Michael C. Cook
President and CEO

 
Michael was appointed President and CEO of Howard Brown in October 2005. This appointment was preceded by a 25-year career in both the private and public interest sectors. Practicing law for the first 22 years of his career, Michael was a partner in several national law firms, most recently in the Chicago-based firm of Ross & Hardies. After leaving his law practice and prior to joining Howard Brown, he entered the public interest sector and was appointed Executive Director of Interfaith House, a residential care center for homeless adults in medical recovery. During his tenure at Interfaith House, the agency was recognized at both the local and national level for its innovative work, including being the organization chosen in 2005 by the American College of Physicians to receive its National Award for Distinguished Contribution in the Health Field. Throughout his career, Michael has been an advocate for marginalized people and a leader in the struggle for equal rights and civil liberties, elected to such positions as President of the ACLU of Illinois and member of the ACLU National Board, Chairman of the Board of Chicago House, and member of the Board of Directors of the Point Foundation. In 2007 he was named the Outstanding Community Leader by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and he has received numerous other awards for his efforts, including Howard Brown’s Friend for Life Award, Chicago House’s Founder’s Award, Bailiwick Theater’s Trailblazer Award, and the ACLU’s John Hammell Award for support of the LGBT and AIDS Projects. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Wittenberg University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School.

Rob Garofalo, M.D., MPH
Deputy Director

 
Dr. Garofalo is the Deputy Director at Howard Brown, the Medical Director of Adolescent HIV Services at Children’s Memorial Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Garofalo’s clinical and academic career has been devoted to the care of HIV infected adolescents and other at-risk teen populations. At Howard Brown and Children’s Memorial Hospital, Dr. Garofalo conducts federally funded clinical and prevention-based research with HIV+ and LGBT youth. Dr. Garofalo is currently the Board President of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA). Since 2001, he has been actively involved in the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (PACTG) where he is a member of their Adolescent Research Advisory Committee. In 2003, Dr. Garofalo received a 3 year NIH-supported Mentored Clinical Scientist Award to pursue behavioral research specific to HIV and HIV prevention in at-risk youth populations. Dr. Garofalo also received an individual NIH award to test the utility of a Social-Personal theoretical model in explaining HIV risk behaviors in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth and is currently working with the NICHD-sponsored Adolescent Medicine Trials Network as the Principal Investigator on the Transgender Research Youth Project, a study examining coding and risk among man-to-female transgender youth.

Regina Kim, M.D. 
Chief Medical Officer

Regina Kim, M.D., is a board certified, multilingual physician specializing in family practice medicine and women’s health. Prior to joining Howard Brown, Dr. Kim was a full time faculty physician in family practice and Maternal Child Health at PCC Community Wellness Center in Oak Park, IL for many years.  Dr. Kim received her Bachelor of Science degree at University of Illinois, and her medical degree from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.  She is a Clinical Associate at University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, a member of the Gay Lesbian Medical Association, American Academy of Family Practice, member of the Family Practice Obstetrics Board Certification of the American Board of Physician Specialties.  Currently she serves as the Chief Medical Officer and also continues her clinical practice at Howard Brown while precepting and teaching medical students and resident physicians from all over the country.

Paul Fairchild
Chief Development Officer 

Paul most recently served as Vice President, Donor & Community Relations at Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, where he was responsible for philanthropic fund raising, special events, board relations and community relations. Prior to this position, he was Senior Director of Development at Heartland Alliance, and Director of Development at Horizons Community Services. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of LCCP, whose mission is to advance the health and quality of life for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women and transgender individuals through advocacy and public education. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications/Public Relations and Sociology from Mankato State University.

Mark Joslyn
Chief Financial Officer 

Mark joined Howard Brown in October 2008, with fifteen years of financial and business management experience.  Prior to joining the agency, he was Senior VP and CFO for Towers Productions, where during his eleven-year tenure it grew into one of the largest independent producers of television programming in the U.S.  Prior to his work at Towers, Mark helped launch Chicago Bride Magazine, a leading regional consumer magazine.  Mark is influenced by his husband’s work as an internist and HIV/AIDS specialist.  He has a strong desire to drive positive change in his community through his work at Howard Brown, and in his involvement as the Finance Chair for the Edgewater Community Council.  Mark obtained his BFA from Missouri State University, with additional studies in business strategy and finance as a University of Chicago graduate student-at-large.

Will has over 15 years of experience in the areas of Information Technology and Telecommunications, and joined Howard Brown in 1999. Prior to Howard Brown, he was the Systems Administrator and Project Manager for Market AD, a private data warehouse company transitioning into the dot-com sector. His other positions included Network Administrator for Standard Parking and Assistant Technical Support Manager for Wright College. He holds degrees in Information Systems from Wright College and a Bachelors of Computer Science from Northeastern Illinois University.

Hope A. Barrett, MPH 
Director of Elder Services

 

Hope A. Barrett, MPH is a seasoned public health practitioner.  She has over fifteen years of experience developing, implementing, managing and evaluating health and social service programs for a variety of populations.  With her post-graduate degree in Public Health from New York University, Hope has served as evaluator for a variety of health programs, including a smoking cessation project, an examination of substance abuse among minority women, as well as HIV/AIDS programs that target African Americans.  Currently, she serves as Director of Elder Services, where she handles the day-to-day operations of AGING AS WE ARE: It’s Our Time, the Older Adult Program for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elders.  She’s a recipient of Howard Brown’s Friend for Life award for her participation as a youth mentor.

Jason Bird, Ph.D., MSW
Administrative Director, Department of Research

Jason Bird was named Administrative Director of the Department of Research in July 2009. A member of the Department since 2000, he most recently served as Manager of Research Compliance (2007-2009). Jason received his MSW in 1999 from the University of Washington and expects to finish his Ph.D. at University of Chicago this September (2009). His research on HIV-related communication utilizes grounded theory to examine the meanings and beliefs attributed to HIV seropositivity. 

Kelly Ducheny, Psy.D.
Director of Behavioral Health Services

 

A licensed psychologist, Dr. Ducheny obtained a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Wright State University, with an emphasis in multicultural psychology and working with gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients. Among numerous clinical and research interests, Dr. Ducheny has focused on cultural competence and multi-cultural psychology; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues; assessment; professional development; gender roles and race in Disney animation; qualitative research; and immigrant and refugee mental health. She is a member of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Commission on Accreditation (CoA), chair of the 2008 Accreditation Assembly Committee of the CoA, Co-Chair of the Illinois Psychological Association (IPA) Academic Section, Vice-Chair of the GLB Committee for the National Council of Schools and Programs in Professional Psychology (NCSPP), and a member of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) Practice Analysis Task Force.

Beau Gratzer, MPP 
Director of Community Health

 
Beau joined Howard Brown in 2003 as the Men's Health Manager, and was named the Director of HIV/STD Prevention in 2006. In this capacity, he oversees an array of testing and prevention programs targeting men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) in Chicago and the surrounding Cook County area.  Beau is also the Project Director of a Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health grant that provides Technical Assistance and Capacity Development to agencies attempting to enhance their HIV prevention programs. He has presented at national and international conferences on Howard Brown programs, including syphilis elimination activities, hepatitis A/B vaccination, and the relationship between crystal meth use and STD infection.  Prior to joining Howard Brown, Beau served as a Fellow at the Chicago Department of Public Health in the Division of STD/HIV/AIDS, while pursuing a Master's degree in Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

 
Joe has been at Howard Brown for five years and was recently named the Director of the Broadway Youth Center which opened in October, 2004. He is responsible for the daily operations of Chicago’s most comprehensive center for at-risk youth. Joe began his professional experience as HIV Prevention Coordinator at Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center when he was 16 years old and worked as Program Manager for GLSEN prior to joining Howard Brown. Joe received his Masters in Social Work in 2004 with a focus in community organizing, policy, and administration. He has been honored with About Face Youth Theatre’s Michael Leppen Community Leader Award in 2003 and was named one of “Chicago’s 30 Under 30” by Windy City Times.

Kert Hubin, PHR
Director of Human Resources

 
Kert has more than ten years of clinical and management experience in health care. He held positions as chaplain, business director, and human resources director in hospital, hospice, and long term care settings. His background also includes post-secondary teaching in the humanities and psychology. He has written articles and presented training on contemplative and community based approaches to end of life care. Kert's present interests lie in asking the question, "How can therapeutic approaches to patient care inform the healthy functioning and development of health care organizations?" He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, and graduate degrees from The University of Arizona and Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.

Lisa M. Kuhns, PhD, MPH is Associate Director of Research at Howard Brown Health Center and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Her research focuses on the role of social marginalization on the health and health behavior of sexual and gender minorities. Additional research interests include research methods, particularly sampling of hidden and stigmatized populations.  At Howard Brown, Dr. Kuhns serves as a co-investigator or research associate on several federally-funded social and behavioral studies, works with collaborating investigators to develop new studies, and provides administrative support within the research department. Prior to coming to Howard Brown, she worked for ten years in research and research administration at the UIC, first in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and then at the Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP). Her most recent work at IHRP included serving as Project Director for the 2Comunidades Project, a five-year NIH-funded study of Latino gay and bisexual men in Chicago and San Francisco (PI: Dr. Jesus Ramirez-Valles), and a follow-up project to produce and test a documentary film to address stigmatization in the larger Latino community, Tal Como Somos (Just the Way We Are). Prior to her academic career, Dr. Kuhns worked for several years at Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights as a supervisor of housing and human services for HIV-positive adults.

A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Michael received his Masters degree in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago, with a concentration in Mental Health.  With over ten years experience working within the Social Services, Michael started at Howard Brown in 2005 within the RW/DRS Case Management Team.  He later transitioned to the PATH HIV+ Youth Case Management Program in 2006.  As Director of Social Services, Michael coordinates ongoing program development and evaluation for the multitude of client services available at Howard Brown.   In addition, Michael provides clinical support to the case managers and direct service staff throughout the agency. 

Michael Nudo
Director of Grants and Contracts

Michael joined Howard Brown in 2000 as the Manager of Data Services and was named Director of Grants and Contracts in 2006. In this capacity, he oversees in excess of $7.5 million in grants and contracts from diverse Federal, State, County, and City sources and ensures compliance and agency sustainability.  Michael also participates in Howard Brown’s political and professional affiliations and contributes to the organizational and programmatic strategy for the agency. He has more than 15 years of management experience and has worked in various industries including publishing, information technology, and retail. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Marquette University, and Professional Certificates in Information Technology and Project Management from Northwestern University.

Donald Rolfe
Director of Communications & Business Development

Donald brings more than twenty-five years of marketing, brand management, communications, and production experience to Howard Brown.  As Director of Communications & Business Development, he utilizes his previous non-profit experience as Director of Community Affairs for Horizons Community Services, his retail background as owner of Jungle Red, a popular gift boutique in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, and his diversity-focused outreach expertise garnered as Director of Marketing & Communications for Alloy Media + Marketing.  Donald was educated at Illinois State University and has been recognized with numerous awards for achievement in visual merchandising and design.