and therapist, father of four children, and grandfather of one.  For 20 years, Larry worked as a psychiatric nurse with traumatized children at a Dept of Mental Health clinic and the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago using cognitive-behavioral therapy as well as yoga techniques.

A Chicago native and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign alumnus, Marlita White knows from experience how Chicago’s current wave of violence has affected its citizens. A long-time child and family therapist and current Director of the Office of Violence Prevention and Behavioral Health for the Chicago Department of Public Health, Marlita brings her understanding of mental health issues to bear for Healthy Chicago 2.0, in particular its goal of making Chicago a “trauma-informed” city.

Dr. Loren Williams holds a doctoral degree in Education with concentrations in Social Entrepreneurship and Non-Profit Management.  She operates a private practice as a Mental Health Therapist, called Dr. Lo’s Wellness, LLC.   Dr. Williams believes that everyone should have access to mental wellness services and enjoys providing these services within community. Some of her areas of specialty include; trauma, sexual assault, domestic violence, depression, ADHD, anxiety, stress management, relationship conflict, etc.  Dr. Williams enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, helping others, and spending time with loved ones.

Orrin Williams is Food Systems Coordinator at the UIC Office of Community Engagement and Neighborhood Health Partnerships/ Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion and Executive Director of the Center for Urban Transformation. Interested in evolution of urban and rural communities as sustainable and healthy communities in the USA and globally, Orrin’s work is informed by work in and relationship with movements for social, environmental and economic justice for over 50 years and Buddhist practice.