By Judy Carmack Bross
Steve Stryker and Andréa Schwartz; Dina and Rick Lieber, and Laura Schwartz
Spark, the dazzlingly successful annual event recently raised more than $4.3 million for Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, proving once again the incandescent power and hope of this great Chicago institution. Ranked Number One for 33 years in a row by the US News and World Report, it is the choice of patients from around the world for acute rehabilitation and its mission to treat the whole patient, both physically and mentally.
Tony award winner Idina Menzel
Held at Rockwell on the River, the evening featured a soaring performance by Tony Award winner Idina Menzel, with the CoverGirls providing high-energy music on electric violins during cocktails.
Nick Schaefer, Stephen Hiatt-Leonard, and Dianne Datu
CEO Dr. Pablo Celnik
Jude Reyes, Board Chair, welcomed attendees, as did Pablo Celnik, CEO. Reyes announced to the audience that the more than $4.3 million for the event will go toward advancing science and patient recoveries at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
Dr. Pablo and Debi Celnik and Shirley and Pat Ryan
Following dinner, guests were treated to an animated and engaging science lesson — focused on ways in which clinicians and researchers help patients defy gravity and move their muscles — led by Rick Lieber, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer , and James Sliwa, MD, Chief Medical Officer.
Idina Menzel performance served as a powerful backdrop to a video of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab patients’ recovery journeys. Menzel also engaged in a Q&A with Laura Ferrio, Chief Operating Officer, and even performed with some attendees, including young patients in the crowd.
