Our Board

The Center officially opened July 1, 1985 specializing in sibling loss. Due to its uniqueness as one of the first agencies specializing in Grief Recovery, we received national publicity, with features distributed by People Magazine, Associated Press, CBS-TV, The Chicago Tribune, and other news organizations. As a tax-exempt, nonsectarian, nonprofit corporation we have a board of directors that helps to maintain our mission and shape the work we do into the future. Our mission is to empower individuals to heal and enrich their own lives. We have done as much as possible to increase understanding of the issues involved in bereavement and loss, working to sensitize both the lay and professional communities, by offering direct services to bereaved individuals.

Judy Vasos

BA, MSW, Historical Detective

After years of social work Judy discovered her true passion was a family historian. Forthcoming book: My Dear Good Rosi: Letters from Nazi-occupied Holland, 1940-1943 comes out of this passion.

Joe Scarpa

BA

Joe Scarpa was entrepreneur and businessman for 35 years and had an avocation as a hospice chaplain for 9 years. He was a chaplain in the Buddhist tradition. He lives in Chicago and Wellington, Florida. He is a huge fan and advocate of CGR!

Sam del Rosario

AM, LCSW

Sam has been working as a social worker for 17 years in his hometown of Chicago. His work focuses on addressing the needs of older adults along with their support networks and communities. Also a writer and photographer, he draws inspiration from his work with clients which reveal beautiful sides of the city. Currently he works in hospice.

Ben Gorvine

Ph.D., Clinical & Developmental Psychology
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Ben currently works at Northwestern University in the Department of Psychology, where he is an Associate Professor of Instruction and also serves as the department’s Assistant Chair. He enjoys working with the undergraduate students, and he regularly teaches courses on Clinical Psychology, statistics, and research methods. While he is currently not in clinical practice, he does maintain his licensure and worked as a clinician for nearly a decade, where he had a diverse practice that included work with individual adults, couples, families, and children.

Marc A. Ricketts

BA, MBA

I spent my first 9 years in Jamaica but I love the cold weather of Chicago.  I graduated from ETHS, University of Illinois (Champaign/Urbana) and Keller Graduate school of Management.  I like photography, working in the Community garden and watching almost any Sci-fi and comic book movie.  I’m also known to slip an extra treat to the family dog, Marley.

Chris Lucia Rothman

PsyD, Retired  

Director, Emeritus and long time Center Clinician, Chris resides in the Palm Beaches.  She maintains a strong connection to The Center as an active and supportive Board Member and Center Consultant. Chris is thoroughly enjoying this time in life, following her aspirations as a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and volunteer with the Padmasambhava Buddhist Centers, International.