03/06/2026
Congratulations to Michele Rubin, MSN, and Robert Reiss, MD, recipients of the Rosenthal Award for Catalyzing Improved Patient Care & Support and the Modell Award for Catalyzing Mission Advancement at our 2026 Volunteer Leadership Summit. Rubin is an advanced practice nurse and Associate APN Director of the IBD Center at the University of Chicago Medicine, where she specializes in IBD surgery, helped create a J-pouch–specific clinic, and helps shape the Foundation’s patient and professional education programs. Twenty-nine years ago, when two of his three children were diagnosed with IBD, Dr. Reiss turned his family’s experience into action, growing his Take Steps fundraising from $4,300 at his first walk in 1996 to surpassing the $1,000,000 milestone through sustained, relationship-driven volunteer leadership. Because of volunteers like Rubin and Dr. Reiss, we have been responsible for every major breakthrough in IBD.
