Each year, the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program awards Seed Grants to Fellows for Life who are committed to beginning, expanding, or sustaining innovative community-based initiatives. These projects strengthen health equity, expand access to care, and deepen support for underserved communities across the Chicago region. We are pleased to announce our 2025–2026 Seed Grant recipients:
Ismihan Uddin, 2024–2025 Fellow for Life
Mobile Health and Harm Reduction Services with Chi-Care
Ismihan Uddin will expand Chi-Care’s mobile medical services to individuals experiencing homelessness across the Chicagoland area. Working through mobile medical vans, the project provides accessible screenings, preventive care, and treatment for both chronic and acute conditions—including diabetes, heart disease, and hypo/hyperthermia.
In addition to wound care and harm reduction services such as Narcan distribution and clean needle exchange, Chi-Care connects patients with mental health services, substance use treatment, and housing referrals. The project aims to reduce preventable complications, decrease emergency department use, and improve long-term health outcomes for Chicago’s most vulnerable residents.
Jesse Gamoran, 2024–2025 Fellow for Life
Evaluating Photovoice Support Groups at The Boulevard
Jesse Gamoran will continue his Schweitzer Fellowship project at The Boulevard, a medical respite shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness. His work evaluates the impact of photovoice-based support groups on residents’ sense of community and staff well-being.
Developed in collaboration with shelter residents, staff, and leadership, the groups integrate visual art, cooking, music, and social-action activities. Feedback from participants shapes ongoing curriculum design, ensuring the groups respond to resident needs and support communal healing. The Seed Grant will allow the program to deepen its evaluation and assess how participatory art and reflection can strengthen resilience, belonging, and recovery.
Dr. Lincoln Hill, 2018–2019 Fellow for Life
Black Feminist Study Group
Dr. Lincoln Hill, founder and psychologist at The Center for Liberation & Wellness, will launch a Black Feminist Study Group for Black women and women of color on Chicago’s South Side. Integrating elements of a social book club, academic seminar, and communal healing space, the group centers foundational Black feminist texts to strengthen connection, critical consciousness, and collective learning.
In partnership with graduate students and faculty from Loyola University Chicago, the group will explore themes of oppression, intersectionality, racialized stress, and liberation. Through reflection, discussion, and shared norms, participants will deepen their relational capacity and tap into knowledge that fosters personal and community resilience. The four-session program launches in January 2026 with a co-developed curriculum and pre/post assessments.
These Fellows for Life continue the Schweitzer tradition of service by addressing urgent community needs with creativity, compassion, and sustained commitment. We congratulate each of our 2025–2026 Seed Grant recipients and look forward to sharing updates on their impact throughout the year.