Sherry S. Kostman, Psy.D, MA, CADC, MISA, NCRS, CCM
Executive Director

Before joining us, Dr. Sherry Kostman was Director of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services at a psychiatric Long-Term Care Facility and Divisional Director at Abraxas Youth & Family Services-Cornell Interventions, where she had full clinical and fiscal responsibility for 25 residential and outpatient behavioral health and substance abuse programs across Illinois. Dr. Kostman earned a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology and Certificate in Group Psychotherapy from the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, and an MA in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Illinois and South Carolina, as well as a Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional, Certified Mental Illness/Substance Abuse Professional, a National Certified Recovery Specialist and a Certified Case Manager. Prior to entering the healthcare field Dr. Kostman was Executive Vice President of Kostman/Schmid Advertising for over 18 years.

Sara Stassen, LCSW, MSW, CMC
Director of Client Services

Sara Stassen brings her multifaceted talents as a geriatric care manager, hospital social worker, and educator to SeniorBridge. Most recently, she was a private eldercare consultant, assisting clients and their families with every aspect of care management. Before that, she served as Director of Case Management and Social Services at the Warren Barr Pavilion in Chicago and as a social worker/discharge planner there, altogether for 14 years. Ms. Stassen has also volunteered at Northwestern Hospice and interned as a clinical social worker at the Doyle Center of Loyola University. She has taught Freshman English at DePaul University and French at the Chicago City Day School and at several public schools around the country. She also served as a volunteer teacher and was a member of the board of trustees at the Latin School of Chicago from 1976-1995. Her master of arts degree is from Columbia University in New York and her MSW from Loyola University Chicago.

Catherine B. Whitford
Director of Professional Relations

Before joining SeniorBridge, Catherine's strengths in marketing and community outreach were tapped as a Community Service Representative at Home Instead Senior Care, where she planned, executed, and built networking strategies and fostered relationships with referral sources. Previously, she had been an Account Manager at Walsh Media, Inc, responsible for sales strategy and product enhancement of national clients. Catherine was also an Account Manager at Lucent Technologies/Octel Communications, working on eBusiness applications and interactive voice response messaging solutions. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University.

Carol E. Harris, BSN, RN, BC
Care Manager

Carol Harris is a certified gerontological nurse whose 28 years' experience runs the gamut from community-based services and research to adult residential and hospital nursing. She has served as a Community Nurse Care Manager and Community Educator at the Council for Jewish Elderly, and was Co-Investigator and Program Manager of a research project for dementia caregivers. At CJE, she also implemented a VNA Foundation grant to study strength-training for community-dwelling older adults. Among other previous roles, Ms. Harris has been an outpatient orthopaedics nurse at Loyola University Medical Center, a Nurse Coordinator for home health care and senior centers, and a Visiting and Triage Nurse at the VNA. She received her BSN from Loyola University, Chicago, School of Nursing and is certified by the American Nurse Credentialing Center.

Mary Osborne, BA, BSN, RN
Nurse Care Manager

Mary Osborne has eight years experience in home health and case management. Prior to her position with Senior Bridge, she worked as a nurse/case manager at Northwestern Memorial Home Health Care and as an occupational health nurse/Director of Clinical Services at U.S. Occupational Health, both of Chicago. Her considerable strengths include communicating with clients and their families, troubleshooting in complex home situations, and conducting individual care needs assessments. She holds a BSN, Magna Cum Laude, from Rush University, and a BA in Chemistry, Cum Laude, from Knox College in Galesburg. Beyond her health care experience, Ms. Osborne is a free lance writer and novelist.

Kate Cieslak
Care Manager

Before bringing her varied talents to SeniorBridge, Kate Cieslak was Associate Geriatric Care Manager and Director of Communications for Eldercare Options, Ltd, in Riverwoods, Ill, where she developed a professional referral network, trained staff, and provided nonmedical services to clients. Previously she had been a concierge at an assisted living facility, a corporate relocation consultant, and for 9 years, a certified educator in Wisconsin and Illinois. Ms. Cieslak has also taught in the Milwaukee and Chicago area public schools. She has a BA in English and Secondary Education from Marquette University in Milwaukee.

Lauren J. Miller, RN
Care Manager

Laruen has spent more than 30 years as a nurse in many hospital and pharmaceutical settings. Most recently, she worked as ICU Staff Nurse at Lincoln Park Hospital and Swedish Convenant Hospital in Chicago. Before that, she was Head Nurse in 4 acute care medical clinics in Israel and also served as a Bone Marrow Transplant Nurse at Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. Lauren's experience as a Pharmaceutical Product Specialist in Immunology Sales for Fujisawa Healthcare Inc. gave her further insight into transplant, cardiovascular, and immunologic therapies, after having worked as Clinical Nurse Coordinator in the Department of Surgery and Transplantation at the University of Illinois Medical Center. Other experience included positions as ER Trauma Nurse Specialist at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and Illinois Masonic Medical Center, and ER and Recovery Room Staff Nurse at Northwestern Memorial Medical Center. Lauren has also worked in dialysis units in hospitals in Israel and Savannah, GA. She trained as a Registered Nurse at Chaim Sheba Government Hospital in Tel-Aviv, is registered in the State of Illinois, and is certified in advanced cardiac life support, mobile intensive care nursing, and as a trauma nurse specialist.

Ruth Farrago, CMC
Vice President of Operations

Ruth Farrago has over 20 years of experience in health care administration. She was the Administrator of an inpatient and outpatient comprehensive Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Division at Downstate Medical Centers in Brooklyn. She has an extensive background in home care marketing and management having worked for St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers as the Director of Intake and was then the Branch Manager/Administrator at New York Health Care. Ruth was also the Executive Director of Sunrise Assisted Living of East Meadow where she was responsible for the daily operations of the facility, client and family satisfaction, management of the sales and marketing team and coordinated community outreach and events. Ruth has a Bachelors of Science from SUNY College of Oneonta where she majored in Business Economics and she is currently completing a Masters Degree at Long Island University specializing in Gerontology. Ruth has received her certification in Geriatric Care Management (CMC). She is a current member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers and the Case Management Society of America.