Our Staff

Margaret Danilovich is Senior Director in the Leonard Schanfield Research Institute. She has been on the faculty at Northwestern, Feinberg School of Medicine since 2014.  She is a board-certified geriatric physical therapist and she received her PhD from UIC in Public Health Sciences. Her dissertation was awarded best doctoral project in aging by the American Public Health Association.  Her primary research area investigates exercise and physical activity interventions for older adults with frailty. She has been funded by the NIH, Retirement Research Foundation, CFAR, PCORI, and the American Physical Therapy Association. A leader in the field of gerontology, she is the recipient of the Gerontological Society of America Estes Award and the Douglas Holmes emerging scholar award. The author of over 15 research articles, she presents her research nationally and regularly conducts continuing education throughout the country on best practices in providing care for older adults. She has also been a columnist for CNN, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Crain's Chicago Business, and The Hill on advocacy issues regarding Medicare policies and older adults.

Christie Norrick, MSW, is a Project Manager at the Leonard Schanfield Research Institute of CJE SeniorLife. Ms. Norrick graduated from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis with a Gerontology concentration.  She has worked directly with older adults, youth and adults with developmental disabilities. She has also been responsible for performing quality assurance tasks and assuming staff development roles.  Ms. Norrick has expertise in project management, process improvement and presenting to diverse audiences.  She has been with CJE since 2014, and was Manager of Consumer Assistance prior to taking on this position. 

Nikki Briggs, MSW, is currently a Project Manager at the Leonard Schanfield Research Institute of CJE SeniorLife. Her main role is to provide support and guidance to internal stakeholders across the organization to improve data usage and processes. Ms. Briggs has a Master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago where she focused on program evaluation and older adults. She has previous experience coordinating the expansion of evidence-based programming for older adults across the state of Illinois. Prior to working in aging services, she was a Community Economic Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps.

Dr. Berman joined Leonard Schanfield Research Institute in 2006 as the Co-Investigator for the E-Care and the Self-Care Pain Management Pilot Studies. As a researcher and program evaluator, Dr. Berman is committed to identifying priorities for building knowledge that can be used to effectively address the concerns, needs and preferences of older people and their families.  

Dr. Berman has worked in the field of aging as an educator, researcher, evaluator, and trainer since receiving her doctorate in Anthropology through Northwestern University's Program in Ethnography and Public Policy. From 1993 to 2008 she served on the faculty of the Masters in Gerontology Program at Northeastern Illinois University where she periodically servs as a part time faculty.

In 2005, she received the Part Time Faculty Recognition Award from the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education and in 2006 she was awarded the Part Time Faculty Excellence Award from NEIU.

From 2000 to 2005 Dr. Berman also served as a Research Assistant Professor  at the Buehler Center on Aging, Health and Society (previously the Buehler Center on Aging), Feinberg School of Medicine,  at Northwestern University. While at the Buehler Center, she co-directed a training and technical assistance project to build the capacity of social service agencies to conduct evaluation research. Currently she is an affiliate of center.

Dr. Berman has also been an independent research and evaluation consultant since 1990, providing evaluation technical assistance and training to social service providers. She has authored a number of articles and is a frequent presenter at national conferences.

Rachel Lessem, JD, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the Leonard Schanfield Research Institute at CJE SeniorLife. She is a former family law attorney who received her JD from the University of Michigan.  Her work focused on survivors of domestic violence. She received her PhD from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University where she focused on Child, Youth, and Family Policy.  Her dissertation research examined the role of lay volunteers in improving domestic violence courts. Rachel’s  current research interests include intergenerational programs; aging in community; ageism and its effects on individuals and society; social isolation and loneliness; and volunteerism and activism among older adults. She is pleased to be a part of CJE Senior Life where she can use her research skills to further the mission of the organization.