Our Staff
Janine H. Lewis, MPH, Executive Director
Email: jlewis@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 22
Janine Hill Lewis was hired as the Executive Director of the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition (IMCHC). Her passion for improving health outcomes for mothers, children, and families, coupled with her extensive academic and practice-based knowledge, make her an important champion and leader in maternal and child health.
Most recently, Janine served as the President of Lewis Health Solutions, a consulting firm that works with non-profit and governmental agencies across the United States. Previously, she worked as Director of Health Promotions at the Westside Health Authorityin Chicago, and as the Associate Director of Programs at the March of Dimes Illinois Chapter, where she helped to establish and maintain the prematurity and folic acid awareness campaigns in Illinois.
Janine received her MPH at Boston University in international health, and is a current PhD candidate in MCH programs, methods, and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. In addition to being an author and lecturer, Janine serves in the Maternal and Child Health Section of the American Public Health Association, and on Boards of the March of Dimes Illinois Chapter and Family Focus Evanston.
Lisa Kritz, Associate Director, IMCHC/ Project Director, Chicago Area Immunization Campaign
Email: lkritz@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 26
Lisa Kritz, Project Director for the Chicago Area Immunization Campaign (CAIC), has fifteen years of experience working in the field of public health. She spent two years as the Director of the City of Chicago’s Immunization Action Plan and four years leading the CAIC when it was housed at Children and Youth 2000. Lisa has an MSW from the University of Illinois and an MBA from DePaul University. She also has completed two years of doctoral courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health. Lisa has two fully vaccinated children of her own.
Kathy Chan, Associate Director/ Director of Policy and Advocacy
Email: kchan@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 24
Kathy Chan currently serves as the Associate Director and provides leadership on advocacy efforts, as well as policy analysis for IMCHC and its four projects. From 2002-2006, Kathy worked at IMCHC on Covering Kids and Families where she built statewide and local coalitions and created and implemented strategies to help families more easily access public health insurance programs. Her efforts helped Illinois gain recognition as a national leader in enrollment. To date, over 2.8 million parents and children in Illinois have public insurance coverage.
Kathy worked briefly in state government with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, where she assisted with strategic enrollment efforts and the implementation of All Kids. She currently serves as board chair of IFLOSS, a statewide organization working to improve the oral health status of residents and remains an active volunteer with the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Chicago. Kathy graduated with a BA in English from Northwestern University and began her career as an organizer with Green Corps, a field school for environmental organizing.
In alphabetical order
Anna Burnham, Project Assistant
Email: aburnham@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 32
Anna Burnham, Project Assistant, for the Illinois Maternal & Child Health Coalition moved to Chicago in 2007 to attend DePaul University where she received a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies with a concentration in Social Justice and Public Policy. During her undergraduate career she worked for three years in inner city schools facilitating an after-school youth program focused on youth activism and teen dating and domestic violence prevention. After graduating, she completed a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA where she worked as the Marketing and Community Program Associate with the Northwest Side Housing Center. In her free time, she enjoys painting, reading, and working as a freelance graphic designer. Anna has a passion for advocacy work specifically in education inequality and resource disparity in schools. She is committed to a life working in the non-profit sector and advocating for youth equity.
Lilah Handler, Project CoordinatorEmail: lhandler@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 21
Lilah Handler, Program Administrator, for the Illinois Maternal & Child Health Coalition has been working in the public health field for over 5 years. She is the main coordinator for all of the IMCHC projects which entails organizing meetings, conferences, and fundraisers. Lilah has been a huge advocate for women and children’s health for the majority of her life. Her passion and interest in health disparities and providing affordable and accessible health care for all has led her to a career in public health. She received a BA from Columbia College in Fine Arts.
Blanca V. Leon, Director of Information Technology
Email: bleon@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 25
Blanca V. Leon joined Illinois Maternal & Child Health Coalition in August of 2000. Blanca is the Director of Information Technology, manages the organizations network, database, website and is the in-house graphic designer. Blanca also assist in designing and customizing the organizations e-communications, social media outlet pages and blog. Blanca received her Bachelor in Computer Information Systems from DeVry University-Chicago, where she currently serves on the CIS- Industry Advisory Board. She has over 11 years IT experience.
Divya Mohan Little, Project Director, Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers
Email: dmohanlittle@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 31
Divya Mohan Little joined Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition (IMCHC) in September 2009 as the Project Director for the Coalition for School Health Centers. In her role, Divya supports the network of school health center providers and advocates in Illinois, provides resource development support, and serves as the liaison to partner organizations, including the Illinois Department of Human Services. Divya also serves as the Communications Chair for the YNPN Chicago Board of Directors, where she
handles marketing and outreach. Prior to moving to Chicago, Divya worked for the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care where she was responsible for the website, field communications, organizational and convention marketing, social media, branding, annual report content, and press. She came to IMCHC with over seven years of non-profit and communications experience, including positions at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Epoch Communications, which also specialized in historic preservation. Divya received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Journalism from Washington & Lee University and her Master of Arts in Communication from George Mason University.
Lolita Lopez, MPH, Research Director, IMCHC
Email: llopez@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 27
Lolita T. Lopez, Research Director for IMCHC, has worked for 4 years in the field since completing her MPH at the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Public Health. Lolita has worked as a consultant on various projects doing research and data analyses in the areas of pediatric obesity, asthma, diabetes, and breast cancer.
Kelly McKenna, Project Coordinator, Chicago-Area Immunization Campaign
Email: kmckenna@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161
Kelly McKenna joined IMCHC in May 2012 as a Project Coordinator for the Chicago Area Immunization Campaign (CAIC). Kelly has a Masters of Arts degree in Education Policy Studies from The George Washington University, Washington DC, and a Bachelors of Science degree in History, and Politics and Government from Illinois State University. Prior to joining CAIC, Kelly worked as an intern for the Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers, and the American Youth Policy Forum. In graduate school, Kelly’s coursework included a comprehensive approach to research, policy, and advocacy.
Melba Miles, Community Health Advocate, Campaign to Save Our Mothers and Babies
Email: mmiles@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 773.651.0520
Melba Miles bio will soon be posted.
Melissa Ponce, Senior Project Coordinator, Chicago Area Immunization Campaign
Email: mponce@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 33
Melissa Ponce, Project Coordinator for the Chicago Area Immunization Campaign, has over seven years of experience working in the non-profit sector to improve the well-being of communities. For two years, Melissa worked for the Albany Park Community Center, educating and providing services to families in order for them to live in a healthy community. Melissa initially began work with IMCHC’s Covering Kids & Families - Illinois project on expanding healthcare coverage, and she then moved on to work for the CAIC. She has a BA from Northwestern University in psychology. Melissa has a healthy son that is immunized on time.
Sheila Sanders, Project Coordinator, Chicago Area Immunization Campaign/
Project Manager, Campaign to Save Our Mothers and BabiesEmail: ssanders@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 23
Sheila S. Sanders, Project Coordinator for the Chicago Area Immunization Campaign, has served nine years in the field of public health. She spent four years on the Closing the Gap Initiative on Infant Mortality at IMCHC. Prior to joining IMCHC, she provided technical assistance and consultation to African American HIV/AIDS community-based organizations.
April Thompson,Community Health Advocate, Campaign to Save Our Mothers and Babies
Email: athompson@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 773.651.0520
April Thompson is currently a Community Health Advocate for the Campaign to save our Mother’s and Babies Project. Ms. Thompson began her career as a peer educator for the Closing the Gap on Infant Mortality Project from 2004-2007. She is from the Englewood Community and committed to empowering the youth of the neighborhood. She is a member of many committees and organizations in the Englewood Community, some of them include 7th District Domestic Violence Subcommittee, Greater Englewood Healthy Start Initiative, and the Englewood Safe Start Council.
Kathy Waligora, Policy and Communications Coordinator
Email: kwaligora@ilmaternal.org | Phone: 312.491.8161 x 29
Kathy Waligora recently joined IMCHC as Communications and Development Coordinator and will launch our comprehensive marketing and development program. Kathy, recently earned a Master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago, with a certificate from the Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy. She has long been an advocate for women’s health, beginning her social work career as a Pre-Natal Care Coordinator for low income women. Prior to graduate school, she also flexed her policy muscles as a Campus Organizer and Activism Coordinator
with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. As a graduate student, she gained considerable knowledge in the field of non-profit administration and policy advocacy and analysis, which she applied as a Program Coordinator with Building a Healthier Chicago, a project of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region V.
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