Evelyn DiLisio, business administrator in physiology, joined the SRC to expand her knowledge of the medical school.

Expressions, Art in the Atrium, the State of the School address, and various staff appreciation events at the Feinberg School of Medicine feature one common denominator: the Staff Relations Committee (SRC). Founded and run by staff members and research associates at the medical school, the 14-member SRC sponsors

The committee, comprising nine rotating members who serve three-year terms and five ex-officio members, recently welcomed three new members: Evelyn DiLisio, Shirley Scurlock, and Jacob Stempky. Joining the committee in October, these Northwestern staffers bring their unique talents and diverse experiences—professional and personal—to the school community. Stempky, for example, works by day as coordinator of finance and administration for the neurology department and by night as a painter of abstract expressionist art. Department of Physiology business administrator DiLisio has had the distinction of appearing on the front page of her hometown newspaper as a "war bride."

While volunteering at an orphanage in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in 1996, this native of Glasgow, Scotland, met her future husband, Tom. After an 80-day whirlwind romance, the couple married. A U.S. citizen and resident of Chicago, Tom was on temporary assignment in Sarajevo, where he was working on a World Bank project to reestablish the labor market after the war. The couple had less than 10 days to plan their wedding. They tied the knot in Bosnia’s capital city, celebrating with the many friends they had made in the country during their brief time there.

"Shortly after Tom and I got married, my mum sent a notice and a wedding photo to the local Glasgow paper," explains DiLisio, who had originally planned to volunteer in Sarajevo for three months but ended up staying six. "A reporter interviewed us, and we mentioned that one of Tom’s friends had kidded him about marrying a war bride and bringing her home to America. Well, the newspaper made that bit of info the headline banner over a picture of the two of us!"

DiLisio moved to the United States—and Chicago—and joined Northwestern in human resources in 1997. She later worked in the law school as a faculty affairs coordinator. A coordinator of finance and budget position in the medical school’s Department of Neurological Surgery soon followed. DiLisio started in her current job in 2003. Overseeing the daily operations of the physiology department, she interacts with faculty and staff members as well as students. "I like the daily challenges of problem-solving and finding solutions," DeLisio shares. "I really enjoy sorting things out."

Coordinator of finance and administration for the neurology department, Jacob Stempky is an artist whose work appears not only on his computer but also in galleries around Chicago.

In November Stempky became coordinator of finance and administration for the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, where he now has the opportunity to "create all the documents" he used to process! Previously with the Feinberg School’s finance, budget, and payroll office, Stempky worked with departments across the medical school in his former position. Says this native of Michigan, "My job with the finance office gave me an in-depth look at and understanding of how the medical school operates."

Stempky thrives on the wide variety of people contact throughout his department and the medical school and finds great satisfaction in helping others see dollar signs. "I like making people happy by getting them their money," remarks Stempky.

A graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Stempky earned his degree in drawing, painting, and printmaking in 1998. An accomplished artist, his work appears at galleries around Chicagoland and online. Stempky operated his own art gallery in Lincoln Park for a year before working in real estate and then joining the staff at Northwestern in 2004. When not at work, Stempky spends much of his time transferring his vision of the world—lately from photographs—to canvas. Some of his paintings even grace the hallways of the finance, budget, and payroll office on the 13th floor of Abbott Hall. Given his artistic interests, Stempky has naturally shown his creative work in Art in the Atrium—much to the benefit of the SRC.

"I was motivated to join the SRC partially due to my participation in Art in the Atrium," explains Stempky. "I like being involved and thought it would be nice to help with the event as well as other SRC activities."

SRC events also attracted DiLisio to the committee. "I had attended functions and enjoyed them," she explains. "Joining the committee is a great way to keep in touch with people at the medical school and build a sense of camaraderie at work."