2021-2022 Annual Report, click here to download.

Illinois Lawyers' Assistance Program

Staff

Http://www.warmowskiphoto.com
Dr. Diana Uchiyama, JD, PsyD, CAADC
Executive Director

Dr. Diana Uchiyama joined LAP in 2018. Prior to joining LAP, she was the Administrator of Psychological Services for DuPage County where she oversaw a DASA licensed substance use treatment program, including a MISA program, and DHS Domestic Batterer Intervention Program for a court mandated population of clients. Dr. Uchiyama has also worked for the Kane County Diagnostic Center, as both a Staff Psychologist and Juvenile Drug Court Coordinator, and has an extensive background doing court ordered psychological, sanity, fitness, and sex offender evaluations and therapy. She has implemented numerous changes to court ordered programs both in Kane and DuPage County and is a certified trauma informed care trainer. Prior to obtaining her masters and doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Uchiyama was an Assistant Public Defender in Cook County working in various felony courtrooms at 26th and California. She obtained her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. [email protected]

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Tony Pacione, LCSW, CSADC
Deputy Director

Tony Pacione joined the LAP staff in 2013 and became LAP’s clinical director in January 2014. Tony has worked as a clinician and program director in the addiction and behavioral health field — at Humana-Michael Reese HMO, Rush University Medical Center, the Advocate Addiction Treatment Program, and Harborview Recovery Center. Tony is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Illinois and a Certified Supervisor Addiction Counselor. He holds a Master of Social Work and a Master of Arts in Education degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. [email protected]

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Joe Scally, MA, JD
Clinical Director

Joe Scally is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a B.A. from the Program of Liberal Studies. He holds a J.D. from the University of Illinois Law School and an M.A. in clinical psychology from DePaul University. He completed an internship in clinical psychology at the Institute for Juvenile Research, Department of Psychiatry, UIC. Joe also did postgraduate study at the Family Systems Program, Institute for Juvenile Research, UIC. As a lawyer, Joe has practiced in Illinois for many years, most recently for the past eight years at The Child and Family Law Center.

As a clinician, Joe has been on staff at the DePaul Community Mental Health Center, the Parenting Assessment Team at UIC, the ASSETS clinic at University of Chicago Hospital, and St. Raymond’s Psychological Services. Joe served as clinical co-director of the Clinical Evaluation and Services Initiative (CESI), a joint project of Northwestern University Law School and the U. of Chicago Hospital. CESI was based in the Juvenile Court of Cook County at the invitation of the Chief Judge with funding by the MacArthur Foundation. The multi-year project examined how mental health information was obtained and utilized in the court and made suggestions for reform. Joe has taught graduate courses in Mental Health Law, Ethics, and Assessment at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. [email protected]

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Carol Ramski
Carol Ramski, MBA
Accounting Manager

Carol Ramski joined the LAP staff in 2020. Prior to joining LAP, she worked as an Accounting Manager at Amita Health supporting the Addiction Services Programs through month-end, financial reporting and analysis, budgeting, and system support. Carol earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Master of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from DePaul University. [email protected]

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Sofia Sinnokrot
Sofia Sinnokrot
Outreach / CLE Coordinator

Sofia Sinnokrot joined the LAP staff in 2023 after being a student intern in 2018 and 2019. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2021 with a major in Global Studies and a minor in Arabic. While at UIUC, Sofia served as a student senator for the Illinois Student Government, as well as the Urbana-Champaign Senate where she was elected as an Undergraduate Representative for the Senate Executive Committee. Sofia additionally served as a member of the Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as the Sexual Assault Prevention Department. After graduation, Sofia took her fellowship money and went off to see the world: relocating to Istanbul and traveling as often as possible. While living abroad, she began to work in social media management and digital marketing.

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Nneka Ugwu
Nneka Ugwu
Law Student Intern

Nneka Ugwu joined the LAP team in Spring 2022. She is a rising 2L student at Loyola University Chicago. Nneka grew up in Northern Virginia and attended Amherst College (‘16) where she double majored in Black Studies and French. After Amherst, Nneka moved to Chicago as a Teach for America corps member. While teaching high school English in Bronzeville, she also earned her master’s in Special Education from Dominican University (’18). After the classroom, Nneka worked as a Learning and Development Coordinator at a local educational tech startup.

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