If you visit Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, Illinois, you have a 50/50 chance of running into veteran Tony Ward doing his “rounding,” as he calls it, three to four times a week. For years, the 72-year-old has been a patient at the hospital, where over time he’s become a fixture, walking the halls and chatting with patients and their families to see what they might need. He started by joining a cancer support group, then underwent suicide prevention training. He now serves on the hospital’s mental health commission and chairs its patient and family advocacy council. Sometimes, …

Neighbors magazine, published out of Melrose Park in suburban Chicago, recently celebrated its 21st year with a rare business model in the media landscape: a focus on positive news. That is largely the work of founder Tina Valentino, who juggles the roles of publisher, executive editor and contributor. She oversees all aspects of the business, including content, layout and design, printing and even circulation. “Circulation might actually be my favorite part,” Valentino says. “Walking into a drop location with a bundle of magazines and having someone ask for a copy ‘hot off the press’ is extremely gratifying.” Over the years, …

After nearly three decades of teaching religion, Roberto Costa has a simple replay whenever people mention retirement. “I say, ‘What are you talking about?’” reports the 57-year-old Costa, who has master’s degrees in divinity and theology. “I am very passionate about what I do, and I want to continue doing it.” Born in Turate, in Italy’s Lombardy region, Costa moved to Chicago at age 23 to study at Catholic Theological Union. After graduation, he ended up staying permanently in the Windy City, where he met his wife, Sandra Hou, who was born in Burma (now Myanmar) and grew up in …

A longtime leisure cyclist, Giulia Baroncini took her passion to the next level this summer by biking from her hometown in Italy to the Windy City. After cycling nearly 2,500 miles in two months to repeat a feat accomplished 130 years ago, Giulia Baroncini says she learned a great deal about the people and places she visited — and about herself. The 33-year-old native of Polesine, in the region of Veneto, followed a trail blazed by Luigi Masetti, who is considered the father of cycling tourism. After having cycled across Europe, Masetti accomplished the so-called “Viaggissimo” (the Great Trip) in …

Jeffrey Wittmus has no doubt about his purpose: to improve other people’s lives with his gift for dentistry. “What I do is heal people, and I’ve never stopped trying to master that healing ability,” the Chicago dentist says. “I love being able to take someone and heal their mouth or their body, or their general self-esteem, or health in general, because a lot of general health comes from oral health. That’s why I am on this planet — and I’ll do it as long as I can.” Wittmus, who has a doctorate in dental surgery from Northwestern University, has run …

  Get Carol Valentino-Barry chatting about the Socratic and case study methods of teaching, and you will soon fall prey to her infectious enthusiasm. Valentino-Barry is the executive director of Mentoring Mission, a nonprofit based in Chicago that works to bring mentors into high school classrooms across the country. Most of their mentors are graduates of Harvard Business School. The mentoring program consists of using Harvard Business School’s case study method, so students can learn dynamically, as a group, by reading and analyzing real-life case studies on topics ranging from Patagonia’s sustainability strategy to disaster recovery in Bangladesh. The exercise …

Dawn Marie Galtieri has devoted most of her professional career to nurturing Voice of the City, a small multi-arts nonprofit she founded 24 years ago in Chicago. “Our mission is to build community through making art and teaching art,” she explains. The nonprofit has a staff of two — Galtieri, who serves as executive and artistic director, and Christopher Ellis, executive producer and associate artistic director — along with about 20 associate artists. They currently focus their efforts on Chicago’s Logan Square and Roseland/Pullman neighborhoods, offering a variety of programming, including Design.Build.Grow.Eat. and UNITED Voices, both for teens. The nonprofit …

A member of the U.S. women’s national hockey team since 2019, Hayley Scamurra has discovered a unique way to up her game. Growing up with a father who had played professional ice hockey and three older brothers who loved to lace up their skates in the backyard rink, Hayley Scamurra found her passion for the sport early on. The 28-year-old now is a veteran of the U.S. women’s ice hockey team, which took gold in May at the 2023 Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship. “That was pretty incredible,” says Scamurra, a forward/left wing whose father, Peter Scamurra, played for the …

A proverbial knock on the door of a historical society in Boston led Jessica Dello Russo across the ocean to explore the burial practices of one of ancient Rome’s most storied minorities. The ancient catacombs of Rome — underground tunnels with slots in the walls where early Christians were interred — are well known to most connoisseurs of the Italian capital. Perhaps less known is the fact that there are also Jewish catacombs there and elsewhere in Italy. Jessica Dello Russo, who in January earned a Ph.D. from the Vatican’s Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology in Rome, is an expert …

“First we eat, and then we do everything else.” That’s a mantra for Briana DiTommaso, who was crowned Universal Woman Italy 2023. She also believes in working hard and not letting obstacles stand in your way. DiTommaso, 41, is the executive chef and winemaker for her family’s vineyard, Valentino Vineyards, in Long Grove, Illinois, where she lives with her three children and her life partner. She is also a partner and head winemaker for the wine company Provocativo. Over the years, DiTommaso has opened several restaurants in suburban Chicago, including Mambo Italiano in Mundelein, which she owned and operated for …