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Riley O’Neil has never considered herself to be a lady who lunches. But when The Woman’s Board of RUSH University Medical Center asked the long-time board member to chair their signature event, she couldn’t say no.

“I’m a single mom with a 7-yearold and I run my own consulting company—it’s hard for me to break in the middle of the day for a luncheon,” O’Neil humbly says. “But because the [RUSH University] Medical Center has played such an important part in my life, I really wanted to do this for them. I was honored to be asked.”

O’Neil’s story with RUSH University Medical Center began when she was 19 years old. Alone at a doctor’s appointment at another medical institution, she was told that she had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I hadn’t felt well for a long time and the doctor just kind of blurted this out to me,” O’Neil says. “I was so naïve then, thinking ‘non’ meant nothing. Later that day when I told my mom what the doctor said, I remember her just going pale. She couldn’t believe a doctor could give me this news without having one of my parents with me. She had a friend whose husband was on the Board at RUSH at the time, and he was able to get me an appointment with a doctor the next day.” Thankfully, that doctor at RUSH revised the diagnosis to a bacterial cyst and O’Neil was better in 10 days.

“That experience changed me forever,” she says.

After graduating from Lake Forest College, O’Neil launched her career in education as a teacher on Chicago’s West Side. She had a passion for helping children in underserved communities. Coincidentally, her school was located in a neighborhood served by RUSH and The Woman’s Board’s outreach programming.

“I would have my students tell me from time to time that their uncle was at RUSH or they had a grandma at RUSH,” she says. “It wasn’t lost on me that I still had this connection to the medical center.”

It wasn’t long before O’Neil moved across the country. She pursued a master’s in education from the University of San Francisco and again worked with children in underserved urban schools, putting her ideals into action and working tirelessly to make the lives of her students better. She then felt a pull back to Chicago where she unveiled her own consulting organization—EDNav Consulting. Under this umbrella, she works with students who struggle with learning differences and challenges as an educational therapist. It was also about this time that O’Neil joined The Woman’s Board of RUSH University Medical Center.

The Woman’s Board of RUSH University Medical Center itself is one of the oldest hospital women’s boards in the country, dating back to 1884. It is made up of more than 200 dedicated women from Chicago and its surrounding suburbs who are asked to volunteer their time and talents. The Woman’s Board has three major fundraising initiatives: the Spring Luncheon, the Fall Benefit, and the Annual Appeal. The Woman’s Board also has three gift shops that they operate at RUSH University Medical Center in Chicago.

This year, the board is hosting the 29th Annual Spring Luncheon on Monday, May 6, at the Four Seasons in Chicago, featuring a conversation with actress, model, author, and entrepreneur, Brooke Shields. Shields started her career at 11-months-old, when she was selected as the Ivory Snow baby. In the time since, she has starred in critically acclaimed films and television series, has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines, and has published several best-selling books. Her latest entrepreneurial project “Commence” inspires women over 40 to live their best lives with beauty and wellness products developed for the challenges that arise during this period.

Every year, The Woman’s Board raises funds for a high priority project at RUSH University Medical Center. They accept grant applications from various areas across the medical center and the board selects the ones where they feel there is the most need or can make the biggest impact. Funds raised this year will support The Woman’s Board Endowed Fund for Research and Clinical Trials at RUSH.

“When I learned what we were raising money for this year, I had another one of those moments where I was like it’s funny how the universe works,” O’Neil says. “When my dad was sick a few years ago, I wanted him to get another opinion. I took him to see a doctor in RUSH’s neurology department and they had a diagnosis for him within two hours. Within a week, they had him enrolled in a clinical trial. It’s crazy to me that just a few years later, I’m chairing a benefit that is raising important funding for trials like the one my dad was lucky to be a part of. It turns out I can be a lady who lunches after all.”

To purchase tickets to the spring luncheon or to learn more about The Woman’s Board of RUSH University Medical Center, visit thewomansboard.org.