Sherry Kostman, PsyD
Executive Director

Before joining us, Dr. Sherry Kostman was Director of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services at the Wilson Care 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. Ms. 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 Professional Counselor, Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional, Certified Mental Illness/Substance Abuse Professional, National Certified Recovery Specialist, and is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Prior to entering the healthcare field Dr. Kostman was Executive Vice President of Kostman/Schmid Advertising for over 18 years.

Sara Stassen, MSW
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.

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
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.

Jennifer L. Burns, RN
Care Manager

Jennifer has come back to her first love, direct care management, after performing several other professional roles. She was Quality Indicator/Continuity of Care evaluator at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare/Glenbrook Hospital; Assistant Director of Nursing/Director of Nursing in Training at Extendicare, Inc/Willowcrest Care Center; Director of Nursing at The Neuroscience Center, Inc; and Family Leave Coordinator at Abbott Laboratories, where she won an annual award conferred on only 1 of 35,000 employees. She has also worked as a nurse in every aspect of hospital and long-term care. Jennifer is currently pursuing a Master of Jurisprudence in Health Care Law degree at Loyola University School of Law, and has a BS in Health Care Management from National Louis University and an AAS in Nursing from William Rainey Harper College.

Paul J. Ninnemann
Assistant Care Manager

Paul's previous experience as a social work student and an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P) has given him perspective on the need for sensitive care of the elderly. He worked as an EMT-P at Advanced Critical Transport Ambulance in Brookfield and Vandenberg Ambulance in Tinley Park. He completed the EMT-Paramedic and Basic Training Programs at Advocate Christ Medical Center and obtained his EMT-P license in Illinois. Then he earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree with honors at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, in the course of which he interned in the Joliet Department of Children and Family Services, making client assessments and referrals to other agencies.

David Mattioli, RN, BSN
Associate Vice President of Clinical Services

David Mattioli brings more than 17 years' experience in a variety of healthcare settings to SeniorBridge. For 9 years previously, he was the Administrator of Almost Family in West Palm Beach, responsible for operations and delivery of care for the in-home program in 4 counties, and for a time served dually in that role at Almost Family's Medical Adult Day Center in Boynton Beach.

Mr. Mattioli began his nursing career at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he developed a passion for caring for the elderly, and became a care manager before returning to Florida. He is a certified trainer for the Alzheimer training course for home health agencies in Florida and coauthored the curriculum used for the training. Mr. Mattioli is a member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. He received a BS in biology from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a BSN from Eastern Michigan University, and is a certified Legal Nurse Consultant

Philip Dooling
Vice President of Regional Operations

Mr. Dooling has over 29 years of senior management experience, including sales, marketing and operations roles with a Fortune 100 company, entrepreneurial start-ups and owning a multiple site specialty retail business. Prior to joining SeniorBridge, Mr. Dooling was the Chief Operating Officer for a South Texas Regional Home Health Agency, where he provided strategic direction and managed marketing and business development efforts. Mr. Dooling has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois.