By Judy Carmack Bross
Willy Moore, Kate Fundarek, Patrick Casimiro, Christine Abramo, Chris Liberge and Laura Liberge at the 2024 Summer Soirée
The phrase La Dolce Vita translates May 30th into a summer night al fresco, conjuring the Italian Riviera and combining cocktails and culinary delights with dancing under the stars at the Saddle & Cycle Club.
Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, Summer Soirée: Anchors Aweigh, The Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital returns with another year of a sure-to-be sold out fundraiser, Soirée: La Dolce Vita. The glamorous evening will kick off the summer season while raising critical funds meeting The Woman’s Board mission to support the Hospital’s programs and services.
Ann Sidrys with Lynne Hemmer, Woman’s Board Presdient, at the 2024 Summer Soirée
“The revenue raised by the La Dolce Vita Summer Soirée party will go directly to fund the Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital current pledge of $4.6 million to expand reproductive healthcare services, ensuring that women across all stages of life receive high-quality care,” Woman’s Board President Lynne Hemmer told us. “Our fundraising goal is to raise a significant amount of money to donate directly to Northwestern Memorial Hospital while enjoying a lovely night with friends celebrating the success of the Summer Soirée committee.”
Courtney Welch Grimes, Annie Hudson, Emily Sturgess, and Bridget Tully Vrabel and Holly Cortes serve as Soiree Co-Chairs.
Co Chairs Emily Krall of Lake Bluff, Bridget Tully Vrabel & Annie Hudson both of Chicago, and Emily Sturgess of Winnetka at the 2024 Summer Soirée
Courtney Welch Grimes told how the theme was selected:
“Brainstorming the theme of this year’s Summer Soiree, La Dolce Vita on the Italian Riviera was an instant YES from our entire team after Emily suggested it to us during our first meeting. We were all daydreaming of sunny days and dining al fresco after this brutal winter.
Here is how we picture our upcoming special night: Step into a dreamy Italian summer evening, where the warmth of the Mediterranean comes alive. Elizabeth Meador’s floral arrangements will set a captivating scene with sun-ripened lemons nestled among warm-hued blooms, fresh herbs, and olive branches. The menu brings authentic Italian flavors to life, while live music creates the perfect ambiance of an Italian terrazzo at sunset. Our dedicated Spritz Bar completes this celebration of La Dolce Vita.”
Co-chair Annie Hudson of Chicago at the 2024 Summer Soirée
Annie Hudson added:
“The board has historically thrown wonderful parties to support the hospital. Many have been hosted in the Fall and we wanted to change things up. We wanted the party to be light and fun with a nod to the upcoming summer season that Chicago is so well known for. That led us to thinking about our favorite patio cocktails and what better way to kick off the season than with aperol and hugo spritzes. Emily is our resident decor expert and brought the whole thing together with an Italian Riviera theme.
Co-chairs Emily Krall of Lake Bluff, Bridget Tully Vrabel with board president Sarah Schrup and Annie Hudson, all of Chicago, with Emily Sturgess of Winnetka at the 2024 Summer Soirée
“This year we are going to have a paddle raise to encourage our guests to join us in supporting the incredible work the hospital does to improve women’s reproductive health throughout their lives. This includes everything from training doctors to counsel patients experiencing complex family planning issues to enlarging Northwestern’s capacity to help women who need help starting or building their families to supporting women at the end of their reproductive lives, this is a board of women for women.”
Meghan Archibald, Bridget Vrabel (co-chair) of Chicago at the 2024 Summer Soirée
Emily Sturgess (co-chair), Amy Tarnowicz, Julia Goodwin, Amy Fansler & Megan Fansler of Winnetka at the 2024 Summer Soirée
Lynne Hemmer told us more about the organization founded in 1897:
“The Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital prides itself on being a lifelong Board comprised of women of multiple generations working together to support the Board’s initiatives. We are proud of our younger members for launching the Summer Soirée last year and thrilled for the 2nd annual Summer Soirée La Dolce Vita this May. This year’s fabulous team of Courtney Grimes, Annie Hudson, Emily Sturgess and Bridget Vrabel have brought their creativity, enthusiasm and energy to plan an exquisite evening. They are a hardworking but also lively, fun seeking group who have collaborated with Holly Cortes, a WB’s past President, who has served in an advisory role on the Summer Soiree team. Holly Cortes brings her knowledge of the Woman’s Board objectives, traditions and operations to the table when working with the Summer Soiree Co-Chairs. These women have worked tirelessly together to create their vision of a lovely Italian summer party – La Dolce Vita!
From left, Dr. Nora Hansen, Kay Pearson, Sheila Wade, Brittany DeGraff, Dr. Leonidas Platanias, Lynne Hemmer, Dr. Olivia Foley, Dr. Emma Barber. Photo by Nora Conney Marra.
“On April 9th the Board celebrated the 2025 Nora Cooney Marra Compassionate Care Awards honoring four members of Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Awards were presented in each of the four following categories: Allied Health Professionals, Nursing, Attending Staff, House Officers and Fellows. These awardees model the Northwestern Medicine value of Compassionate Care and we are proud to honor their dedication.
The crowd at Anchors Aweigh, 2024 Summer Soirée
Ariana Moaveni & Amy Fansler of Chicago at the 2024 Summer Soirée
“The Woman’s Board has a membership cap of 85 active members which might be considered small in comparison to other hospital boards. However, our relatively intimate Board size ensures that members truly get to know each other and often work closely together. We are a hardworking group of dynamic, intelligent women who rely on teamwork to achieve successful events like the Summer Soiree. The Woman’s Board is an impressive hospital board which over the last 125 years has contributed more than $65 million to NMH and evolved into a powerful force for advancing medical excellence, while maintaining our unwavering commitment to compassionate care at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Kate Logan, TK, TK, Courtney Grimes, Katie Cassman of Winnetka at the 2024 Summer Soirée
Morgan Shaddock, Emily Snyder and Elizabeth Dennison of Chicago at the 2024 Summer Soirée
“We are proud of our younger members who have demonstrated great leadership in successfully launching the Summer Soirée. These younger members have a wide variety of skill sets and come from varies professional backgrounds. The Board has great respect for our impressive younger members and recognizes that this group represents the Board’s blood line and future leaders.
“The Woman’s Board feels tremendous pride and gratitude for Northwestern Memorial Hospital. We are thrilled to be ambassadors for this world-renowned hospital. The Board is motivated by Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s innovative, cutting-edge research coupled exceptional patient care. We are proud to have been a source of leadership and support since our founding and to have helped build NMH into a world-class leader in healthcare.”
Kathryn Scodro, Emily Krall (co-chair), Casey Waddell of Lake Bluff & Kenilworth at the 2024 Summer Soirée
Emily (co-chair) & Chris Sturgess of Winnetka at the 2024 Summer Soirée
Annie Hudson added:
“We hope our guest come ready for a night of great music, delicious food and drinks and the chance to see friends as we kick off the summer party season.”
For further information visit: wbrsvp@nm.org
