2025 Health & Medicine Awards Gala
2025-09-17 | Bridgeport Art Center’s Sculpture Garden, 1200 W. 35th St, Chicago, IL, 60609, United States
Health & Medicine is excited to announce our 2025 Awards Gala at Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago! Join us on September 17 from 6 – 9:00 p.m. as we celebrate the winners of our annual awards for Illinois leaders who exemplify Health & Medicine’s mission to build power and momentum for social justice and health equity in Illinois. Our awards gala is our only fundraiser of the year, providing general operating funds that allow us the flexible funding we need to respond to emerging issues and remain nimble and independent in our work.

Please join us in celebrating this year’s Health & Medicine Awards winners in the categories of Health, Medicine, Policy, Research, Group, Lifetime Achievement, and Emerging Leader. The event will feature social time with wine, a signature cocktail, food stations by The Fat Shallot, and a presentation and acceptance of awards.
Get your ticket or become a sponsor today!
Tickets are $250, and sponsorships range from $650 to $50,000.
Trailblazer / $50,000 Sponsorship
18 Gala tickets
Most prominent name and logo placement on all event marketing, materials, and signage
Verbal recognition from the podium; special acknowledgment during event
Champion / $25,000 Sponsorship
12 Gala tickets
Prominent name and logo placement on all event marketing and materials
Verbal recognition from the podium
Pioneer / $15,000 Sponsorship
10 Gala tickets
Verbal recognition from the podium; recognition in all event marketing and materials
Leader / $10,000 Sponsorship
8 Gala tickets
Verbal recognition from the podium; recognition in all event marketing and materials
Visionary / $5,000 Sponsorship
6 Gala tickets; recognition in all event marketing and materials
Innovator / $3,500 Sponsorship
4 Gala tickets; recognition in all event marketing and materials
Advocate / $1,500 Sponsorship
4 Gala tickets; recognition in all event marketing and materials
Friend / $650 Sponsorship
3 Gala tickets; recognition in all event marketing and materials
Sponsorships received by August 15, 2025, will be listed in the program booklet. For any inquiries about the awards or the Gala, contact Shannon Sweetnam.

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate, connect, and drive momentum for health equity in Illinois. Click here to register.

Illinois Birth Justice State Strategic Plan Summit
2025-09-25
Join us on September 25th for a powerful gathering to shape the future of birth justice in Illinois. This event will bring together community-based perinatal providers, birth workers, advocates, and stakeholders from across the state. Our goal is to build a community-driven strategic plan that centers on the voices and needs of those most impacted by birth inequities.
Day 1 is open to the public, with presentations and breakout sessions. Space is limited, so register now!
Day 2 is invite-only, for community-based workers who provide services to unjustly served communities using a birth justice approach.

Get your ticket today!

Illinois Community-Based Birth Justice Strategic Plan Launch Series
2026-02-06, 2026-02-13, 2026-02-20, 2026-02-27
Health & Medicine and the Black Midwifery Collective invite you to the official launch of the Illinois Community-Based Birth Justice Strategic Plan!
Over the past year and a half, dozens of community-based birth justice workers have supported the development of a new strategic plan that works to ensure that every birthing person in Illinois has access to the community resources, settings, and support that they need for a safe and positive perinatal and birth experience. Several partners collected a huge amount of data to understand our current landscape and to inform our priorities for the plan.
Join us Fridays in February for a four-part webinar series that centers community-led research, connects shared themes across the data, and culminates in the official launch of the Illinois Community-Based Birth Justice Strategic Plan. Participants are welcome to attend any combination of sessions that fit their interests and availability.
All sessions are held via Zoom
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Sessions are recorded and shared with registrants.
Zoom registration link

Illinois Has a Multi-Sector Plan on Aging: What Are the Next Steps?
2026-02-06
Friday, February 6 | 8:30–10:30 a.m. CT
Illinois has released its new Multi-Sector Plan for Aging—a landmark, 10-year roadmap to advance aging equity across the lifespan. The question now is: what comes next?
The ASA Chicagoland Roundtable, co-sponsored by Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, invites partners and community members to join us for a timely conversation exploring the newly released plan, key implementation considerations, and how it connects to ongoing community-level efforts across Illinois.
During this roundtable, participants will hear directly from Illinois Department on Aging leadership about the plan’s development and priorities, followed by reflections from statewide leaders on what it will take to translate vision into action.
Program Highlights

Overview of Illinois’s new Multi-Sector Plan for Aging
Reflections on implementation, coordination, and accountability
Discussion of how community organizations, advocates, and systems can support the plan’s goals

Background
In August 2024, Governor JB Pritzker issued Executive Order 24-02, calling for the development of a 10-year, whole-of-government plan to advance aging equity across Illinois. Since then, the Illinois Department on Aging has convened a community advisory council and a task force of state agency leaders to guide this work.
With the hiring of Michelle Hoersch as Chief Planning Officer, the Department partnered with experts from the UIC Institute on Race and Public Policy and the School of Public Health to lead a robust engagement process. Beginning in August 2025, older adults, caregivers, providers, advocates, researchers, and elected officials from across the state contributed their perspectives through listening sessions and consultations.
Health & Medicine Policy Research Group organized nine of these engagement sessions, both in person and remotely, ensuring voices from across Illinois helped shape the plan. In December, the advisory council and task force concluded their work, and the Department met its December 31 deadline—an impressive achievement given the scale and complexity of the effort.
Health & Medicine leads Illinois Aging Together, a statewide campaign advocating for policies and systems that support healthy, equitable aging for all Illinoisans. Through cross-sector collaboration and community-informed advocacy, Illinois Aging Together helped drive the development and adoption of Illinois’s statewide Multi-Sector Plan for Aging.
Speakers

Mary Killough, Director, Illinois Department on Aging
Michelle Hoersch, Chief Planning Officer, Illinois Department on Aging
Philippe Largent, State Director, AARP Illinois
Diane Slezak, President & CEO, AgeOptions

Moderator: Michael Gelder, MHA, Consultant; Adjunct Research Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Chicago; Board Member, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
We hope you’ll join us for this important conversation about how Illinois can move from planning to action—and ensure the promise of aging equity becomes reality across the state.

Illinois Aging Together Information Session
2026-02-17
Join us for a virtual Illinois Aging Together Information Session on Tuesday, February 17, from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Hosted by Health & Medicine’s Senior Policy Analyst, Mayra Diaz, with guest Michelle Hoersch, from the Illinois Department on Aging, who serves as the Chief Planning Officer for the Multi-Sector Plan for Aging (MPA). This session will walk through what’s included in the plan, the grassroots advocacy that helped bring it to life, and concrete ways partners and advocates can get involved.
Register here

Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellowship Celebration of Service
2026-04-07
Please join the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellowship for our annual Celebration of Service to honor the achievements and community impact of our Schweitzer Fellows! Each year, we invite Fellows for Life, partners, and community members to celebrate our Fellows’ hard work, dedication, and meaningful contributions to Chicagoland.
As 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Chicago Area program, this milestone year calls for a special celebration with our community.
Claim your free ticket here! Please register by Tuesday, March 31, 2026, as space is limited.
This year, we’re excited to gather at The Study, a stunning venue on the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus. Convenient parking is available on surrounding streets at no charge and in the venue’s on-site garage for a fee. The Study is also accessible via the Metra Electric line and several CTA bus routes, including the 6, 15, and 56.
Can’t make it to this year’s celebration but want to support the Fellowship? Make a donation!
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
6-9 p.m.
The Study at the University of Chicago
227 E 60th St 602
Chicago, IL 60637
