Staff Q&A: Lynn Steiner, Project Manager
Mental Health Services and Policy Program Where are you originally from?
I’m from the North side of Chicago – Rogers Park. My whole family still lives here; we’re all within a few miles of each other.
What is your educational background?
I graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, and then a few years later I received my master’s in social work (MSW) from Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois – Chicago. Fun fact: I worked with President Schapiro as chair of the Northwestern University Staff Advisory Council (NUSAC), and I met Brandeis’ president (Fred Lawrence) at local Brandeis events; it turns out that President Lawrence is a friend of President Schapiro, so when I happen to see one I give him an update on the other! Please tell us about your professional background.
My first job out of college was working in a group home for adults with mental illness. After a few years I returned to graduate school for my MSW, and went back into the field as a quality assurance supervisor at a social service agency that served adults with mental illness. After a year of this I realized that it was not work that I enjoyed, so I looked around, I found a description for a research position at Northwestern, and applied for it. This was for a project coordinator in the Institute for Policy Research on the Evanston campus for a research study on community policing. I learned a great deal in that position, and worked there for about five years until grant funding ended. In 2004, I applied for my current position, also a project coordinator, in the Mental Health Services and Policy Program in the Department of Psychiatry on the Chicago campus. We mainly work with the Department of Children and Family Services to evaluate how their kids are doing – psychiatrically and functionally – and how stable their living arrangements are, but we also have faculty who focus on the areas of child trauma, juvenile justice and child mental health. Why did you choose to work at Northwestern?
I originally applied for a position at Northwestern because it sounded challenging, and I thought it might be intellectually stimulating to work at a university. I wasn’t wrong about that! I love having access to well-known and respected academic and political figures, being able to attend lectures and panel discussions, accessing Northwestern’s museum, theater and music programs, and more. I’ve been here for more than 12 years – no small feat on soft money! – and I hope to stay for awhile and continue to enjoy the intellectual and cultural benefits of the University.
What is your role at the medical school?
That’s a good question! Doing social science research in a program in the Department of Psychiatry means that we’re very different from most other programs in the medical school. When you work mainly with state departments and social service providers, and child assessments, it’s sometimes difficult to see how your research fits in with the focus on medical research, doctors, lab rats, and blood samples that characterizes the medical school. As a senior staff member in my program, I see myself in many roles, some of them perhaps connected to Feinberg or the larger University community. First I am a project manager, so I work in a manager role to make sure that we are meeting deadlines and that are products are useful for our clients. I also coordinate our monthly program meeting, and in that role I am responsible for bringing topics of interest (and guest speakers) to our meeting to inform our staff, faculty and students. As a long-time employee, I sometimes take on the role of “expert,” knowing what to do when and who to go to for what. Finally, as a current member (and former chair) of NUSAC, I function as a “big picture” person, working to forge connections among people in various departments and schools, trying to help people access resources that make working at Northwestern a great experience and encouraging people to look outside their narrow world within a program to become involved within the larger medical school or the University. How do you contribute to the research mission at Feinberg?
One area where I think our program’s mission and Feinberg’s mission are the same is around research findings: in both cases, our goal is to make sure that the work we do will have some practical applications and make it easier for those who can use the information we provide. That might mean doctors can provide less invasive surgeries for quicker recoveries, or that social service providers can figure out what services will help a child manage and overcome symptoms from a traumatic experience. I contribute to the mission by making sure that the staff who handle the data are being as careful and accurate as possible so that we can trust reports that are generated from the data; by supervising staff to make sure they understand the rationale behind what we do; by training assessors to use the assessment tool properly so that we can have confidence that the data is accurate; and by being an advocate and asking questions about how we can improve in our efficiency, HIPAA-compliance, and the usefulness of our reports to the State and providers. I am also an advocate for staff involvement and professional growth in any form; I think staff who feel valued are more committed to the project and to seeing it succeed, and if Feinberg is to continue to be at the forefront of medical innovation and collaboration, the support of its staff is crucial to that success. I hope that faculty and supervisors will increase their efforts to show their staff that their hard work is appreciated and will solicit feedback from staff about how to achieve even better results. Many of us would appreciate Dean Neilson convening occasional open forums for the staff and faculty at Feinberg to communicate current Feinberg news and to discuss how we all can contribute to meeting Feinberg’s goals. With the recent release of the University’s strategic plan, timing could not be better! What (if any) professional activities do you take part in?
As a licensed social worker, I have to take continuing education classes every year, so I attend social work-related events and occasional conferences. I also occasionally present at a conference on the work that we do; in fact I’ll likely be applying to present at a conference in Washington, D.C. in the spring, pending the ability to have expenses covered (for staff in grant-funded research, it’s a challenge to find resources for professional development). What is your favorite part of the job?
For me, the best part of my job is problem solving. One of my responsibilities involves staffing a help desk, and I receive great satisfaction from being able to address the problems that come in through that email account. It’s a good day when I can fix a problem and make our client’s job a little easier. Outside of this, I really enjoy working with my staff and colleagues to brainstorm about how to make a process more efficient, or how to resolve inconsistencies and puzzling information in the assessments that we receive from human service providers, or how to better generate or convey information that agencies can use to improve service provision to the kids.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
My life outside of work is pretty full. I love to travel and I’m often asked where my next trip will be. In 2011, I went to Morocco (my first ever visit to the Middle East and Africa) and to Montreal. In 2012 I’m planning a long overdue trip to Savannah and Charleston, with an international trip to be determined. I have also been a long-time volunteer for the Employment Project (TEP) at Inspiration Corporation. This is a non-profit agency that provides services to homeless or formerly homeless adults to get them back into the job market. In my role there, I help participants create or update their resumes and cover letters, search for jobs online, and pretend to be a hiring manager during mock interview sessions. I truly believe in the value of the work that TEP does and try to plug them whenever I can. I belong to two book clubs and am a ravenous reader; I’m pretty cerebral! (As if two book clubs weren’t enough, I’m trying to convince the Feinberg Staff Relations Committee to organize a Feinberg/Chicago campus lunch time book club.) But I try to stay active too, whether that’s getting to the gym throughout the winter or riding my bike or trying to get out to the state parks and walk around in the summer. I’m an organizer, so in the winter you’ll find me having some friends over for dinner or organizing a group to head to a museum, while in the summer I’m planning outings to movies in the park, concerts at Millennium Park, and recreational bike rides around the Chicago area. I crave variety and I’m willing to try anything once. Anything else we should know about you?
My time on NUSAC has shown me how valuable it is to expand your horizons beyond your own program or department, so I am always eager to connecting with others around the University. If anyone reads this article and has questions about our work, NUSAC or about navigating the University, feel free to contact me – I’m always happy to help.
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