CWHC Board of Directors
Mary Ann Johnson
Co-Founder, President Emerita
Mary Ann has been involved in the organization since its founding. She is the former director of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum at UIC.
Maureen Hellwig
President
Maureen was Senior Director of Programs for Erie Neighborhood House until her retirement in 2015, where she helped found the Allied Health Care Career Network.
Esther Nieves
Secretary
Esther Nieves has worked with grassroots, statewide, and national organizations. Her career experience includes leadership positions in city government (Chicago), not-for-profit/non-governmental, and philanthropy.
Cristina De La Rosa
Treasurer
Cristina De La Rosa is the Executive Director of Erie Neighborhood House, a nonforprofit social services agency serving over 13,000 low-income, primarily Latinx families and individuals through education and empowerment in Chicago.
Lisa Bernal
Director
Lisa is Program Manager for the Chicago Public Schools, American Indian Education Program and a tribal member of the Sisseton Wahpeton reservation in South Dakota.
Kerry Cochrane, LCSW
Director
Kerry is currently a psychotherapist in private practice, and was formerly Clinical Director at Cathedral Counseling Center. Kerry has an educational background in Library Studies, archives and oral histories.
Xyla Gatilao
Director
Xyla has served as Illinois state chair for WISE (Women Improving the Strength of the Enterprise), a Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion business resource group at HCSC.
Margot McMahon
Director
Margot McMahon sculpts human, plant and animal forms expressing her hope that decisions be made to support life on earth. Most recently, she built the Gwendolyn Brooks Monument for Gwendolyn Brooks Park.
Riva Lehrer
Director
Riva Lehrer is an artist, writer and curator who focuses on the socially challenged body. She is best known for representations of people whose physical embodiment, sexuality, or gender identity have long been stigmatized.
Laurie Little
Director
Laurie is a Chicago based filmmaker, educator, digital artist, colorist, photographer and founder of the production company, Luminist Films.
Beth Loch
Director
Beth is a Senior Archival Specialist at Chicago Public Library’s Special Collections in the Harold Washington Library Center. As an archivist, Loch creates exhibits, processes collections, works with researchers, and plans programs to showcase the diverse history of Chicagoans.
Melissa Roels
Director
Melissa Roels is a Marketing Director with over a decade of experience crafting impactful campaigns that engage communities and harness the power of creativity. A multihyphenate marketer, designer, and artist, she has worked for notable organizations such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and Uniting Voices (formerly the Chicago Children’s Choir).
Rana Segal
Director
Rana has worked as a director, producer and cinematographer for 30 years and has produced/directed many documentaries about Chicago women.
Judith Singleton
Director
Judith Singleton is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Dominican University. Dr. Singleton is a medical sociologist who focuses on issues concerning women's reproductive health. She is currently researching the inequality of perinatal health outcomes in the city of Chicago. .
Jyoti Srivastava
Director
Jyoti Srivastava is an author and photographer. She is passionate about Chicago's art-scene and has spent many years documenting Chicago's Public Art. She has published a book, "Contemporary Sculptors of Chicago", which highlights the work of fifty sculptors of Chicago. Her photographs have been published in book and magazines in the US and abroad.