Our Team

Walter Rosenberg is the Director of Social Work and Community Health at Rush University Medical Center. In this role he oversees community social work, health promotion, disease prevention, and mental health operations. In addition, Walter is also the director of growth and impact for the Center for Health and Social Care Integration at Rush (CHaSCI), where he directs its strategic planning and national training initiatives. He is the president of the Chicago District of the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care and serves on the advisory board of the Dominican University Graduate School of Social Work. He is a 2017 Hartford Practice Change Leader.

Walter received his Master’s in Social Work and BA from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his Master’s in Health Systems Management from Rush Universi

Bonnie Ewald is the Managing Director of CHaSCI and Program Manager of Strategic Development and Policy for Rush University Medical Center’s Social Work and Community Health department. In this position, she leads several program development, training, and policy advocacy initiatives related to integrating health care and social services in collaboration with internal and external partners. Bonnie also assists with department-wide grant development, leads a team of AmeriCorps members, leads the policy core of Rush’s Center for Excellence in Aging, and serves as an assistant professor in Rush’s Department of Social Work and as adjunct faculty in Rush’s Health Systems Management department. She also serves on the Healthcare and Aging Network Leadership Council and the Chicagoland Regional Planning Council for the American Society on Aging.

Bonnie has her master’s degree in public policy studies from the University of Chicago (2018), a post-graduate certificate in Sustainable Urban Design from Archeworks (2013), and a bachelor’s in mathematics and geography from the University of Wisconsin (2011).

Elizabeth (Lizzi) Chandler, MSW, LCSW is the Manager of Clinical Excellence and Training within the Department of Social Work and Community Health of Rush University Medical Center. Lizzi is also the Senior Manager of Training and Site Engagement with the Center for Health and Social Care Integration (CHaSCI), providing clinical and training support to health systems and community-based organizations across the nation as they implement CHaSCI Care Models.

In addition to her work at Rush, Lizzi is the Secretary for the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care-Illinois Chapter. Lizzi holds a Master of Social Work from DePaul University in Chicago, IL and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. 

Dr. Teresa Moro is a Research and Communications Coordinator at CHaSCI and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work within the College of Health Sciences at Rush University. Dr. Moro is also a Translational Research Coordinator III managing several federally funded clinical trials in the Rush College of Nursing. With CHaSCI, Dr. Moro supports multiple efforts to promote health and social care integration. Dr. Moro is also on the Board of Directors for The Alliance for Disability in Health Care.

Dr. Moro ’s focus is on improving health care for individuals with chronic illness and disabilities. Her dissertation work explored end-of-life care for adults with intellectual disability living in small community agency group residences. Dr. Moro has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed and conference presentations in social work, nursing, and public health.

Dr. Moro completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees in Social Work at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago with a concentration in health services.

Alyssa McFadden (she/her) is a Program Coordinator within the Social Work and Community Health Department and the Center for Health and Social Care Integration at RUSH University Medical Center. Within this role, she supports a variety of research and evaluation projects exploring the efficacy of social care with a variety of populations. Alyssa also assists with policy advocacy initiatives and grassroots organizing focused on the integration of health care and social services. Prior to working with RUSH, she maintained a clinical practice as a board-certified music therapist while contracting as a research assistant on a variety of music and wellness-based research projects.

Alyssa has her master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago at Urbana-Champaign (2022) and her bachelors in music education with an emphasis in music therapy from the University of Kansas (2017). In addition to her current work, Alyssa holds volunteer positions with the Illinois Association for Music Therapy and the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders.

Emily Levi-D’Ancona (she/her) is a Program Coordinator in the Center for Health and Social Care Integration (CHaSCI) at RUSH University Medical Center. In this role, she works to optimize the CHaSCI team’s operations and communications, assists with the development of social care workforce training curricula, coordinates various social work and CHW training programs., and helps to coordinate the National Coalition on Care Coordination (N3C). Emily is also an alum of the AmeriCorps program housed within CHaSCI, which she now helps to supervise.

Emily has her master’s degree in public health policy and administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2023) and her bachelors in international studies from Kenyon College (2016).

Teresa is the Lead Community Health Worker with the Rush University System for Health. Teresa was instrumental in developing and implementing a community health worker program and serves as the day-to-day lead for the team. Teresa and her team conduct social determinant of health screenings primarily in the emergency department as well as provide assistance in applying for public benefits and connection to community resources. In her role, Teresa has also trained Community Health Advocates for Blue Cross of California and serves as an advisor to Rush University students working to assist community members with social needs. Teresa is proud to serve as Chair of the Illinois Community Health Workers Association.

Teresa formally began her career as a Community Health Worker in 2014 at Enlace Chicago. While at Enlace, she served as the ACA Enrollment Assistor and developed a robust team of community health workers. She also served as community resource educator at Saint Anthony Hospital. Additionally, Teresa previously served as a member of the Illinois Community Health Worker Advisory Board in 2014. This Board, commissioned by the Illinois Department of Public Health, was tasked with defining the needs of the CHW workforce for the State of Illinois.  Proud of her Durango, Mexico heritage, Teresa immigrated to the United States with her family when she was a teenager.  Teresa has completed coursework at Loyola University Chicago in Communications and resides in Chicago with her family.

Yessenia Cervantes-Vazquez is a bilingual Lead Community Health Worker (LCHW) in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department of Social Work and Community Health at Rush University Medical Center. In this role Yessenia provides direct patient and community member health education, social support resources, public benefits enrollment assistance and collaborates with community partners. Yessenia is one of the CHW trainers for CHaSCI. She is also a member of the Rush Immigrant Health Working Group which works to actively advance health care coverage and access for immigrant populations.  

Yessenia began her career as a CHW with Alivio Medical Center where she provided community education and resources during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and played an essential role in the impact of Alivio CHW team’s outstanding reach in Latino neighborhoods during the 2020 Census. Yessenia obtained her AA from Harold Washington College in 2012. She completed the Community Health Worker Certificate Program at Malcolm X College in 2022. Yessenia was one of the collaborators for the Spanish Vaccine Ambassador Course currently offered at Malcolm X.  

In addition to her work at Rush, Yessenia is a parent representative on the Local School Council for Orozco Academy where she advocates for educational, health and social advancement of Latino and Spanish speaking families. 

Ebony Henderson is a Lead Community Health Worker within the Community Health Equity and Engagement with Rush University Medical Center. In this position, she supervises a team of Community Health Workers who lend their expertise in various areas of community outreach, coordinates community events and foster partnerships with local Community-based organizations. Ebony is also a trainer for internal and external partners for Community health Workers, Mental Health First Aid, and facilitates workshops for the Chronic Disease Prevention programs.

Ebony has an Associates of Applied Science which she used as a Medical Assistant previously at St Vincent’s Hospital system in Indianapolis. Ebony has also completed course work through Malcolm X College receiving her certificate as a Community Health Worker.

Ruth Richman works as a community practice social worker within the Social Work and Community Health department at Rush University Medical Center. In this role, Ruth partners with two other social workers to provide care management to patients referred by Rush community health workers, Rush clinicians, community event attendees and callers to the department’s 800 Social Care Help Line. The focus of our social work care management is connection to resources for identified needs associated with health outcomes of the people we serve. These fundamental needs include access to housing, food, medical care, and mental health services.  

Ruth also helps facilitate trainings for social workers on how to integrate CHaSCI’s AIMS/Bridge models into their practices and participates in internal and external trainings for community health workers. 

Ruth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University, a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago’s Crown School of Social Work. Prior to her current role, Ruth provided psychotherapy to children experiencing loss, served on an inter-disciplinary hospice team, and worked as a reporter/writer for a variety of publications.