Our Board of Directors & Leadership

Managing a community health non-profit requires the best and brightest leaders in their field. We are proud to be led by a diverse team of talented individuals who are committed to the Erie Family Health Centers' values.

Erie Family Health Centers Governing Board (2024-2025)

The majority of Erie’s Board proudly consists of members who are actually served by our health centers, ensuring our community responsiveness and accountability.

Matt Aaronson
Partner and Managing Director
The Boston Consulting Group

Rosalie Alicea

Betzy Berganza
Director of Health and Human Service
YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

Nancy Bock
Community Volunteer

Michael Boyd
Community Volunteer

Celeste Castillo, Secretary
Community Volunteer

Ernest Chang
Senior Advisor
BMO Harris Bank, N.A.

Michael Cole
Honorary Board Member

Linda Cushman
Community Volunteer

Dr. Carolyn Ann Dickens, Vice Chair
Associate Dean for Faculty Practice and Community Partnerships
Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
University of Illinois Chicago

Lisa Dykstra
CIO Strategic Advisor, CHiME
(College of Healthcare Information Management Executives)

Iman Emamifard
Community Volunteer

Leah Hobson
Vice President, Finance
Northwestern Medicine

William G. Kistner, Treasurer
Retired Partner
Ernst & Young

Brian P. Marsella, Chair
President
HPS/PayMedix

Eric Mayeda
Director
The Chartis Group, LLC

Judy Mendez
Community Volunteer

Richard J. Romanowski
Community Volunteer

Rev. Ed Sarden
Senior Minister
Christian Church Center

Luis "Fernando" Sarmiento

Alice Setrini
Attorney, Executive Director
Mary and Michael Jaharis Health Law Institute
DePaul University College of Law

Jill Simon Svoboda
Community Volunteer

Katherine Wilson
Community Volunteer

Our Leadership

CEO

Strategy and Business Development

Finance

Development

Human Resources

Operations

Population Health & Programs

Medical Specialty Leadership

Site Medical Leadership

Compliance Officers

CEO

Lee Francis, MD, MPH

President and CEO

Bio

Strategy and Business Development

Nicole Kazee, Ph.D.

Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer

Bio

Dr. Nicole Kazee joined Erie Family Health Centers in 2017 and serves as the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. In this role, Dr. Kazee helps ensure the sustainability of Erie’s mission by leading the development of strategic goals and plans. She also provides oversight for managed care, marketing and communications, community engagement, and government relations.

Kevin Davis

Senior Director of Marketing & Brand Strategy

Bio

Kevin joined Erie in 2019 and serves as the Senior Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy, leading our marketing, communications, and community engagement efforts. Kevin also serves as the Co-Chair for Erie’s Black Employee Resource Group. He brings many years of experience in the nonprofit and education sectors to Erie as a result of leadership roles at City Year Chicago, North Park University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in management from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He serves on the boards for the American Marketing Association- Chicago Chapter, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and the Lupus Foundation of America- Chicago.

Elizabeth Bennetts

Senior Director of

Process Improvement

Bio

Dalia Galvan Morales

Associate Director of Strategy & Government Relations

Bio

Dalia Galvan Morales serves as the Associate Director of Strategy and Government Relations at Erie Family Health Centers. Dalia is responsible for executing a government affairs strategy that advances Erie’s mission and goals. She also provides support to implement the overall strategic goals of the organization. Dalia brings with her over 10 years of experience working in the non-profit sector, particularly advocating for access to high-quality healthcare services for immigrants and refugees and other under-served communities.

Kate Birdwell

Associate Director of Communications

Bio

Kate Birdwell serves as the Associate Director of Communications at Erie Family Health Centers. In this capacity, she focuses on internal communications to Erie’s 700+ staff, marketing outreach to over 82,000 patients, media and public affairs, and serves as Erie’s chief copywriter. Prior to joining the Marketing team, Kate directed all aspects of Erie’s Annual Fund campaign to generate individual support for a large FQHC with 13 locations, including donor communications, prospecting, campaign material development, campaign analysis, gift stewardship and special event management. Her experience also includes 12 years in the arts and culture sector, working in various fundraising, event planning and other administrative roles for a variety of Chicago’s world-class cultural organizations. Kate holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Northwestern University, with a concentration in radio/television/film.

Annet Miranda

Associate Director Community Engagement

Bio

Annet Miranda is the Associate Director of Community Engagement for Erie Family Health Center. She is responsible for developing, expanding, and maintaining positive relationships between Erie with community leaders and their institutions; and works in partnership with others to create and support programs that promote health and access to health. She collaborates extensively both externally and internally to make meaningful connections between Erie and the communities it serves.

Finance

David Bruce, CPA

Chief Financial and Administrative Officer

Tiffany Okoniewski

Senior Director
Finance

Dane Nordeen

Finance Manager

Stephanie Smith

Interim Vice President of Finance

Celia Martinez

Associate Director
Accounting

Development

Melissa Hilton

Vice President, Development Executive Director, Erie Family Health Foundation

Bio

Sandra Del Toro

Senior Director of Development

Bio

Sandra Del Toro is the Senior Director of Development. In this role, Sandra is responsible for leading Erie’s government, foundation and corporate grants program, which raises more than $25 million annually to support critical programs that benefit Erie patients and advance our mission.

Sandra has more than 20 years of experience in non profit administration and leadership including serving as deputy director, where she partnered with the executive director on execution of strategic initiatives and oversaw policy, communications, program development, strategic planning, and resource development. Previously, she has served in senior leadership capacities at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Mujeres Latinas en Acción and the Southwest Organizing Project, and led statewide legislative and advocacy work at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. She received her Master’s degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago and her undergraduate degree from Stanford University. Sandra was a fellow in the 2012 class of the National Hispana Leadership Institute, which included studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Center for Creative Leadership.

Cathy Junia

Director of Individual Giving and Events

Bio

Cathy Junia is the Associate Director of Individual Giving and Events. In this role, Cathy is responsible for developing and leading the strategy for sustaining and growing individual donations and event revenues to support Erie’s mission. She oversees a comprehensive fundraising program that includes annual giving, major and restricted gifts, capital contributions and planned gifts, workplace giving, and volunteer engagement. In addition, Cathy is in charge of designing and executing fundraising events that raise vital funds and help build and grow individual and corporate relationships.

Human Resources

Maureen O'Donnell

Interim Vice President of Human Resources

Adriana Diaz

Senior Director of Human Resources

Bio

Adriana has over 23 years of progressive experience in Human Resources in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Instrumental in increasing employee retention and partnering with members of management to identify and effectively implement engagement strategies. She has spent the last 16 years with Erie in an evolving and exciting role that has seen Erie develop and maintain a reputation as an innovative employer of choice, while being recognized as a Top Employer by the Chicago Tribune five times.

Diana Perez

Associate Director, HR Reward Systems
Analytics and Benefits

Operations

Robin Varnado

Chief Operating Officer

Kellie Medious

Vice President, Operations

Marisol Jimenez

Senior Director of Operations of Facilities and Emergency Preparedness

Karmariah Joyce, MPA

Director of Health Center Operations
Erie West Town Health Center

Nancy Greenwalt

Senior Director
Compliance and Risk Management

Carla Jones

Senior Director
Front End Revenue Cycle

Rovee Fabi

Director of Operations

Hannah Keel, DNP

Senior Director of Nursing and
Clinical Operations

Kim Williams

Senior Director of Health Center Operations,
Erie Division Street and Teen Center;
Interim Director of Health Center Operations,
Erie Humboldt Park

Emily McDonald

Senior Director of Business Operations

Suzanne Kunkel

Senior Director of
Patient Access Operations

Rebeca Covarrubias

Director of Patient Access Operations

Shay Lashley

Associate Director of
Patient Access Operations

Betsy Lopez

Director of Operations
Foster Avenue

Population Health & Programs

Amy Valukas

Chief Population Health Officer

Bio

Josephine Llaneza

Senior Director of Patient Programs
& Health Equity

Bio

Josie Llaneza, MPH joined Erie in 2019. As Senior Director of Patient Programs and Health Equity, she leads many of the organization’s non-clinical supportive services for patients. She is also responsible for the organization-wide approach to social determinant of health screening and linkage, research partnerships, operations of Erie’s five school-based health centers, and our partnership with NIMAA offering Medical Assistant training.

Bridget Magner, MPH

Director of Patient Programs & Population Health

Maria Matias

Director of Patient Programs
& Health Equity

Bio

Rita McLoughlin

Director of
EHR Optimization

Cristina Rosa

Associate Director of Clinical Operations

Geoyia Nightengale, MPH

Associate Director of Patient Programs
& School-Based Health Operations

Chris Benning

Senior Director of
Data Analytics
& Business Intelligence

Medical Specialty Leadership

Caroline Hoke, MD

Chief Clinical Officer

Bio

Michelle Byrne, MD

Clinical Director of Population Health
and Care Innovation

Bio

Michelle Byrne, MD, MPH, joined Erie in 2020 and serves as the Clinical Director of Population Health and Care Innovation, and as a Family Medicine Physician with OB. Dr. Byrne works with several teams to improve health outcomes across our patient population. Additionally, she was certified as an Epic Physician Builder in 2021 and uses her skill set to optimize workflows and EHR content to better serve patients and the healthcare team.

Miranda Hart, MD

Senior Medical Director of Integrated Primary, Behavioral and Population Health

Tracy Irwin, MD, MPH

Hospira Foundation Endowed Medical Director of Reproductive Health

Bio

Tracy Irwin, MD, MPH joined Erie Family Health Center in 2018 as the Hospira Endowed Medical Director of Reproductive Health. At Erie Dr. Irwin oversees a reproductive health workforce and clinical programs that spans 40 miles and provides obstetrics and gynecologic services at 13 outpatient sites and three partner hospitals. Her clinical practice includes the full scope of obstetrics and gynecology with a special focus on vulnerable populations.

Deborah Midgley, MD

Medical Director of Education

Bio

Dr. Deborah Midgley is a Family Physician who joined Erie Family Health Centers in 2003. As Medical Director of Family and Adult Medicine, Dr. Midgley is responsible for recruiting and retaining Family and Adult Medicine providers throughout Erie. She supports the Site Medical Directors at Erie's HealthReach Waukegan, Foster Avenue, Helping Hands and Humboldt Park health centers as well as working with academic partners to support Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency programs throughout Erie.

Natalie Raghu, DNP, FNP-C, APRN-FPA BC, ADM

Medical Director of Advanced Practice Providers & APRN Fellowship

Bio

Dr. Natalie Raghu first joined Erie in 2007 as a community health nurse. She has held multiple roles within Erie and at Rush University Medical Center including as Nurse Practitioner for Adult/Pediatric patients at Erie West Town Health Center and in Preventive Medicine at RUMC. Having completed her Master’s degree as Family Nurse Practitioner and her Doctoral degree in Population Health/Leadership from Rush University College of Nursing, Dr. Raghu returned to Erie in 2020 to lead Erie’s nurse practitioner/CNM post graduate fellowship that partners with the University of Illinois of Chicago.

Lisa Kearney, DDS

Clinical Director of Oral Health

Sara Naureckas, MD

Senior Medical Director of Adolescent, Pediatric Medicine, and HIT Integration

Bio

Samuel Jackson, MD

Medical Director
of Psychiatry

Site Medical Leadership

Caroline Hoke, MD

Chief Clinical Officer

Bio

Syed Mustafa Alavi, MD

Co-Site Medical Director
Erie Evanston/Skokie

Lucy Amaro, DNP, FNP-BC

Site Medical Director
School-Based Health

Christopher Benavente, MD

Swedish Hospital
Tier 1 Delivery Team Leader

Milap Bhatt, DO

Medical Director
Erie Foster Avenue

Christopher Boisselle, MD

Program Director
Swedish Family Medicine Residency

Alissa Carlson, MD

Clinical Director
Prentice Women's Hospital

Judith Horwitz, MD

Co-Site Medical Director
Erie Evanston/Skokie

Kate Laslo, MD, MPH

Senior Medical Director
Erie Helping Hands and Telehealth

Anita McCarthy

Clinical Director
Lake County

Jackie McSparron, PA-C

Clinical Director
Lending Hands for Life

Elizabeth Roberts

Clinical Director of
Reproductive Health
Swedish Hospital

Cynthia Stoffel, CNM

Clinical Director CNM
Prentice Women’s Hospital

Jack York, DO

Medical Director
Erie HealthReach Waukegan

Daisy Wynn, MD

Medical Director
Erie Division Street

Compliance Officers

Nancy Greenwalt

Compliance & Privacy Officer

Marisol Jimenez

Emergency Preparedness Officer

David Schultz

Security Officer

Call (312) 666-3494 to schedule an appointment.
For our suburban locations call (847) 666-3494

Erie Family Health Centers received back-to-back 2024 and 2025 USA Today Top Workplaces Awards and Top Workplaces Purpose and Values Awards, and we received the 2024 Healthcare Industry Award. These awards recognize that our shared belief in Erie's mission and values drives everything we do.

Our Board of Directors & Leadership

Erie Family Health Centers Governing Board (2024-2025)

Our Leadership

Lee Francis, MD, MPH

Nicole Kazee, Ph.D.

Kevin Davis

Elizabeth Bennetts

Dalia Galvan Morales

Kate Birdwell

Annet Miranda

David Bruce, CPA

Tiffany Okoniewski

Dane Nordeen

Stephanie Smith

Celia Martinez

Melissa Hilton

Sandra Del Toro

Cathy Junia

Maureen O'Donnell

Adriana Diaz

Diana Perez

Robin Varnado

Kellie Medious

Marisol Jimenez

Karmariah Joyce, MPA

Nancy Greenwalt

Carla Jones

Rovee Fabi

Hannah Keel, DNP

Kim Williams

Emily McDonald

Suzanne Kunkel

Rebeca Covarrubias

Shay Lashley

Betsy Lopez

Amy Valukas

Josephine Llaneza

Bridget Magner, MPH

Maria Matias

Rita McLoughlin

Cristina Rosa

Geoyia Nightengale, MPH

Chris Benning

Caroline Hoke, MD

Michelle Byrne, MD

Miranda Hart, MD

Tracy Irwin, MD, MPH

Deborah Midgley, MD

Natalie Raghu, DNP, FNP-C, APRN-FPA BC, ADM

Lisa Kearney, DDS

Sara Naureckas, MD

Samuel Jackson, MD

Caroline Hoke, MD

Syed Mustafa Alavi, MD

Lucy Amaro, DNP, FNP-BC

Christopher Benavente, MD

Milap Bhatt, DO

Christopher Boisselle, MD

Alissa Carlson, MD

Judith Horwitz, MD

Kate Laslo, MD, MPH

Anita McCarthy

Jackie McSparron, PA-C

Elizabeth Roberts

Cynthia Stoffel, CNM

Jack York, DO

Daisy Wynn, MD

Nancy Greenwalt

Marisol Jimenez

David Schultz

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