health enews staff
Mike Riopell, health enews contributor, is on the communications team at Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care. He previously worked as a reporter and editor covering politics and government for the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald and Bloomington Pantagraph, among others. He enjoys bicycles, home repair, flannel shirts and being outside.
Anna Kohler, health enews contributor, is on the digital content team at Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Illinois State University and has worked in health care public relations for six years. In her free time, she enjoys working out, finding the nearest coffee shop, exploring new places with her friends and family, and keeping up with the latest social media trends.
Elizabeth Blasko, health enews contributor, is on the Advocate Health Care communications team. Elizabeth studied public relations and nonprofit leadership at Western Michigan University. A few of her favorite things include reading, traveling, watching auto racing and spending time with her loved ones and rescue dog named Bristol. Elizabeth volunteers as a Sunday school teacher and as a board member for ALMASI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Maasai girls and women in Tanzania.
Andrew Smith, health enews contributor, is on the Advocate Health Care communications team. Before joining Advocate, Andrew was a digital producer and assignment desk editor at WGN-TV in Chicago and WRTV in Indianapolis. He enjoys making complex health care topics easy to understand.
Alyx Andrus, health enews contributor, is a senior content writer at Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care. She’s been writing in different marketing capacities for more than 15 years. Alyx lives in Illinois where she and her husband enjoy the challenges and rewards of raising two kind kids.
Vicki Martinka Petersen, health enews contributor, is a digital content strategist at Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care. She studied journalism at Eastern Illinois University and received a master’s degree in writing from DePaul University. A former newspaper reporter, she’s worked in health care communications for the last decade. In her spare time, Vicki enjoys tackling her “to be read” pile, volunteering and planning fun activities to do in the Chicago area with her husband and son.
