Windy City Times Managing Editor Matt Simonette sat down with Karen Reitan, Mary Morten, and Nat Duran this fall to talk about how Illinois Safe Schools Alliance (the Alliance) came to live at Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago (PHIMC).

“‘Our primary focus is to collaborate with public health and healthcare systems to promote equity and access to care,’ said [PHIMC] Executive Director Karen Reitan . . . 

“The Alliance was looking to ‘concentrate more on programs, and less time on back-office [tasks],’ added Morten. ‘That was our focus: How could we find a strategic partner with whom we had some commonality that we would become partners with?’

“Morten said that the Alliance looked at about six local organizations as potential partners, but said that there was the most commonality between it and PHIMC, especially since PHIMC has done extensive work on school health issues…”

To view or read the full news story, click here.

Karen Reitan is Executive Director of PHIMC, Mary Morten is co-founder and Immediate Past Board Chair for the Alliance, and Nat Duran is Youth Engagement Manager for the Alliance, which is now a program of PHIMC.

To learn more about our Illinois Safe Schools Alliance work to support LGBTQ students through school policy, youth action, and professional development for school staff, click here.