Matt Siemer is the Executive Director of Mobile Care Chicago. For 20 years, Mobile Care has used Asthma Vans to provide allergy and asthma care to over 13,000 children at no cost. Through partnerships with local schools, the organization also surveys 15,000 children annually, attempting to identify children who have asthma but lack a diagnosis. For asthma patients who stay with their Asthma Van for one year or more, 95% will never go back to an ER for asthma. During Matt’s tenure, Mobile Care’s programs have won local and national distinctions including most recently the American Lung Association in Greater Chicago’s 2016 Impact Award, the 2017 Premier Cares Award, the 2018 CHEST Community Service Award, and the 2019 EPA National Environmental Leadership Award. Matt holds a BS in Philosophy & Literature from Truman State University and an MA in Philosophy from Duke University.

Vice President  

Anna Volerman, MD
Co-Chair, Data Sharing Committee of the Illinois Asthma Partnership

Anna Volerman, MD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at University of Chicago Medicine. She is a primary care physician for both children and adults, as well as an advocate for children and families in both the clinic and community settings. She received her Bachelors degree from Northwestern University and graduated summa cum laude from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine / Pediatrics residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Boston Children’s Hospital. Since joining University of Chicago, she has developed and led innovative programs in clinical and community settings to improve health care delivery and optimize care. Her work focuses on reducing health disparities for children, including in asthma and obesity, with a focus on examining and improving systems of care in collaboration with academic and community partners. In addition to her work at the University of Chicago Medicine, Anna is the new Co-Chair of the Data Sharing Committee of the Illinois Asthma Partnership. 

Felicia Fuller, DrPH
American Lung Association

Felicia Fuller, DrPH plays a central role in the development and coordination of ALA mission activities, including health promotion, lung health education, and advocacy. She works collaboratively with ALA staff to plan, manage, and implement activities in the following areas: adult and child lung disease services, environmental health programming, pediatric quality improvement services for health professionals, and overall Chicago market grant outcomes. Prior to this position Dr. Fuller managed a cooperative agreement between CDC’s Healthy Aging Program and the Alzheimer’s Association National Office. In that capacity she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Healthy Brain Initiative which involved providing technical assistance to staff, and coordination of the research demonstration projects targeting at-risk communities. Along with these duties, Dr. Fuller assisted in the cognitive impairment surveillance opportunities with the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Dr. Fuller also worked at the Chicago Department of Public Health in the Epidemiology Program where she led a city-wide educational outreach program based on BRFSS data and assisted in bioterrorism efforts. Dr. Fuller holds her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, MPH from the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, and her doctoral degree from the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior.

Executive Director

Rachelle Paul-Brutus, MPH

Rachelle Paul-Brutus brings years of experience as a leader in public health, including time with Partners in Health-Chicago, the Chicago Department of Public Health, Sinai Health Systems, and the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health. During her previous tenures, she’s worked in such areas as community health, infection disease prevention programs for underrepresented populations in Chicago, and played a pivotal communication role for the city of Chicago during the COVID pandemic.

Rachelle Paul-Brutus holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Walden University (Baltimore, MD) and Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biochemistry (with Honors) from the University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA).

Directors

Helen Hammond Redding, MBA
Christopher D. Redding Youth Asthma Foundation

Helen is an accomplished financial professional and community advocate. She spent 41 years in the banking industry, including 26 years at Citibank from which she retired in 2013 from her posi-tion as Senior Vice President of Community Development for the state of Illinois. Helen currently serves as Founder and Community Outreach Director of the Christopher D. Redding Youth Asthma Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 2014 in memory of her youngest son, Christopher, a 3-sport student athlete who died of an exercise-induced asthma attack at the age of 18. Through collaborative partnerships, the CDR Youth Asthma Foundation provides asthma screenings, access to asthma camps, and asthma management education through workshops, health fairs, and community events. Competitive college scholarships are also awarded annually to gradu-ating student-athletes with a medically- diagnosed case of asthma.

Helen has served as a Board member of the Chicago Public Schools Academy of Finance, Mercy Housing Lakefront, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, and the AKArama Foundation of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Theta Omega Chapter. Helen has also served as a men-tor for students in the Citi Foundation/UNCF Mentoring Program. Helen currently serves as a mem-ber of the Chicago Asthma Consortium Community Advisory Board and Society of Mannequins Trophy Board. Helen is a member of the Hoffman Estates Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Chi Alpha Omega Chapter.

Helen holds an MBA in Finance from DePaul University, a BA in Business Administration from Elmhurst College, and a Certificate in Banking from the University Of Virginia Graduate School of Retail Bank Management.

Janice Henry, RN
The Loretto Hospital

Janice Henry is the Community Health Nurse at The Loretto Hospital. She is a compassionate, conscientious, dedicated professional registered nurse with 30 plus years of nursing service, with a background of providing optimal care in a variety of settings. Specializing in Community Health dedicated to providing and ensuring high standards of culturally competent care for a variety of patients with diverse needs. My goal is to advocate for access to care for everyone, especially persons in communities of color to eliminate health disparities. My community work includes providing health fairs and screenings I am dedicated to patient education. My work includes collaborating with other health care agencies, elected officials and community partners.

Dr. Reneé Matthews
Content Creator, Host, Author, Doctor, Media Expert

With her natural charisma and authenticity, Dr. Renee Matthews is a natural connector with an extraordinary ability to motivate, inspire, and create positive results. She is described as a big picture thinker and a results-driven optimist with a drive for enterprise success and has influential connections across social, cultural, professional, and economic circles. Like any great leader, Dr. Renee is a highly perceptive, creative and intuitive individual built with a strategic mindset. She's an innovator, resourceful, determined and thrives on change and strategic planning. Dr. Renee connects ideas into valued solutions and looks at how she can contribute rather than conform. Dr. Renee produces a weekly live talk show, The Ask Dr. Renee Show, with celebrity interviews she also allows the viewers to ask questions. She also produces a daily Periscope show, #ReneesRemedies.

Dr. Renee has began coaching others to "Live the life they deserve" by helping them to develop the reputation that will help them to live their dreams. She is a social media guru with extensive knowledge of LinkedIn, Twitter, Periscope, Facebook, and Blogging.

Erica Salem, MPH
Respiratory Health Association

Erica is a public health professional with over 30 years of experience, and she currently serves as Senior Director, Strategy, Programs, and Policy at Respiratory Health Association. She has 25 years experience at the Chicago Department of Public Health, where she most recently served as Deputy Commissioner.  Much of her work there focused on collaborative planning and partnerships, including the creation of the award-winning Chicago Center for Community Partnerships and the Healthy Chicago Hospital Collaborative, a collaborative of 27 hospitals working together to address population health priorities. In addition, she has led numerous organizational, public health systems, and issue-specific strategic planning processes. Erica earned her Masters in Public Health from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Laura Shreffler, MSN, RN, AE-C
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital

Laura is a pediatric nurse working at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Childrens hospital for 27 years. Laura is a certified Asthma educator, with 13 years of experience coordinating the inpatient asthma program using an integrated care model. She oversees patient/family asthma education, asthma research, and clinician education. She has been instrumental in the development of an Asthma Clinical Care Guideline and with creating a pediatric asthma bronchodilator weaning tool, Lurie Children s Asthma Score (LCAS). She promotes use of interactive educational resources to engage patients and stimulate care management and preventive health measures. She supports asthma community outreach through involvement with Lurie Children s Healthy Communities team, Chicago Asthma Consortium, and Respiratory Health Association, providing professional development workshops, collaboration with school working group, and lung health advocacy with state legislators. Laura holds a Masters of Science in Nursing from Chamberlain University.