People - Equal Hope

Equal Hope’s work is supported by a team of diverse, skilled professionals committed to our core mission of reducing women’s health disparities.

Our navigators provide highly valued frontline assistance to women in need of breast or cervical cancer services and to men in need of breast cancer services. Our outreach and community engagement staff work tirelessly to educate the public on these healthcare areas. Our advocacy staff empower community members to pursue change that will address health inequity and our research and quality improvement staff pursue innovative evidence based approaches to understanding our healthcare system and the root causes of health disparities so that we can take bold action to reverse structural racism in our healthcare system. Our work is led and supported by a governing board, and professionals’ expert advisory committees.

Paris Thomas MS | MCHES | PhD

Executive Director

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Anne Marie Murphy PhD

Emeritus Executive Director

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Joyce Gaston MNM

Director of Finance and Business Operations

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John McIlwain

Senior Director of External Affairs

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Jiana Calixto MPH

Manager of Community Health Programs

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Carla Amato-Martz JD | LCSW

Associate Director, Consortium

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Retha Cooper BSN | RN

Nurse Navigator

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Oreletta Garmon

Navigation Program Coordinator

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Margarita Moreno

Bilingual Patient Navigator

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Melina Martinez

Bilingual Navigator

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Diana Sanchez

Bilingual Patient Navigator

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Donalynne Schaffer

Community Outreach Worker

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Sherlene Branscomb

Development Assistant
Patient Navigator

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Sarah Lomahan MPH

Data Coordinator

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Leilani Lacson-Soltysiak MPH

Data and Communications Coordinator

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Veronica Sanchez Villa

Community Health Worker (Lake County)

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Nacary Arreola

Community Health Worker (IBCCP)

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Lydia Doe

Community Health Worker

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John Tate

Community Health Worker (West Side Health Equity)

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Boards & Committees

Board Members
Advisory Board & Committees

David Ansell MD | MPH

- - Emeritus President
  - President, Senior Vice President
    Community Health Equity
  - Associate Provost
    Clinical Affairs
- Rush University Medical Center

Judith S. Deutsch

- Community Philanthropist

Summer Dewdney MD

- - Assistant Professor
    Rush University Medical Center
  - Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology
    Rush University Medical Center
- Rush University Medical Center

Luisa Echevarria

- Retired
- Univision Communications, Inc.

Richard A. Goldberg

- Treasurer
- Retired Owner
- Fastsigns – Morton Grove

Rick Jasculca

- Chairman
- Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications

Robin L. Jones MD

- Rush University Medical Center

Eileen Knightly MHA | BSN

- - Emeritus Vice-President
  - Vice President
    Patient Care Services
  - Chief Nursing Officer
- Little Company of Mary Hospital & Health Care Centers

Esther Leal

- Leal & Associates, Inc.

Nita Karnik Lee MD

- Associate Professor
  Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology
- UChicago Medicine

Teresita Macarol RT(R) (M) (QM) | CN-BI | FNCBC

- Program Manager
- Advocate Health Care System Breast Imaging

Yamile Molina PhD

- - Associate Professor
    Division of Community Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
  - Faculty Affiliate
    University of Illinois Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender
  - Associate Director for Community Outreach Engagement and Health Equity
    University of Illinois Chicago
- University of Illinois Chicago

Mary Richardson-Lowry JD

- - Secretary
  - Principal and Managing Member
- Ililewa Companies

Patricia Robinson MD

- - President
  - Professor
    Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology
  - Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    Loyola University Medical Center, Stritch School of Medicine
- Loyola University Medical Center, Stritch School of Medicine

Shari E. Runner

- CEO
- The Humanity Institute

Jonathan B. Strauss MD

- - Vice President
  - Associate Professor
    Radiation Oncology and Medical Education
- Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
- Vice-Chair
  Education, Department of Radiation Oncology
- Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center