Amy Rynell - Director of Research & Policy
 Amy is a facilitation expert, specializing in the fields of strategic planning and long-term systemic change. She has over 15 years of experience running meetings, directing coalitions, leading planning processes, and leading focus groups. In addition, Amy has in-depth knowledge of poverty and homelessness through providing direct services within a homeless system for 5 years, through being involved with homeless system planning through leadership positions within the Chicago Continuum of Care and coordinating the Regional Roundtable on Homelessness, and through documenting and evaluating best practices in addressing homelessness. She is a frequent presenter at National Alliance to End Homelessness conferences and others. Amy is particularly sensitive to the diversity of people experiencing homelessness, those with disabilities, and people experiencing poverty and the stereotypes regarding them. In light of this, she tailors her presentation style and content to meet her audiences ‘where they are at’.
Amy has worked for Heartland Alliance since 1997 and oversees the Heartland Alliance research and policy teams, comprised of Heartland Alliance Policy & Advocacy, the Social IMPACT Research Center, and the National Transitional Jobs Network. She serves as a spokesperson on poverty issues and coordinates the Regional Roundtable on Homelessness of Northeastern Illinois. In addition, Amy has served as co-chair of the Chicago Continuum’s Evaluation Committee and worked to document progress on Chicago’s Ten-Year Plan. Amy has worked on a variety of projects, including an evaluation of permanent supportive housing in the state of Illinois; an evaluation of DuPage County’s Plan to End Homelessness; and an inventory of public housing and housing choice vouchers capacity and waiting lists. She also oversaw the most comprehensive study of homelessness in northeastern Illinois and has been involved in studies of unemployed adults with multiple employment barriers.
Amy’s exceptional communication skills have resulted in countless stories on economic security issues run in media outlets and invitations to present at hundreds of events throughout the nation on issues impacting vulnerable populations.
Amy has a MA from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Contact Amy.
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Samantha Tuttle - Director of Policy & Advocacy | Economic security, Housing, Health Care, and Human Services
 As Director of the Policy and Advocacy team, Sam helps guide the team’s efforts to identify systemic barriers experienced by vulnerable populations and to advance effective solutions through administrative and legislative change, especially as they relate to economic security, health, and human services. Prior to joining the Heartland Alliance, Sam was an attorney in the housing unit at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law where she advocated on behalf of low-income individuals and families living in or in need of public, subsidized, or affordable housing, as well as families affected by foreclosure. Between 2009 and 2011, Sam led successful efforts to pass legislation that provides crucial protections for Illinois homeowners and tenants affected by foreclosure. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Sam began her legal career representing low-income families in a wide-variety of legal matters as a staff attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. Contact Sam
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Kim Drew - Policy Associate | Employment & Economic Security
 Kim has worked for Heartland Alliance since 2008. She is the lead coordinator of the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign: Realizing Human Rights in Illinois. The Campaign is working to cut extreme poverty in Illinois in half by the year 2015. Kim's primary focus is on income supports, employment and economic advancement. Kim has over seven years of community organizing experience. Prior to joining Heartland Alliance, Kim served as the Associate Director for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, a grassroots community-based organization serving Chicago’s southwest side. Kim received her BA in Human Development and Social Relations from Kalamazoo College and her Master's in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University. Contact Kim
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Nadeen Israel -Policy Associate | Health Care
 Nadeen has worked for Heartland Alliance since 2009, and her current focus is health care policy. In this position, Nadeen advocates for a health care system that fosters innovative, cost-effective, and integrated models of coordinated care and addresses the needs of vulnerable populations. Prior to joining the policy and advocacy team at Heartland Alliance, Nadeen worked with the Social IMPACT Research Center where she served as the Research Manager for a needs assessment study. Nadeen has experience advocating for policy including health care, domestic violence and state budget and tax policy. Her work is informed by Heartland Alliance’s service-based expertise, with the belief that effective policy change occurs when based on realities at the direct service level. Nadeen holds a Master's in Social Work from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, and a BS in Business Administration from the School of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Contact Nadeen
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Lucy Mullany - Senior Policy Associate | Asset Building
 Lucy works on asset building policy for Heartland Alliance and serves as the Coordinator of the Illinois Asset Building Group (IABG). In this position, Lucy leads state efforts to advance public policy that builds the stability and strength of Illinois communities through increased asset ownership and asset protection. Prior to joining Heartland Alliance, Lucy worked with the Center for Economic Progress where she served as the Government Relations Manager for the National Community Tax Coalition. Lucy has over 5 years of experience advocating for federal and state policy - including asset building policy, consumer protections against financial products and practices, and progressive tax reforms. Lucy also spent 3 years community organizing with LIFT Communities on Chicago's north side. Her work continues to be grounded in community organizing strategies and the belief that change happens locally. Lucy holds a Master's in Social Science from the University of Chicago and a BA in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago. Contact Lucy
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Ethan Brown - Program Associate | Asset Building
 Ethan works on asset building policy through the Illinois Asset Building Group (IABG) as a Program Associate on Heartland Alliance's Policy and Advocacy team. Through IABG, Ethan works statewide to expand access to asset building strategies and advocate for local and state policy to protect and increase Illinois residents' asset ownership. Prior to his work with IABG, he held a one year internship position with the National Transitional Jobs Network. Ethan has over five years of research design, collection, analysis, and writing experience in research labs at three major universities spanning the fields of urban planning, survey methodology, fMRI, drug addiction health, and schizophrenia psychology. While obtaining his Master’s Degree, he worked in an urban planning research lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago evaluating how planners and policymakers utilize spatial tools to address planning problems such as water use. Ethan holds BAs in English and Psychology from the University of Missouri, and a Master’s in Urban Planning and Public Policy, specializing in economic development through sustainable and people-supported methods, from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Contact Ethan
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Allyson Stewart - Communications Coordinator
Allyson manages communications outreach for the Heartland Alliance research and policy teams, including the Social IMPACT Research Center, Heartland Alliance Policy & Advocacy, and the National Transitional Jobs Network. Allyson has a diverse range of communications, research, and policy experience that serves to amplify our work and effectively communicate our information and ideas with key stakeholders around the state and country. Her previous work has focused on women’s entrepreneurship and renewable energy research and policy. Previously, she researched the impact of business training and asset building programs on the success of low-income women entrepreneurs as a research fellow at the Women’s Initiative for Self Employment in Oakland, California. She also has a background in the energy industry, working as a research and policy analyst investigating emerging clean technologies and implementing state-level renewable energy policy in California at the state’s largest utility company headquartered in San Francisco. Allyson also has experience working at the federal level as a research assistant intern on the U.S. Congressional Select Committee on Global Warming. Allyson communicated the results of this research and policy work to a wide range of stakeholders, successfully increasing public awareness of key issues and attracting new public, government, and fundraising support. Allyson has also worked as a policy consultant to Joint Venture Silicon Valley, analyzed city ballot initiatives for the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, researched the influence of cross-sector collaboration on major social innovations as a research assistant at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Center for Social Innovation, and supported food security research as an intern with the U.N. in Ecuador. Allyson speaks Spanish and is conversant in Mandarin Chinese. Allyson has a BA in Public Policy from Stanford University.
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Jean Lam - Program Coordinator
 Jean provides clerical, administrative, and various programmatic support to IMPACT. Jean joined Heartland Alliance in 2002 as an Administrative Assistant. Her previous experience includes database maintenance and information services support. Contact Jean
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Molly McAndrew - Intern
Molly is a graduate student at the University of Chicago and works as an intern on the Heartland Alliance Policy & Advocacy team. In this capacity, she focuses on healthcare policy and works to support the legislative advocacy agenda of the team. Molly has experience in areas of policy, advocacy, and research specifically related to reproductive healthcare, domestic violence, and child welfare. Prior to joining Heartland Alliance, Molly worked at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a policy assistant in the Office of Older Americans. Molly holds a BA in Social Work and Political Science from the University of Iowa and will complete her MA in Social Service Administration in June 2013. Contact Molly
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Cynthia Waldeck - Intern
Cynthia is a second-year master’s student at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her concentration is in Community Health and Urban Development with an additional focus on Gender and Women's Studies. Cynthia provides support to the Heartland Alliance Policy and Advocacy team on various projects including research, social media, advocacy, and policy analysis. Prior to joining the Policy and Advocacy team, Cynthia completed a field placement with Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. She split her time between providing individual, family, and group counseling and therapy for children and adolescents, and the Health Professions for the Future Program, where she provided college and career counseling for Chicago Public Schools students in the Health Sciences Career Academy at Dunbar High School. Before starting at Jane Addams, Cynthia worked at Thresholds as a Community Support Specialist providing counseling, case management, linkage, crisis intervention, psychosocial rehabilitation, and community support to adults with mental illness. Cynthia graduated from DePaul University with a BA in Sociology and Digital Cinema. Contact Cynthia
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