by Pam Martin, RN, MBA, Heath Care Management
Immediate Past Chair, Josselyn Board of Directors
As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, we recognize the tremendous impact of strong female leadership at Josselyn. In particular, we highlight three talented women who are accelerating Josselyn’s mission to provide our community with the highest quality mental health care.
Jessica Catlin, Director of Development
Jessica (Jess) has been a part of the Josselyn team for the past three years. She has a long-held passion for advocacy, dating back to high school, initially focusing on environmental causes. After her initial start in government and communications, Jess pursued a career path as a director of development for several non-profits including the Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity and Advance Illinois. Following a series of her own health challenges, including a difficult diagnosis of early onset colorectal cancer, Jess has dedicated her career and advocacy talents to organizations that are committed to improving both the physical and mental health of individuals and communities.
Her pathway to Josselyn started with an introduction to Susan Resko, Josselyn’s CEO and President, while working for The Kennedy Forum, a national mental health advocacy group based in Chicago. Jess was drawn to Josselyn’s mission of providing comprehensive, affordable, and accessible community mental health care to areas of high need in Cook and Lake Counties. For the past three years, Jess has committed her long-held passion, compassion, and advocacy skills in her role as Director of Development.
Jess is very clear that “fundraising is not picking up the phone and asking for dollars.” She notes that for her it means “finding people that are passionate about the cause, raising awareness of opportunities to support Josselyn and showing the impact of their investment in Josselyn’s growth.” In the past three years, Josselyn’s fundraising has just about doubled to nearly $10 million thanks to the work of Jess and the entire Mission Advancement team.
Jess is excited for Josselyn’s years ahead. “We are at a moment for mental health,” she said. She is encouraged by the incredible generosity of our community which opens tremendous possibilities and opportunities for Josselyn to extend its reach. Thankfully Jess will be on the forefront of telling Josselyn’s story and advocating for a re-imagined future of mental health care for all of us.
Cathy Fields, Chief Compliance Officer
In the four months since Cathy joined the Josselyn team, her impact has been far and wide. Resko sees Cathy’s arrival as “just in time.” As Josselyn now serves over 7,800 clients and has a growing team of 270 employees, Cathy’s talents in compliance, governance, and project management are key ingredients to Josselyn’s success, both current and future. Cathy’s early career focus was on clinical research at Southern Illinois University, which led her to work in the pharmaceutical industry.
As her career progressed from clinical research to procurement and then compliance, so did her health care knowledge. It was during her time at Takeda that she obtained her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University with a specialization in health care law. At that point, Cathy became uniquely qualified and highly sought as a leader in health care compliance and continued to work in biopharma companies, consulting firms, and community behavioral health.
Cathy was drawn to Josselyn for two main reasons: her own commitment to improving mental health care in our community, as well as Josselyn’s core values of clinical excellence and expanded access. For Cathy, compliance is about so much more than following the rules or making sure all accreditations are passed. She said, “It involves doing the right thing when no one is looking.” Her broad vision ensures that Josselyn continues to set the highest bar for ethical clinical practice and organizational integrity. Under Cathy’s leadership, she will help Josselyn reach new heights as a mental health center of excellence for our community.
Ana Ruiz, Senior Director of Clinical Operations
Ana’s ten-year career in mental health care has been defined by envisioning what is possible or as she describes it, “seeing the more.” Her interest in mental health care began during her college years at Purdue University. While starting as an engineering student, a chance conversation with a psychiatric nurse set her in a new direction. She was moved by the barriers to receiving care for many people and entire communities.
Ana switched her majors to psychology and Spanish, going on to complete a Health Care Administration MBA at Indiana Wesleyan University. During her initial work on the clinical front as a lead mental health counselor at Methodist Hospital in Chicago and at the Illinois Department of Human Services, Ana saw many gaps in the mental health care system. She was particularly concerned about inadequate continuity of care, access, and affordability. Ana saw the potential and promise of how innovative management could raise the bar on how mental health care was delivered.
Ana was drawn to Josselyn in 2020, attracted by the culture of strong team effort, commitment to serve an increasingly diverse community, and exceptionally high standards of care. She currently leads 55 employees in several critical departments, including psychiatric services, residency programs, client access, and data analytics. Chief Clinical Officer Mike Scholl notes, “Ana is an extraordinary team member – determined, collaborative, and a force to get things done. Her leadership is the cornerstone to our care coordination efforts with Northwestern Medicine, ensuring our clients receive the highest level of care as they move from various hospital services to Josselyn’s outpatient mental health care.”
Ana’s vision and laser focus on “seeing the more” continues. She sets the highest bar for Josselyn’s future and will be a key team member to make it happen.
