Institute Leadership

Lawrence Cohen, Founder
Lawrence is an attorney who has practiced labor and employment law in Chicago for over forty years. He is also an arbitrator, mediator and hearing officer for the Chicago Commission of Human Relations and the Illinois Department of Education. Larry is the past president of Beth Emet Synagogue, a board member of the American Jewish Committee and co-founder of the Naomi Ruth Cohen Charitable Institute.

Marilyn Cohen, Founder
Marilyn is a retired clinical social worker and family therapist. Marilyn had a private practice in Evanston Illinois for many years and taught students from the Family Institute at Northwestern University. She is the co-founder of the Naomi Ruth Cohen Charitable Institute.

Jill Randell MA FTA
Jill has been working with the Cohen Family for the past five years. She is the former Executive Director of Beth Emet the Free Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois, and was the Director of the North Suburban Jewish Community Center in Highland Park Illinois.

Brandy Baker, PsyD Dr. Brandy Baker graduated from The Chicago SchoolÕs Clinical Psy.D. program in 2009. Prior, Dr. Baker trained at a community mental health center serving a predominantly low-income African-American community, an adolescent residential treatment facility serving a predominantly African-American DCFS population, and a therapeutic day school for emotionally and behaviorally-disordered children. In 2007, Dr. Baker received a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Naomi Ruth Cohen Charitable Foundation of Evanston, Illinois, and began her work in community outreach education by assisting planning of a community mental health conference. Dr. Baker continued on the foundationÕs planning committee. Dr. Baker currently holds a post-doctoral fellowship working for the Naomi Ruth Cohen Institute where she assists strategic planning and community outreach education, and working at Erie Neighborhood House, an organization serving a predominantly low-income Latino population.

Planning Committee

Alexander Brown, PhD, LCSW
Alexander is the Executive Director of Housing Options, providing transitional and permanent housing and support services to residents who have severe and persistent mental illnesses.

Anthony Chambers, PhD
Anthony is the Dr. John J.B. Morgan Fellow at the Family Institute at Northwestern University. Dr. Chambers’ current clinical and research interests are on couples’ relationship functioning. He is actively involved in several national and international organizations devoted to understanding and strengthening couples’ relationships.

Arlene Coustan, L.C.S.W.
Arlene is a licensed psychotherapist who has worked with individuals and families both inpatient and outpatient. Presently she has a private practice specializing in couples work.

David Daskovsky, PhD
Dr. Daskovsky joined Trilogy, Inc. in 1988 and has served as Director of Acute Services, Director of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and, since 2003, as the agency’s Clinical Director. He is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and has taught widely on the treatment of severe and persistent mental illness. He also maintains a private practice in clinical psychology.

Robyn Golden, LCSW
Robyn is the Director of Older Adult Programs at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Previously, she was the John Heinz Senate Fellow based in the office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, serving as the aging and health policy advisor. She co-founded the statewide Coalition on Mental Health and Aging: is a member of the Illinois Department of Mental Health Advisory Committee on Geriatric Services.

Dr. Michael Horowitz, PhD
Dr. Horowitz is the President of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology where he has served as the professional psychology school leader and faculty member since 1988. Before joining the Chicago School, Dr. Horowitz was dean and professor at the Arizona School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Horowitz is the past president of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology. He is the co-director of the Fatherhood Research Project, a collaborative study of the experience of fatherhood.

Jenny Kelber, LCSW
Jenny has worked for several years in the River Forest and Buffalo Grove school district as a school social worker. She has been involved with the Naomi Ruth Cohen Mental Health Conference since its inception.

Rachel Kelber, LCSW
Rachel is a therapist at the Jewish Child and Family Services, working with children and families. She has extensive experience working with adolescents and child victims of sexual abuse and their families, as well as providing advocacy to victims’ families in the DCFS and criminal justice systems.

Harvey M. Kelber, PhD, ABD Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Harvey is the past president of the Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association and past president of the Illinois Counseling Association. Since 1977, he has been in private practice at the Suburban Behavior Consultants, Inc.

Tom Laue
Tom Laue edits two Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois newspapers sent around the country each month to 700,000 older customers with prescription drug and Medicare insurance policies. He previously headed public affairs at the Illinois Housing Development Authority and has served as communications manager for the state’s commerce department. Tom has also been president of the National Association of Government Communicators.

Tracey Lipsig Kite, L.C.S.W.
Tracey is the Director of Jewish Healing Network of Chicago. She has been a social worker at the Jewish Child and Family Services for twelve years. She also has a private practice.

Rabbi Peter S. Knobel
Rabbi Knobel is the Senior Rabbi at Beth Emet the Free Synagogue in Evanston, IL. He received his graduate degree from Hebrew Union College and his Ph.D. from Yale University. He is Past President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and the Chicago Association of Reform Rabbis. He has participated as a member on the Illinois State Attorney’s Task Force “Foregoing Life Sustaining Treatment” while putting special emphasis on health, healing, death and dying. In March 2007, Rabbi Knobel will be installed as President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

Sue K. Laue
Sue is the CEO of Media Masters Inc., a multi-media communication consulting firm producing and implementing community and media relations plans for clients to improve outreach to the public, special interest groups and news media. She is the immediate past president of the Mental Health Association of the North Shore, Evanston, Illinois.

Rabbi Andrea London
Rabbi London is the Associate Rabbi at Beth Emet the Free Synagogue, Evanston, Illinois. Rabbi London has participated in the Institute for Jewish Spirituality Rabbinic Program and has initiated several spirituality programs. She teaches Jewish Spirituality for the Institute for spiritual Companionship that trains spiritual leaders. Rabbi London has been involved in the mental health conferences at the synagogue for the past four years.

Charlotte Mallon, LCSW
Charlotte is the Director of the Goodman Child and Adolescent Institute at Jewish Child and Family Services. Ms. Mallon has been a therapist, program director, and developer, and advocate for children and families involved with DCFS and the Juvenile Court. Currently, she is responsible for the training and education of the staff working at JCFS.

Dr. Fred Miller, MD
Dr. Miller is the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and has been on the faculty of the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine for over 14 years. Dr. Miller is the originator of the There’s No Such Thing As Crazy project, which employs film, music, theater, and the internet to dispel myths and combat the stigma of mental illness among teens and young adults.

Phyllis Mitzen, MSW
Phyllis is a partner of Holstein, Mitzen and Associates, a consulting firm specializing in helping organizations address the complex issues of an aging society and also consults with the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, dedicated to rebalancing the Long Term Care System in Illinois. Previously she was the Director of Government Affairs for the Council for Jewish Elderly.

Randy Parks
Randy Parks has his M.A. in Clinical Psychology. He has been working with adolescents and parents for 20 years. Randy is the Assistant Director of the Response Center, a social service agency focused on adolescent counseling and prevention services. Randy is also in private practice in Evanston.

Susan Shimon, M.S.
Susan is the director of WilPower, Inc., a psychiatric rehabilitation, and employment assistance and permanent supportive housing agency that serves men and women who have serious mental illness in the north and northwest suburbs. Susan has worked in the field since 1984, in both direct service and management.

Terrill Stumpf, RN, DNSc, MDIV
Terrill works in nursing practice, administration and education. He is the Director of the Center for Whole Health, a program of Chicago Lights at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

Sharon Weingarten, MSW, LSW, ACSW
Sharon is a social worker and teacher. She is an expert on intergenerational communication and has worked with students and families for over 30 year. Sharon serves as advisor to several mental health organizations. She is the “founding mother” and Director of the multi-school annual Student Writing Competition, “The Stress of Growing up in the 21st. Century” .This project is sponsored by the Mental Health Association of North Shore.