Meet the Team

Laura Fry (she/they) is the Executive Director, overseeing the implementation of Live4Lali’s services and outreach team. In long-term recovery from mental health, substance use, and trauma, Laura brings a unique and informed lens. She also has a son in long-term recovery from an opioid use disorder. With more than two decades in the health field and a specialization in emergency medicine, Laura has been responding to overdoses and working with people impacted by addiction for years. Laura’s professional and personal experiences helped develop the comprehensive and compassionate approach Live4Lali embodies to serve people with substance use disorders and their loved ones.

Jody Daitchman is the co-founder of Live4Lali, established with her family in early 2009 after the accidental overdose death of her son, Alex Laliberte, in December of 2008.

Six years ago, Jody started the “Angel Moms” group. The group began with a handful of moms and currently has over 200 beautiful moms who have all lost a child or in some cases, more than one child to a substance-related passing. Before Covid, they got together monthly for a gathering and hopes to get back to that soon. She also facilitates the grief group that meets twice a month.

In her spare time, Jody loves to read, travel, spend time with her family – including her amazing 18 month old grandson, Luke Alex, her dog Lacy and lifelong friends. Jody loves to meet new people, give back to the community, attend spiritual events and work out.

Helping individuals and families with mental health and substance use challenges and guiding communities in addressing these issues is Chelsea’s passion. Chelsea graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago with a B.A. in Integrated Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations. Since graduating, she has developed digital and print marketing campaigns in real estate and healthcare industries with her core skill set in the digital advertising world. She is now a Master of Science in Social Administration through Case Western Reserve University’s online graduate program. Chelsea practices as a mental health counselor with Chief Operating Officer for Wolfpack Therapy. Chelsea lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Matt, and their son and dog, Sam. She loves spending time with family and friends, is a music and film lover, creative writer, culturally-obsessed travel nerd, and shameless foodie. 

Scott Meno (he/him) is the Director of Operations and responsible for leading Live4Lali’s programming and financial performance.  With over 20 years of business experience in audit, finance, sales and accounting, he provides wide professional perspective in management and organizational growth.  He has a degree in Business Administration and MBA from Illinois State University.  Scott also manages and coaches a Warren Wave travel softball team and is originally from Maui.  He resides in Gurnee with his wife and four children.

Alex Mathiesen (He/Him) is Live4Lali’s Director of Programs and oversees all programming efforts. He was a volunteer for Live4Lali before accepting a paid position. Alex also volunteers his time doing large scale harm reduction focused efforts at events across the country. Alex is in recovery from an opioid use disorder, and his experiences from the disease of addiction help give personal insight on the best ways to assist those with a substance use disorder or experiencing active use, their loved ones, and the community at large. When not working, Alex can be found with his daughter, friends, a guitar, exploring nature, and canoeing.

Luis (he/him) comes from Waukegan, IL, and is a person in long term recovery who battled substance use disorder, incarceration, gang involvement, and continues to live with health complications as a result of his substance use. He comes from a Hispanic heritage and is fluent in both Spanish and English. He has a passion for helping people who are struggling with substance use and finds fulfillment in service-based work. His prior experience includes outreach work with Cease Fire, a Chicago-based violence prevention program and at PADS working with individuals who are chronically homeless.  Luis enjoys spending time with his family and exercising in his free time.

Laurie (she/her) joined Live4Lali in 2016 after meeting Chelsea (our Co-Founder) through mutual friends. Her vision was infectious, one that mirrored Laurie’s. Around the same time, Laurie became a Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC). Wanting to learn everything she could, she started volunteering with Live4Lali and became a SMART Recovery facilitator. Currently, Laurie runs two meetings per week and serves as an Overdose Education & Naloxone Distribution (OEND) trainer to equip community members with naloxone. Laurie is passionate about teaching harm reduction and bringing awareness to others about how to reduce the stigma of addiction. She is now the Volunteer Coordinator, helping to make sure all our bases are covered.

 Laurie is grateful to be part of such a wonderful organization. To be able to work with such purposeful, sympathetic, and amazing people is a dream come true. In her free time, Laurie likes to spend time with her family, cook for friends and family, workout, and playing with her two grandchildren.

Michelle joined the team in August 2018 to assist leadership and program management with all financial and bookkeeping needs. Michelle also works with the Liberty Prairie Foundation and is a member of the Warren Township Girl’s Softball organization’s board. She resides in Gurnee with her husband and their four children.

Stefanie Gattone (she/her) is our McHenry County Program Manager here at Live4Lali. She has a passion for helping others, especially with things she has personal experience with. She got her Associate’s Degree majoring in Social Work from College of Lake County with plans to finish with her Master’s Degree. Her kids are getting older, so she is ready to start working towards her goals again- making a difference in her community and other’s lives. She has battled with Substance Use Disorder since she was young and now is a person in long term recovery with over a decade free from the use of drugs and alcohol. She has also lost many people she loved to overdoses. She is so excited and passionate about this work and is driven to help where she can. When she is not working, she is spending time with her family, hanging with friends, enjoying nature, or being active.

Karen (she/her) is a  Outreach Coordinator for Lake County, and is a person in long-term recovery. Her greatest passion in life is to love each person she meets as they are, where they are, and for who they are inside. Karen values the respect and dignity of each individual and was deeply moved by Live4Lali’s approach to recovery, which prioritizes hope and healing over perfection and abstinence. Having her perspective changed by Live4Lali’s focus on harm reduction, she now recognizes its life-saving potential for those struggling with substance use. Karen is incredibly grateful to serve in her role and is dedicated to helping others find hope and healing in their journeys towards recovery.

Charlie is one of our McHenry County Outreach Coordinators and started working in the substance use/mental health field following his own recovery from substances. He is passionate about helping others. He is excited to be able to assist in many different ways including peer support, treatment navigation, advocacy and trying to give hope to those who may be struggling or just trying to make any positive change in their lives. Charlie also spends time volunteering with other non-profit organizations throughout McHenry County. While not working or doing volunteer work, he enjoys spending time with his family, animals, gardening, riding bikes and attending concerts.

Camille Cleveland (she/her) is the Program Manager for the Northwest region of Live4Lali’s service area. Camille received a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Child Advocacy studies and a Masters in Public Health Administration and Policy. She is passionate about helping people and has focused a lot of her time professionally working in community health and infectious diseases. Camille loves healthy policy, focusing on health equity and improving health outcomes. She believes everyone deserves quality healthcare and access to it. Camille is an avid baker and crafter who loves spending time with her friends and family as much as she can.

Cody Puch (he/him) is the Harm Reduction Project Manager for Cook County. His passion for harm reduction comes from over a decade in the music/festival community where he witnessed a lot of unsafe substance use, as well as a personal connection to many individuals with substance use disorders, several of whom are no longer with us. After being unsatisfied in labor-intensive jobs, he decided to follow his true calling of helping others and do so through harm reduction. He is dedicated to helping those who use substances in all contexts be more prepared and educated and to use safely to minimize the consequences due to our current drug landscape. Currently, he lives in Mchenry with his wife and four cats.

Teagan Ferraresi (she/her) is an Outreach Coordinator in McHenry County. With personal experience with Substance Use Disorder, her desire to make a change locally brought her to Live4Lali. After volunteering for a year, she joined the team as a SMART Recovery Facilitator and Overdose Education & Naloxone Distribution (OEND) trainer. She’s a fierce believer in harm reduction and destigmatization through community education, and is passionate about helping others with anything from peer support to treatment navigation. When not working you can find her at home with a book or wandering the forest with her son.

Odalys Landa (she/her) serves as the Outreach Coordinator for DuPage County, diligently working in the fields of mental health and recovery since 2018. She has witnessed the transformative power of community in fostering positive change. Odalys is currently completing her Associate in Arts at McHenry Community College, with plans to pursue her studies in Gender and Women’s Studies at UIC in the future. Deeply compassionate towards those in need and marginalized groups, Odalys is fluent in both Spanish and English and is a proud recipient of DACA. When not dedicating her time to helping others, she enjoys indulging in reading and exploring her creative side through crafting.

Will Crandall (he/him) is the Program Manager for Winnebago/ Boone Counties, overseeing the implementation of Live4Lali’s services and outreach at our new Rockford office. In long-term recovery from mental health, substance use, and trauma, Will brings a new perspective entirely his own. He has experience with using substances, jail/prison, and recovery, as well as working previously at a local hospital on a wide range of levels. From working with those waking up after an overdose, coordinating and educating medical staff, navigating treatment options, helping and educating families, to finding the safest place for someone to sleep, there is not much that will shock Will.

Patrick Slocum (He/Him) is an Outreach Coordinator and Harm Reduction Coordinator with the McHenry County team.  He is in recovery from substance use disorder.  He was a volunteer worker then was offered a position to join the team.  He enjoys helping people and sharing his life experience to help others make better decisions.  He enjoys cooking and gardening as his hobbies.

Larissa Walston (she/her) is a Harm Reduction Coordinator with the Winnebago/Boone County team. Rockford native and local advocate, Larissa is intricately familiar with the adversity in her community. As a kid, she always imagined herself going into social work, showcasing her long-standing instinct to help those in need. Radicalized by her military service, and proximity to harm inflicted by dehumanization and stigma, she spent the COVID pandemic fighting for social justice, and against racial discrimination. Friends and loved ones would describe her as kind, empathetic, loving and passionate about tending to others. She loves to sing and create art and has an innate ability to see the beauty in everyone and everything.

John  went from a crack house as a user and seller to Oxford University in his pursuit of a
Masters of Public Health. He has been in long-term recovery for over 20 years. Through his time
in recovery, he has been unhoused numerous times, including living in a van at a skatepark,
couch-surfing punk houses, storage sheds, and a boiler room at Rock Valley College. Over a
dozen of John’s friends and family have been buried due to overdosing or committing suicide
while under the influence of some substance. He hopes to use his education and life experience
to help guide others through their recovery journey and encourage them to chase the goals and
dreams they once thought were out of reach.

Anna Ippolito (She/her) is Live4Lali’s Program Manager for Cook County suburbs. She is a Certified Recovery Coach, Peer Recovery Support Specialist and currently finishing her Associates’ Degree for Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Anna has been working in the substance abuse disorder industry for over six years. Anna has volunteered for Live4Lali for several years and has accepted a paid position with Live4Lali. She has a passion for helping individuals with substance use disorders and brings with her vast knowledge and experience in the field. She lost her husband, Michael, in 2018 to a fentanyl heroin overdose and her brother, Joey, to substance use disorder in 2019.
She also is a Certified Reiki Practitioner and provides reiki sessions for those in emotional and physical distress. She is also an Ordained Minister (non-denominational) and loves officiating weddings. When not working, Anna can spend time with her family, pet family, and friends.

Danielle Franzese

Danielle (she/her) has been involved with Live4Lali from the very beginning following the accidental overdose death of her brother, Alex ‘Lali’ Laliberte. She believes passion drives individuals and organizations to empower people, transform communities, and advocate effectively. Her career spans the spectrum of addiction, including youth prevention, supporting active users, assisting those in recovery, and helping their friends and family.

Danielle holds a BA in International Relations and an MBA. She is also a certified Overdose Education & Naloxone Distribution (OEND) trainer and SMART Recovery Facilitator.

Outside of work, Danielle enjoys spending time with her pets, reading in a hammock, painting, and working in the woodshop with her husband.

Gisela (she/her) is a harm reduction outreach coordinator for Cook County; She is driven to help reach as many people as possible. She watched her fiance (her daughters father) loose himself to an addiction and understands the hard the road to recovery is, unfortunately he is no longer with us and because of her personal experience she is determined to help anyone she can in honor of her loved one. She resides on the north side of Chicago with her 2 children In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, trying new food, or going to the gym.