Celebrating Health Justice Champions: Legal Council’s 2024 Summer Soirée Awardees
Legal Council’s annual Summer Soirée is not just a party—it’s our opportunity to recognize and celebrate health justice champions in our community. These advocates have made significant contributions towards access to equitable health care, educational opportunities, and supportive and affirming community spaces. The Summer Soirée awards highlight the power of collective efforts in creating positive change and fostering a more inclusive and equitable society.
James Monroe Smith Founder Awardee: Dr. Renslow Sherer
Named after Legal Council’s trailblazing founder, the James Monroe Smith Founder Award honors exemplary leaders who have demonstrated a significant and unwavering commitment to the well-being of Illinoisans.
Dr. Renslow Sherer has been a formidable leader in the battle against HIV/AIDS since the early 1980s. Along with Dr. Ron Sable, Dr. Sherer founded the Sable/Sherer Clinic in 1982, Chicago’s first AIDS clinic, located at the Cook County Hospital. At a time when few medical professionals would treat patients who had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS (known at the time as GRID), Dr. Sherer was a beacon of hope to so many who were used to facing disrespect and had been disregarded by society.
Dr. Sherer made fighting and understanding HIV/AIDS his life’s work. After over two decades of providing life-changing and life-saving services at Cook County Hospital, he left his position to pursue AIDS research at an international level, and has since delivered numerous presentations on the clinical and social impacts of the HIV epidemic at conferences and has led HIV prevention and stigma reduction programs across the world.
Dr. Sherer currently serves as the Director of the International AIDS Training Center at the University of Chicago, where he continues to help address discrimination, improve health outcomes, and build up hope within the LGBTQ+ community.
Kimball & Karen Anderson Community Awardee: Susan Agrawal
The Kimball & Karen Anderson Community Award is named after local philanthropists, leaders in law, and steadfast supporters of Legal Council. This award uplifts community partners for their exceptional efforts in removing barriers to health for low-income individuals and vulnerable populations.
Susan Agrawal (she, her, hers) is a project director at the Arc of Illinois. In her position as the Director of the Family-to-Family Health Information Center, Susan helps families of children and young adults with disabilities and complex healthcare needs to navigate healthcare and disability systems in Illinois. But Susan has been doing this work long before she was paid to do so. In October of 2011 when the state of Illinois began proposing changes to the Medically Fragile and Technology Dependent Waiver program—a Medicaid program that allows children with complex health needs and medical technology to receive care in their homes to avoid institutionalization—Susan founded MFTD Waiver Families, a support and technical assistance group for families and children on the Waiver. Building on her personal experience with the system, she assisted families in accessing resources and provided exceptional support, education, and wisdom as they navigated the MFTD Waiver program. She has also tirelessly and thoughtfully fought for policy change to improve the lives of thousands of Illinois children with complex medical needs.
Susan is not only a frequent collaborator with our Children and Families team, but is an inspiration among Illinois parents with medically-complex children.
Passed in December 1988 by Chicago’s City Council, the Human Rights Ordinance banned discrimination based on sexual orientation, in addition to already-protected diversity factors like race, age, disability, and religion. The passage of this Ordinance was a turning point in Chicago’s LGBTQ+ history.
Ann Hilton Fisher Advocate Awardees: Art Johnston & Pepe Peña
Named after Legal Council’s former Executive Director, the Ann Hilton Fisher Advocate Award celebrates distinguished community leaders whose advocacy has supplemented and advanced Legal Council’s mission.
Art Johnston and Pepe Peña are the founders and owners of Sidetrack and legends in Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community. Founded in 1982, at which point it was a small, windowless bar on Chicago’s North Side, Sidetrack was instantly a hit among LGBTQ+ individuals during a time when there were few public spaces for these communities to be themselves. Not only did Sidetrack provide an affirming space, but also served as an epicenter of LGBTQ+ advocacy in Chicago, bringing together activists to collaborate and strategize. Art and Pep have been community leaders, lobbying in 1988 for the Human Rights Ordinance, and in 1992, co-founding what would become Equality Illinois, the state’s largest and oldest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.
Art and Pep continue to leverage their influence to advocate for and with LGBTQ+ communities. Art is the co-founder of OUTspoken, Sidetrack’s monthly storytelling show highlighting first-hand stories and experiences of LGBTQ+ community members. They were recently in Chicago’s Pride Parade as the Community Grand Marshalls, and are beloved in the Chicago Queer community for all that they have done.
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Please join us on Thursday, August 15 from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. for an unforgettable evening at the legendary Sidetrack Bar to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our awardees. Tickets and sponsorships are available here.