ISPC SPEAKERS

Sobia Ansari, MD, mph - Oak Park

Sobia is a board certified emergency physician and activist. She grew up in New York City and received her medical degree from SUNY-Downstate, Brooklyn. She completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She moved to Chicago to pursue a Masters in Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a fellowship in International Emergency Medicine at Rush University Medical Center. She is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Rush University Medical Center and co-Director of the Social and Global Emergency Medicine track for the Rush Emergency Medicine residency program. She has worked with organizations like International Medical Corps and Konbit Sante to volunteer in Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, and Haiti. She is an active member of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) and the Illinois Single-Payer Coalition (ISPC). She also serves on the boards of Personal PAC and the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians.

She loves being a mother to two boys and a dog, a wife to a talented attorney, and a physician with a conscience and a passion for action.

David Ansell, MD, MPH, FACP — Oak Park

Dr. David Ansell is the Senior Vice President for Community Health Equity at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

He is an internal medicine physician, trained at Cook County Hospital in the late 1970s, where he spent 17 years holding a number of positions including chief of general medicine/primary care. After leaving County, he spent 10 years as chair of the department of internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, located in one of the highest hardship communities in Chicago. He has been particularly involved in health equity work, bringing attention to higher rates of breast cancer mortality for African-American women in Chicago. In 2007 he co-founded the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Taskforce, a not-for-profit that focuses on eliminating the racial disparities in breast cancer mortality.

He is the author of numerous papers and book chapters on health disparities. In 2011 he published an acclaimed memoir based on his experiences as a doctor in Chicago, County: Life, Death and Politics at Chicago’s Public Hospital. His most recent book, The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills, was released by the University of Chicago Press in 2017.

Dr. Ansell is a graduate of SUNY Upstate Medical University and received his Masters of Public Health from the University of Illinois School of Public Health.

Bill Bianchi - Chicago

Bill has been active in the single payer movement and ISPC since 2007 and has served on the ISPC board for 6 years.  He has developed a comprehensive report on the ramifications of the current healthcare system and single payer.

Bill also served as the state coordinator of Progressive Democrats of America and on the national training team for the Sierra Club.  Professionally, Bill taught high school English in Chicago Public schools and later worked as developer of customized training programs for businesses and non-profit organizations.  He lives in Chicago with wife Judith and two dogs.          

Jordan Centers, RN — tinley park

Jordan is a community mental health nurse in Rogers Park. She spends her workdays navigating our mess of a healthcare system and witnesses the barriers accessing care for the poor and those with mental illness. Jordan serves on the board of the Illinois Single-Payer Coalition and is former Board President. She is looking forward to providing quality single payer knowledge to folks all across the state.

Martese Chism, RN - Chicago

Martese is a Registered Nurse and leader with National Nurses United. She has worked at Cook County/John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital for over 27 years taking care of Cook County’s most vulnerable and neglected patients. She is the great-granddaughter of a civil rights activist. In 1965, her great-grandmother marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Congressman John Lewis across the Edmund Pettus Bridge for voting rights. 

In 2005, Martese’s volunteer experience with Hurricane Katrina/Rita’s survivors solidified her belief that Medicare For All is a cause worth fighting for. She believes the struggle for Medicare For All is the most important struggle of the 21st Century. Martese’s favorite Fannie Lou Hamer’s quote is, “There is one thing you have got to learn about our movement. Three people are better than no people.”

Claudia Fegan, MD, CHCQM, FACP - chicago

Dr. Claudia Fegan is Treasurer and National Coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program. She has appeared on national television and radio programs on behalf of PNHP, and has testified before congressional committees on a wide range of health care issues. She has lectured extensively to both medical and community audiences on health care reform in the U.S. and Canada, and is a co-author of the book “Universal Healthcare: What the United States Can Learn from Canada” and a contributor to “10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care.”

Dr. Fegan is executive medical officer for the Cook County Health and Hospital System and chief medical officer at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. She is also president of the Chicago-based Health and Medicine Policy Research Group. In 2016, Modern Healthcare named Dr. Fegan one of “10 Minority Executives to Watch,” noting her achievements in the medical profession and her single-payer activism.

Dr. Fegan received her undergraduate degree from Fisk University and her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. She is also certified in health care quality and management and is a diplomate of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians.

Peter Gann, MD, ScD — Evanston

Dr. Gann has been a member of Physicians for a National Health Program for over 20 years, and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Illinois chapter of PNHP.  He is currently a Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, where he teaches and conducts research on cancer prevention and public health.  During his career in medicine he also has worked as a primary care physician, director of an occupational/environmental health program in a state health department, and a program director at the National Academy of Sciences.  He is fiercely committed to the simplicity, fairness and feasibility of a single-payer health care, and is excited about the opportunity to talk about it with all kinds of people.

Abla Gharib — Chicago

Abla was born in Dearborn, Michigan. She has four sons and a daughter. She lived in Florida for thirteen years, received a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida. While living in Florida, she became sick due to toxic shock syndrome that led to amputations. She came to Chicago for rehabilitation and to be near her sons. She got involved with Access Living and got to know many great friends. Through her involvement with Access Living and friends, she learned to become an advocate for people with disabilities. Currently she’s enrolled at Northeastern University for her master’s in Rehab Counseling. She’s looking forward to graduating one day and continuing to serve the community, specifically people with disabilities. She’s so glad to be part the Illinois Single-Payer coalition and be part of the team. Best of all getting to know all these compassionate people.

David Gill, MD – Bloomington

Dr. Gill grew up in Niles, Illinois. He received both his B.S. in mathematics and his M.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is board certified in Family Medicine. He has practiced emergency medicine throughout central Illinois for the past 20 years. He also works as the associate medical director of a hospice. He previously served as the Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Dr. Gill has been a member of Physicians for a National Health Program for nearly 30 years. He has done volunteer work in the past for Planned Parenthood, and he is a proud member of the ACLU, the NAACP, and Physicians for Reproductive Health. 

Robert Herzog, PA - Pomona

Robert was raised on a small family farm in Lenzburg, IL. His father was a UMWA coal miner. His mom was a factory assembly line worker. He was the first in his family to be college educated. He is a Physician’s Assistant at a federally qualified Rural Health Clinic, a member of the Illinois Rural Health Association and he volunteers with Shriner's Hospitals for Children. Robert is married to a psychologist who also works in Rural Health. They have two teen daughters and live in Pomona, IL.

Kathryn Kaintz, BSN, RN — Chicago

Kathryn, originally from St. Louis, MO, holds a BSN from Jefferson University in Philadelphia and a BA in Anthropology and Public Health from Tulane University in New Orleans. She currently works as a community health nurse on the south and southwest sides of Chicago with a particular interest in chronic disease education and management. She advocates everyday for clients within our overly complex and inequitable healthcare system and is committed to joining the movement towards single payer healthcare.

Hale Landes — Naperville

Hale is a 33 year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 134.  He holds a B.A. from Western Illinois University in Sociology.  Hale is the committee chair of ISPC’s Labor Outreach Committee, and is on the board of Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice.  Hale was recently appointed to Congresswoman Lauren Underwood's (D IL 14th) Labor Advisory Committee.  He also volunteered for 10 years with the Naperville Police Department’s Community Radio Watch where he served on its Board of Directors for four years.  Hale is an elected Precinct Committeeperson in Will County’s Wheatland Township 10th Precinct and continues to serve The Democratic Party of Wheatland Township as its Vice Chair.

Hale is an advocate for single payer, social justice, and working people.  He has walked many picket lines for different unions and causes as far away as Kentucky. 

Hale has appeared on television, radio and in print including articles about single payer coauthored with Dr. Anne Scheetz.

Winnie Lin, MD, FAAP - Chicago

Dr. Winnie Lin is a pediatrician. She was born and raised in the Chicago area. She received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed pediatric residency at the University of Chicago. She is a primary care pediatrician at Mile Square Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center on the South Side of Chicago. She also teaches pediatric residents and medical students at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an active member of both the Illinois Single-Payer Coalition and Physicians for a National Health Program.

Monica Maalouf, MD - Oak park

Dr. Monica Maalouf is a primary care internist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine. She did her undergraduate training at the University of Chicago where she studied biology and anthropology. She went to medical school at the University of Minnesota and completed her residency training at New York University School of Medicine in New York City. Her medical interests include HIV care and women's health with a particular focus on marginalized communities. She is Co-president for Northern Illinois of Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP) Illinois and an active member of the Illinois Single-Payer Coalition. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Lisa Peck, MD — Buffalo Grove

Lisa Peck has practiced Internal Medicine in Lake County, Illinois for almost 26 years. She believes in preventive care and overall well being. She was named Top Doctor in Primary Care in Lake County by her peers in 2014 and 2018. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and is a member of the American College of Physicians. She co-organizes Our Revolution Lake County and has been organizing Medicare for All events. She was recently appointed to the steering committee of the Illinois chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. She lives in Buffalo Grove with her husband and sons. For fun she spends time with her family, enjoys cooking and writing. She recently started playing keyboard and singing with her husband who plays bass guitar.

Neil Perlman, MD - Lincolnshire

Neil B. Perlman, MD, is a physician and board certified in internal medicine.  His primary interest is Preventive Medicine. He received an undergraduate degree in bioengineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana in 1985, followed by a medical degree from the University of Illinois in 1989. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Northwestern University/Evanston Hospital in 1992.

After residency, Dr. Perlman joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill as Assistant Professor of Medicine and was appointed Medical Director of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.  In 1996, he returned to Chicago to join the staff of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and establish a private practice in Chicago’s Northern suburbs.  He became actively involved in pharmaceutical research studies and joined Rush University Medical Center as an Assistant Professor to pursue smoking cessation research. He holds two patents for the Quitting Time Watch, a wristwatch designed to help individuals quit smoking. After taking a break from medical practice in 2009 to fight colon cancer, he joined R1 RCM as a physician advisor to hospitals for Medicare compliance and assist with private insurance coverage.  He is currently the Medical Director of a not-for-profit, organization for familial cancers, CCARE - Lynch Syndrome (www.fightlynch.org).

John perryman, MD — Rockford

Dr. John Perryman, a general pediatrician, is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, and completed pediatrics training at Children’s Memorial Hospital. He is currently employed by MercyHealth, working in the Rockford area. In addition to serving on several health care committees over his 25-plus years in practice, he has completed multiple graduate level business courses. Dr. Perryman is a past Co-president of PNHP Illinois, and is working on outreach about single-payer health care to a variety of organizations in the state.

Dr. Susan Rogers, MD, FACP — Chicago

Dr. Susan Rogers, President of Physicians for a National Health Program, is recently retired from Stroger Hospital of Cook County, but continues as a volunteer hospitalist and internist there. While employed there she was co-director of medical student programs for the Department of Medicine and received numerous teaching awards from medical students and residents. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rush University, where she continues to be an active member of the Committee of Admissions.

Dr. Rogers received her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed her residency at Cook County Hospital, where she served an additional year as Chief Resident. She is a national board member of Physicians for a National Health Program and a past co-president of Health Care for All Illinois. She previously was Medical Director of the Near North Health Service Corp, an FQHC in Chicago, and remained on their Board for many years after she left her directorship there. Dr. Rogers is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member of the National Medical Association.

Carrie Jackson, M.A. - Plainfield

I’m a dedicated and passionate public health professional. My experience has been in disease-prevention education and community outreach that is focused on improving the health and quality of life for others. In my position as resource coordinator for COVID-19 at Will County Health Department, I’ve worked with some of the most vulnerable populations, those individuals at the highest risk of poor health outcomes from COVID-19. Most of these high-risk individuals fall into this category because they suffer from one, or many of the social determinants of health, such as access to basic needs including quality healthcare, affordable housing, nutritious food transportation, among other disparities.

My profession has broadened my knowledge of the major systemic imbalances that exist in our social safety net programs; and I’ve become an outspoken advocate for improving systems that will “actually” work for the people who need them most. In 2017, I began volunteering for progressive issues and movements and have learned community organizing at the grassroots level. Collaboration, I believe is one of the most critical components to social change, and I’ve gained valuable experience over the years collaborating with community-based organizations, government agencies, and elected officials on projects that are aimed at helping people live healthier, happier lives, and in a fair, equitable and just manner.