Leadership & Staff

Antigone Kouvelis

Program Administrator Senior

Antigone Kouvelis has worked in the fields of criminal justice and public health for over three decades. Before coming to Northwestern, she was employed by Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago since 2005 working on the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System (IVDRS) project. Her role consisted primarily of data collection in six Illinois counties. The project has grown to include eighty counties as abstraction sites, capturing more than 97% of violent deaths and unintentional overdoses in the state of Illinois. Her responsibilities currently include project management, data validation and cleaning, quality assurance, contributing to data analysis and dissemination, and establishing and maintaining relationships with data partners and advisory board members. She is also responsible for hiring, onboarding, and overseeing the work of the data abstractors team. She regularly fields questions and provides guidance regarding coding decisions. The IVDRS and SUDORS projects and team moved to Northwestern University’s Buehler Center as of February 2021. Previous employers include Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago Department of Public Health, and Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

Nia Jovan Andrews, MJ

Communications Coordinator Senior

Nia Jovan Andrews is the Senior Communications Coordinator for the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System (IVDRS) and the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) at Northwestern University. Since September 2020, she has led communication strategy, digital content, and public-facing dissemination efforts, translating complex surveillance data into accessible reports, data briefs, and visual materials for public health partners, policymakers, and the public. Her work focuses on clarity, ethical storytelling, and strengthening the connection between data and community impact.

Melissa Imburgia, MA

Program Coordinator Senior/Center Administrator

Melissa Imburgia serves as the administrator for the Buehler Center. She handles the Center’s financial, HR, events, facilities, communications and administrative tasks. As a higher education administrator, she values the development and promotion of leadership and career development for students, staff and faculty. For any role, it is important for her to exercise a strong sense of emotional intelligence, compassion, and empathy in the workplace. The promotion of inclusive and progressive administrative practices are the main components of her professional goals and expectations.

Nyah Brown

Data Assistant Associate

Nyah Brown is a Data Assistant Associate with the Buehler Center. I recently graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a BA in Medical Anthropology. I also have minors in Public Health and Spanish. As a Chicago native, I am thrilled to be supporting the IVDRS and SUDORS projects! Outside of work, I love weight lifting, cooking, and (constantly) trying new restaurants.

Alicia Jones, Data Assistant
Kathryn (Kitty) Klement, Data Assistant Associate
Karla Cervantes, Data Assistant Associate
Kena Noland, Data Assistant Associate
Kim Voss, Data Assistant Associate
Michael Gsell, Data Assistant Associate
Samantha Cervantes, Data Assistant Associate
Sara Morimoto, Data Assistant Associate
Uriah Williams, Data Assistant Associate
Kathleen Kelly, Senior Program Coordinator, IVDRS/SUDORS
Oyindamola, Ajala, MPH, Data REsearch Analyst, IVDRS/SUDORS
Sara Welch, MPH, Director of Evaluation Research
Spencer Cox, Geospatial Specialist
Sean Michael Johnston, Program Coordinator - Block by Block: Block by Block: Overdose Fatality Prevention Initiative
Ursula Alexander, MPH, Senior Data Research Analyst, IVDRS/SUDORS
Yingxuan Liu, MA, Research Data Analyst Associate, SUDORS & Global Opioid Crisis Project