Caryn Berman was a Chicago-based social worker. [1]
Caryn was born in Rosedale, Queens to Paul and Rachel Berman. She was the wife for 36 years of Laura Cuzzillo. [1] Berman and Cuzillo married May 22, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. [2]
While attending SUNY Stony brook, Berman worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention getting transferred in 1976 to Chicago. While there, she ended up getting her master's degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration [1] in 1980. [3] [4]
She died September 1, 2014, [4] after a five-year battle with ovarian cancer at the age of 61. [1]
Motivated by the 1985 neath of a friend from HIV/AIDS, Berman became an AIDS educator, policymaker and service provider at Center on Halsted (formerly known as Horizons Community Services), Heartland Alliance, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. [1]
While working as a clinical social worker at Evanston Hospital, Berman “developed a groundbreaking sex-education program for persons with chronic mental illness” before going into private psychotherapy practice, part time. [3]
At the University of Illinois at Chicago, she was the Illinois program director of the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center, training more than 25,000 health care professionals. [3]
In 1995, Berman was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. [1]
Center on Halsted is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community center in Chicago, Illinois.
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville is an American social worker, activist, and trans woman best known for founding transgender advocacy group transGENESIS.
Howard Brown Health is a nonprofit LGBTQ healthcare and social services provider that was founded in 1974. It is based in Chicago and was named after Howard Junior Brown.
AIDS Foundation of Chicago is a locally based, non-profit organization that advocates for HIV/AIDS prevention as well as serves as a general resource for the HIV/AIDS community. Founded in 1985, some of their better-known accomplishments include hosting fundraisers to support the distribution of HIV/AIDS related medications in the city, funding the Open Door Health Center, and launching their “Getting to Zero” plan. Their cause seeks to increase the amount of resources available to the HIV/AIDS community as resources are too few and far between. Similar to other city organizations focused on sexual health such as Howard Brown Health, AFC makes getting access to treatment easier for all patients, decreases the stigma around treatment, and promotes the awareness and acceptance of those who live with HIV and/or AIDS.
Laura Berman is an American relationship therapist and television host. She is the host of In the Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). She is also a regular guest on The Dr. Oz Show, and hosts her own nationally syndicated radio program, Uncovered with Dr. Laura Berman. She previously starred in Showtime's reality television series Sexual Healing.
The LGBTQ community in Chicago is one of the United States' most prominent, especially within the Midwest, alongside those of San Francisco and New York City, and holds a significant role in the progression of gay rights in the country. With a population of around 3 million, Chicago is the third biggest city in the US, and around 150,000 of those people identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, questioning, or other.
Muriel "Manny" Tuteur (1922-2016) was an American labor activist who was a charter member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women and a founding member of the Chicago Day Care Council. She was the director of the Amalgamated Day Care and Health Center from 1969 to 1983, the first union-sponsored day care center in the United States. During this time, she was one of the founders of the Chicago branch of the Coalition of Labor Union Women and served as its president from 1978 to 1982. From 1983 to 1994 she served as the Assistant Director of Education and Political Action for the Chicago branch of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU). When ACTWU merged with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) to form Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), Tuteur served as the Assistant Education Director for the Chicago and Central States Board until her retirement. She received many awards and honors during her career, including the Hannah G. Solomon Award from the National Council of Jewish Women in 1988, and was an inductee into the Chicago Women's Hall of Fame in 1989.
Delia Villegas Vorhauer was an American Latina social worker, who successfully ran programs to assist the Hispanic communities in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. She was awarded a presidential medal for her efforts in development. She founded Mujeres Unidas de Michigan as an advocacy group for Spanish-speaking women and as a result of their activism the group sent six delegates to the 1977 National Women's Conference, which was a part of the UN International Women's Year programs. Vorhauer served as vice chair of the delegation to the conference. She authored the Mason Miller Report, an evaluation of minorities and higher education, which became the model for analyzing participation of minorities in colleges and universities throughout Michigan, leading to a state bi-lingual education law. When she lost her sight, due to diabetes, Vorhauer became an advocate for the blind. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1990, the first Latina to be honored in the hall.
Margaret Ann "Peg" Grey was an American physical education teacher and sports organizer based in Chicago. She was the first female co-chair of the Federation of Gay Games. She was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1992.
Arlene A. Halko was an American medical physicist and gay rights advocate, based in Chicago. She was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1996.
Daniel Sotomayor was the first openly gay political cartoonist in the United States for various newspapers throughout the country, such as Chicago's Windy City Times, and the cofounder of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power organization’s branch in Chicago (ACT-UP/Chicago).
Marcia Lipetz was a leader in the nonprofit community of Chicago. She helped set up the Center on Halsted and in the 1980s, was the first full time executive director at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago as well as what was to become the Alphawood Foundation. She served on the board of the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Tania “Chef Tania” Callaway (1952-2000) was a chef and caterer from Chicago, Illinois. Her parties were legendary in the African-American lesbian community and for about ten years, was chef at Heartland Cafe, beginning in the 1980s.
Lana Hostetler was an educator and activist.
Katherine “Kit” Duffy was the first liaison to the gay and lesbian community in Chicago. She was appointed in 1984 by Mayor Harold Washington. Her concerns at the time were AIDS education and issues related to equality and fairness. At the same time, Duffy served as the first executive director of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
Zahara Monique Bassett is the founder and CEO of Life Is Work. Life is Work is a social service agency on the West Side of Chicago. She is also “a nationally recognized visionary activist and long-time advocate for trans human rights, social justice, health equity, and LGBT equality.”
Maya Green is the Chief Medical Officer at Chicago’s Howard Brown Health and the founder of HIV Real Talk which is a community based HIV screening and prevention program. Green was an educator, in both private and public schools, before getting her medical training. She also serves on the AMA-LGBT Medical Advisory Committee.
Richard Lee Gray is an American activist.
Charlotte Newfeld (1930–2022) was an American LGBT activist.
Lori Cannon is a Chicago-based American AIDS activist. She was a volunteer at Chicago House and Social Service Agency, the non-profit organization providing housing and hospice during the AIDS crisis. She then worked with the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, helping to establish the Chicago chapter. She was involved with the 1988, 1990, and 1994 installations of the quilt in Chicago, coordinating media and public relations activities.