Members

Chair - Susan Vega, Chicago, is Alivio Medical Center's Programs Manager.  She leads a team of staff and volunteers helping older adults and families in the community to understand the public benefit programs and health insurance options, apply for benefits, enroll in and use their healthcare plans. Ms. Vega also manages Alivio's Chicago Family Case Management, Women, Infant and Children (WIC -  supplemental nutrition program) and the Community Health Education and Promotion team.

Susan Vega has been assisting older adults and their families at Alivio Medical Center since 2004.  Her role includes coordination of activities of volunteers and staff through the National Council on Aging's Benefit Enrollment Center, Get Covered Illinois Certified Application Counselor program, Senior Health Insurance Program as well as the management of the Pilsen Satellite Senior Center at Casa Maravilla.

Vice Chairman – Kim Hunt, is the Executor Director of Pride Action Tank, which is a project incubator and think tank on LGBTQ issues under the Aids Foundation of Chicago, where Kim also serves as the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy.  Aging is one of the priority issues for Pride Action Tank.  Kim is also a Member of the LGBTQ Affinity Group that's part of the American Society on Aging. She helped found the aging project at Affinity Community services on the Southside of Chicago serving the LGBTQ community.

Nominating Chair - Britta Larson, is the Senior Services Director at the Center on Halstead where she has served the LGBT community for over ten years.  Britta has hosted many presentations and trainings on the topic of LGBT Aging.  She is currently Co-chair for the LGBT Aging Network based in Chicago.  Prior to her work at the Center on Halstead, Britta worked at a senior living community center in social services and marketing.  Britta is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator with long-term care experience.

Secretary - Julie Bobitt, Ph.D., is currently at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign where she oversees the inter-disciplinary Health Sciences program, including students who are interested in aging and the aging minor.  Julie will be transferring to the University of Chicago where she will serve as an Assistant Professor in Department of Medicine at the Center for Dissimilation, Termination, and Implementation Science.  Dr. Bobitt has been working in the aging field for more than 20 years, and recently completed a Health and Aging Policy Fellowship in the Office of the Surgeon General.  Julie also served on the board of the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging for approximately 10 years. 

Anthany V.E. Frazier, Chicago, is a recipient of the prestigious  Albert Nelson Marquis "Lifetime Achievement" Award by Marquis Who's Who®, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles since 1899. Mr. Frazier was endorsed by this impeccable institution as a leader in the field of government. Anthany joined the Illinois Council on Aging (ICoA) in 2000, and he is a retiree from the "trillion–dollar" Social Security Administration (SSA), where he ably served with exceptional distinction on their public broadcasting team. Currently, Anthany's heavily–popular SSA training videos are daily live–streamed on the CAN–TV/YouTube social media platforms and foremost video distribution sites. Prior, Anthany worked in tenured staff positions for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While serving within both chambers of the national bicameral legislature of the United States, Anthany helped create Chicago's first public housing resident management corporations and the Cranston–Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, to name a few of his many Congressional accomplishments. 

Mr. Frazier productively volunteered as a management consultant for the multi–billion– dollar National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Headquarters, Washington, D.C. At NASA, Anthany helped level the playing field in successfully awarding Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs) an historic amount of NASA's very lucrative Federal high–tech contracts. NASA’s procurement budget is one of the largest of all civilian agencies' in the federal government, and they are daily responsible for America’s civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.  The White House’s FY 23 budget request for NASA totals $26 billion dollars and each year NASA spends about 90 percent of their procurement budget on contracts.  Anthany also witnessed the following incredible NASA triumphs atop his assigned tour of duty. For example, the first Black woman in space (Dr. Mae C. Jemison); first woman to set the U.S. and women's individual duration in space record (Ms. Shannon M. W. Lucid); first Hispanic woman in space (Ms. Ellen Ochoa); first American on a Russian spacecraft (Dr. Norman E. Thagard); first Russian cosmonaut on the U.S. Space Shuttle (Mr. Sergei Krikalyov); and, the oldest human to venture into space (United States Senator John H. Glenn, Jr.). With respect to Sen. Glenn, this national hero also served as a member of NASA's ground–breaking study on the health problems associated with aging during his nine–day payload flight mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery. 

During 2005, Mr. Frazier was appointed by “The White House” to help administer our nation's decennial White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), the first of the 21st Century, Washington, D.C. Today, more than 54 million adults, ages 65 and older live in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and this treasured demographic group (i.e., The Silver Tsunami), accounts for about 16.5% of our country’s population. Anthany was fortunate to professionally work very closely with The Honorable Dorcas Ruth Hardy, Chairman, 2005 (WHCoA) Policy Committee, and the celebrated first female Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA). Anthany was assigned the coveted responsibilities of supervising two (2) highly–influential, global public–policy workshops entitled: “Establish Principals to Strengthen Social Security,” and “Educate Americans on End–of–Life Issues.” On December 21, 2005, Anthany was honored by Chairman Hardy with an award for his outstanding volunteer contributions. Additionally, Mr. Frazier’s skillful teamwork and leadership acumen are recognized within the final (WHCoA) official report that was formally submitted to the President of  the United States of America, Congress, and the American People.

Mr. Frazier is the founder of "AVEF Volunteer Management Consultants and Trainers," a diverse multicultural consortium that sponsors free musical concerts, intergenerational mentoring services, and mental health wellness workshops. Highly venerated, Anthany has advised seven United States Presidents; Heads of State; U.S. Senators; U.S. Congresspersons; Federal Government Employees; six Illinois Governors; Illinois Municipalities; Illinois General Assembly Legislators; five Chicago Mayors; State, County and Local Elected Public Officials; the Chicago Community Development Advisory Council (CDAC); Chicago Housing Authority (CHA); Chicago Public Schools (CPS); and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Selected Summary of Notable Honors: "Aging and Homeless Network Expert and Human Services Provider," Proclamation, United States Census Bureau; "Aging, Technology Transfer, Research and Development, Physically Disabled Subcommittee," Chairman Emeritus, The Minority Business Resource Advisory Committee (MBRAC), NASA, "The Social Security Show" (CAN TV – Hotline Channel 21), Cable Television Public Broadcast Host, Certified Studio Equipment User and Producer, Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV); Social Security Administration (SSA); Social Media Content Strategist, Community Influencer; Brand Equity Image Executive Creator, Social Security Administration (SSA) and the  YouTube Broadcast Networks; CAN TV; "Certificate of Appreciation," WHCoA; "Certificate of Appreciation and Recognition," The Recording Academy (The Grammy Awards); Featured in the newsprint article, "A Real Class Act: Business and Civic Leaders visit the Chicago Public Schools for a Day," Chicago Tribune Newspaper; Featured Housing Expert, "The Coming of the Second Fair Housing Summit in Chicago," sponsored by the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, and internationally–televised on the pioneering super–station WGN–TV–Virtual Channel 9; Featured Congressional Staffer, addressed the 16th Congressional Research Service (CRS) "mock" Congress proceedings in Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. This momentous event was an intensive Federal legislative exercise by invitation only for Capitol Hill aides (i.e., Washington, D.C.). The "Library of Congress Information Bulletin," reported and published a widely–circulated newsletter of this seminal moment; Featured Guest Speaker, Social Security Administration (SSA), first six (6) state regional symposium, entitled "Leadership Through Diversity Conference," sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Advisory Council (LGBTAC), Illinois Hispanic Affairs Advisory Council (HAAC), Illinois Advisory Council for Employees with Disabilities (ACED), and the Chicago Region V Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Staff (CREOS), SSA; Helped create the first virtual ICoA "Orientation Manual & Web–Based Resource Portal." This unprecedented, user–friendly innovation was formulated under the auspices of the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) and the ICoA membership; Helped create, produce, and co–star in one of the SSA's first publicly broadcast, multicultural and trilingual Public Service Announcement (PSAs). The presented languages are English, Spanish, and Polish; "Outstanding Young Men of America®," National Inductee; "30–Year Certificate of Appreciation for Distinguished Public Service and Loyalty to the United States Government," Awardee, SSA; and, Mr. Frazier is a feted listee inside a multitude of Marquis Who's Who® book editions. 

Mr. Frazier earned his B.A. from Chicago State University and M.A. from Governors State University. Correspondingly, Anthany received specialized academic credentials from the "Chicago Upward Bound (CUB) Business Executive Program," Graduate, Chicago Region V, SSA; "Congressional Legislative Institute Scholars Program," Graduate, sponsored by the "CRS" and "Library of Congress" (America's oldest federal cultural institution); Dartmouth College (Amos Tuck School of Business Administration); DePaul University (Kellstadt Center for Commerce); Harold Washington College (Addiction Studies); John Marshall Law School (Law Program for Community Developers and Social Workers); and, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan School of Management). Anthany completed his "Clinical Psychotherapy Internship," in conjunction with the University of Illinois, Chicago Hospital and Health Sciences System, Department of Psychiatry. Anthany's medical management proficiencies encompasses crisis intervention strategies, group psychotherapy modalities, and adjunct clinical social services. 

Melvin Grimes, has been the Senior Pastor at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Moline for more than 32 years.  He has oversight of all religious activities for the Church, including worship, study, and financial administration.  Previously, Reverend Grimes was the Senior Pastor at Washington Avenue Baptist Church.  He also serves on the Board of the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging (AAA). Reverend Melvin L. Grimes has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion/Sociology from Kalamazoo College and a  Master of Divinity degree in Theology from Grace Valley Theological Seminary.

Paulette M. Hamlin, DuQuoin, is Executive Director of the Western Egyptian Economic Opportunity Council, Inc. in Steeleville. The Agency serves four counties with a staff of 130 in 20 sites. In this position, she is responsible for all aspects of operation of the Community Action Agency including Senior Services, RSVP, LIHEAP, Head Start, Housing, Weatherization, and Emergency Services through the Community Services Block Grant.

Her civic engagement includes membership in the Perry County Federal Emergency Management Board of Directors and the Perry, Randolph and Monroe County Interagency Councils. She also is a Girl Scout Leader and a Board Member for the DuQuoin Swim Club. Ms. Hamlin participated in a Rotary Club Group Study Exchange Program to India in 1993.

Talat Khan, Ph.D., is the founder and president of the American Association of Retired Asians (AARA). The non-profit organization is dedicated to addressing the logistical, cultural, linguistic and advocacy needs of the aging South Asian-American community. Previously, Dr. Khan served as a Research Scientist at Hines VA Hospital and held a faculty appointment in the Department of Neurology and the Departments of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy at Loyola University Medical Center. Dr. Khan's area of research focused on spinal cord injury and repair. 

Susan Lawler, is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago with a Bachelors of Business Administration Degree (BBA); where she majored in Personnel Management.  She has been a licensed Real Estate Agency for over 20 years and has a Managing Brokers license from the State of Illinois. 

After retiring as a Financial Aid Counselor and an American Reads and American Counts coordinator from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois; Ms. Lawler joined the Board of Directors for the Carroll County Senior Center and the Carroll County Transit.  She held a seat on the CCSC/CCT Board for 6 1/2 years, first as their Vice Chairman and then as their Treasurer.  She is presently the Executive Director for Lee County Council on Aging.

Sylvia Mahle, Centralia, worked for the Midland Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for 29 years.  Although retired, she still serves as an Advisory Board Member.  Her accomplishments include developing the curriculum for a job club program that targeted seniors, serving as Title 3B grants manager and successfully writing rural transportation grants.  Ms. Mahle experience also includes the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. She organized a Pioneer Coalition for the Midland AAA five county service area. She has a master's degree from Loyola University in Chicago. Ms. Mahle has been an Illinoisan her entire life and enjoys traveling the world.  

Patricia Marton, has been putting together intergenerational projects for over twenty years in nursing and retirement homes and schools and has lectured on them at conferences throughout the United States and Canada.  They also became part of a post doctoral program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  She has Ph.D. in education from the University of Illinois, Champaign and B.A. in history from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

She has a deep concern about the elderly and their situations, and advocates for increased awareness and legislative changes in areas that include the improvement of public transportation, the strengthening of community care programs, and the cultural acceptance of immigrants in our society.  Her father's family came to Illinois from Germany in the mid nineteenth century and her  mother's from Norway in the early twentieth century.

She is particularly concerned about combating elder abuse, focusing on public and private institutions dealing with people of various ages, and establishing mandatory mental health testing programs for staff as a means of doing this.  She is proud of a resolution formulated by members of our state legislature and herself last year against elder abuse that unanimously passed.

She was vice president of the Public Safety Committee of Bloomington Comprehensive Plan and serves on the Bloomington Beautification Committee.  She is also a member of the Elder Justice Coalition. 

Crystal Odom-McKinney, National Director for the Easterseals Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). SCSEP is the largest federally-funded program for low-income, unemployed adults, ages 55 and older, who seek employment and training assistance as well as civic engagement. She has more than 20 years in non-profit management and expertise in working with diverse populations. Crystal earned her Bachelor of Science in psychology from Tennessee State University and Master of Arts in counseling psychology from Lewis University.

Mubarak A. Mirjat, DPT, is President and CEO of MAXIMUM Rehabilitation Services, Ltd. He is a 1983 graduate of the Karachi University at Pakistan. He began his practice in the United States in 1991 and in 1995 founded Maximum Rehabilitation Services. Dr. Mirjat is specialized in the areas of Industrial Rehabilitation, Sports Injury Rehabilitation, Orthopedic Condition Management, Management of Neck and Lower Back Pain, Stroke Rehabilitation and Incontinence Management. Dr. Mirjat is credentialed by the McKenzie Institute in the McKenzie Approach to Mechanical Spine Pain. Dr. Mirjat is fluent in the English, Hindi, Urdu and Sindhi languages. He has management specialization and has completed his doctorate in Physical Therapy. Dr. Mirjat serves on the Board of Directors for the Hadi School of Excellence.  He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Universal Muslim Association of North American.

•Phyllis Mitzen, Chicago, has devoted her 40+ year career to development and reform of long term care for older adults. She is a consultant and co-Program Director of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group headquartered in Chicago, and coordinates the Older Adults Studies Concentration at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Phyllis sits on the Executive Committee of the Older Adult Services Advisory Committee, and serves on the Illinois Long-Term Care Council.

Her civic engagement includes serving as the President of Skyline Village Chicago, Inc., a grass roots neighborhood organization that is part of the national Village Movement of more than 150 villages around the country. She is also on the board of Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, and is president of the board of Rembrandt Chamber Players. She serves on the Chicago/Shanghai Sister City Social Service Exchange program and co-led an interdisciplinary delegation to Shanghai. In 2015, she received the National Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Workers.

Ms. Mitzen received an A.M. degree from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration.

Edgar Ramirez, joined Chicago Commons in 2010 as Associate Executive Director before being named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2013. As a community organizer in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood before joining Chicago Commons, Edgar led significant campaigns at Enlace Chicago and Erie Neighborhood House. He worked on leadership development, green space improvement, anti-violence campaigns, childcare income eligibility, immigration reform, and youth job development. Edgar currently serves on the boards of the Illinois Association of Community Care Homecare Providers (IACCPHP) and Elevate Energy and is the board chair for the Latino Policy Forum. Edgar is an Employer Trustee of the SEIU Healthcare Illinois Home Care & Child Care Fund and serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Advisory Council on Small Business, Community and Economic Development, Agriculture, and Labor; Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Every Child Ready to Learn City of Chicago working group; and previously served on Mayor Lightfoot’s ad-hoc committee for reopening early education centers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Edgar is a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow (2016) and an Economic Club of Chicago member. In 2023, Governor Pritzker appointed Edgar to the Illinois Council on Aging and the Illinois Early Childhood Education and Care Transition Advisory Committee. He was selected as a Titan 100 CEO. He earned a master’s degree from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago in Policy Analysis and Community Organizing, a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University, and in 2021, completed the Harvard Business School’s certificate in Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management.

Kate A. Schwartz, has served as a long-term care ombudsman with ICARE since 2017, advocating for the rights of residents in facilities. Her experience includes years of working as a care coordinator and outpatient therapist with older adults, as well as youth. Kate currently is a TranSupport Group facilitator with the Phoenix Center and a volunteer with Coalition of Rainbow Alliances (CORAL). Kate has an M.A. in Psychology from the University of Illinois Springfield and a B.A. from Southwest Baptist University.

Christina Hardin-Weiss, co-founder of Adaptive Equipment and Caregiving Corner which provides online education and instruction for caregivers and individuals to improve safety and function during activities of daily living. Christina graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a master's degree in Speech/Language/Dysphagia Therapy. She has spent most of her career treating patients in skilled nursing facilities. She enjoys working with individuals who have dementia and their families, as well as those that have difficulty eating, chewing, and swallowing due to illness or disease.

MeiJan Linda Yu, PhD, was born in China, grew up in Taiwan, and came to the United States after receiving a B.S. in chemical engineering from Taiwan University. She earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry/catalysis from Texas A&M University. Her professional career involved air pollution control technologies and water treatment for electric utilities and industrial plants.

Since 2013, Dr. Yu has served as a volunteer Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and site coordinator with the United Chinese Americans. She is also the founder and president of a non-profit organization, Orchestra Parents/Patrons' United Support (OPUS), that provides chamber and orchestral music learning and performing opportunities for young musicians in the Chicago area. OPUS students and professionals perform many concerts for older adults and veterans at senior residences and concert halls every year. OPUS activities are aimed at connecting the young with the elderly as a part of our young musicians' experience.
 

Laura Fine (District 9), served in the Illinois Senate since 2018. She represents the 9th Senate District, which includes all or portions of Evanston, Glenview, Golf, Kenilworth, Morton Grove, Northbrook, Skokie, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago. Before her election to the Senate, Senator Fine served as the State Representative for the 17th District from 2013 – 2019. During this time, she was a champion of quality, affordable healthcare, women’s rights, an advocate for public education and a clean environment.
Prior to serving in the state legislature, Senator Fine was an instructor in the Political Science Department at Northeastern Illinois University and served as the Clerk of Northfield Township. Senator Fine has also worked in radio and television news for various media outlets throughout the Midwest.
Senator Fine holds a B.A. in telecommunications from Indiana University and an M.A. in political science from Northeastern Illinois University. She is a graduate of the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership and the Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development; she is also an Edgar Fellow, Milbank Fellow, and a Henry Toll Fellow. Senator Fine is a member of Kiwanis Club of Glenview-Northbrook, the Rotary Club of Glenview Sunrise and the Glenview/Glencoe League of Women Voters.

Mattie Hunter (District 3), Chicago, A native Chicagoan, State Senator Mattie Hunter has served in the Illinois General Assembly since 2003. Hunter serves as a majority caucus whip and is currently chairperson of the Senate Human Services committee and vice chairperson of the Public Health Committee. She also serves on the National Conference of State Legislatures Health Committee and is co-chair of the Council of State Government Health Policy Task Force.

Hunter attended Monmouth College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in government. She also earned a master's degree in sociology from Jackson State University in Mississippi. She additionally holds a Doctor of Humane Letters from Monmouth College during the 2008 Spring Commencement where she was the keynote speaker. Hunter is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor and prevention specialist in Illinois and Indiana.

Dave Syverson (District 35), bio forthcoming.

Mira Hirschauner (District 49), a member of the 103rd General Assembly of Illinois and was first elected to the IL legislature in 2020. She represents the far western side of DuPage and Cook Counties and far eastern Kane County, including all of the communities of Bartlett and West Chicago, and portions of Aurora, Batavia, Elgin, Geneva, Hanover, Naperville, South Elgin, Warrenville, Wayne, and Winfield; which comprise portions of Suburban Cook, DuPage, and Kane Counties.

Maura’s experience as a founding member and legislative lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety in America; as president of Batavia Mothers’ Club Foundation, a local philanthropic foundation focused on children and families in the Fox Valley; as a Girl Scout Leader; and as a former teacher, have led to her appointment to multiple education-related committees and the firearms working group. She is a passionate commonsense gun safety advocate and frequent sponsor and fierce advocate of bills related to gun safety, education, workforce development, and reproductive rights..  

Rita Mayfield (District 60) earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Columbia College; M.S. in Management and Organization Behavior with an emphasis in Organization Development from Benedictine University. She is a former vice-president of the Waukegan Board of Education, member of the Waukegan Schools Foundation Board, volunteer financial instructor for Habitat for Humanity, and founding member of Citizens Organized for School Leadership Accountability (COSLA).

Representative Mayfield has two children.