Staff

Veronica I. Arreola, MPA, Director of the WISE Program, is a double alum of UIC. Ms. Arreola earned a bachelors degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a major in Biological Sciences and a minor in Women's Studies in 1997. After graduation she went to work at the UIC Center for Research on Women and Gender on WISE projects until 2000. Ms. Arreola transferred to the UIC Department of Biological Sciences to advise the 2,000 students majoring in both Biological Sciences and Biochemistry. She did this while also earning her masters in Public Administration (concentrations in Gender and Women's Studies and Management of Public Organizations) at UIC. In 2004, Ms. Arreola returned to the CRWG and WISE to continue creating a supportive campus environment for women studying in STEM majors.

Ms. Arreola has also been an active member of the National Organization for Women at the local, state, and national level since 2000. On campus she is active with the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Women and the CCSL Latina Network. In her spare time, Arreola can be found reading, knitting, or watching baseball with her husband and three-year-old daughter.

Linda Siebert Rapoport, WISEST Director In this role, Linda focuses on STEM faculty and oversees five strategies to: transform the UIC culture, pilot initiatives to attract and retain women faculty, transform STEM departments to foster diversity and women's leadership, promote scholarship and teaching, and improve the ability to track and report on gender equity.

Prior to joining UIC in early 2007, Linda founded and directed the University of Kentucky's Office of Work-Life which is now recognized as a leader in academy culture transformation. As a specialist in organizational change strategy and branding, academy and corporate workplace transformation, worklife, diversity, and corporate human resources, Linda was the First Vice President/Head of Bank One's Work-Life and Diversity corporate area for 74,000 employees nationwide. Under Linda's guidance, Bank One was recognized for nine years as one of the nation's "100 Best Places to Work". Prior to Bank One, Linda founded the worklife strategy for Citibank NA in the Midwest region. Linda holds a Master's degree from the University of Chicago and two post graduate diplomas in family systems. Linda is an appointed member of the Conference Board’s WorkLife Leadership Council, a group of Fortune 100 worklife and organizational change leaders.

Sarah Shirk, MPH, Outreach Director, received a BA from Swarthmore College and an MPH from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her career has taken many twists and turns including working in community outreach for a world class orchestra and directing client services for a small health outcomes start-up company that went public in 1998 at the height of the tech bubble.

Her research interests in gender equity and health outcomes are applied in her current role as outreach coordinator for the UIC Center for Research on Women and Gender. In addition to evaluating health services provided to women at the UIC Center for Women's Health, she coordinates a mentoring program for the Women in Science and Engineering program. The mentoring program called GEM-SET has served as over 1,000 students from all across the U.S. and now focuses on the needs of our neighbors in the greater Chicagoland area.

Her hobbies outside of UIC include dabbling in local politics with the League of Women Voters, cycling, and traveling with her wonderful partner and 8 year old son who always help her to see the bright side of every situation.

Claudia Morrissey, MD, MPH is currently the Deputy Director of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Center for Research on Women and Gender and National Center of Excellence in Women's Health (COE). She is also founder of UIC WISE & the WISEST Initiative.

Dr. Morrissey is also a board member of Rape Victim Advocates, a Chicago non-profit that provides rape counseling for ER's in Cook County. Morrissey has developed and taught courses in women's health at Johns Hopkins, Tufts, and Northwestern. Dr. Morrissey is currently a member of the UIC SPH Global Health Curriculum Committee and will help develop and teach new international course offerings. She has also been assigned the lead role in increasing CRWG's focus on international women's health research.

Ruth Czarnecki, PhD Candidate, in the Mathematics Department studying pure Mathematics. Outside of math, Ruth enjoys reading and traveling. She received her undergraduate degree in mathematics from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Ruth is the graduate assistant to the GEM-SET Mentoring for Success Program where she coordinates mathematics tutoring for female high school students in the Chicago Public Schools.

Manya Khan, MPA Candidate, with a concentration in Financial Management. Ms. Khan enjoys reading, working out, and do-it-yourself projects. Her future career goal focuses on traveling to other countries to help with international human rights issues. As a graduate assistant for the WISE Program she assists with the mentoring program and planning and promoting events.

Tanisha A. Ross, MUPP Candidate, is a master's candidate in Urban Planning and Policy with a concentration in Community Development. She is also a recent graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans, LA and also, a Chicago Public Schools Alumna. Despite the devastation that occurred due to Hurricane Katrina, she was still able to graduate in four years from a prestigious university. "Therefore, this means that we all can conquer our goals despite our many obstacles."

Angela Walker, WISEST Graduate Assistant.