Meet the Team
Rioghna Pittock
Rioghna is a second year at the University of Chicago and founder and CEO of Step Up to SIT. She has always been passionate about public health policy and community activism and was the president of her high school’s H.O.P.E. club (Health Organization for the Purpose of Education) and Honor Society, a representative on her Student Government, and participated in a research mentorship at Mayo Clinic. She has two younger brothers and came up with the idea for Step Up to SIT while talking with her parents about how difficult the COVID-19 disruptions would be to healthcare workers without older children to watch their younger children. Rioghna is deeply committed to empowering her peers to do their part to keep Rochester running, especially as part of a demographic largely unaffected by the virus.
Alexander Dean
Alexander Dean is a graduate of the University of Chicago with a double major in computer science and economics and a specialization in computer security, and Alexander runs Operations for Step Up to SIT. He's so happy that he has a way to apply his passions to a project that is making a difference for communities across America. He got involved after being inspired by the steps that people within his local community, as well as his friends (like Hannah) were taking to help others around them. Alex’s contributions to Step up to SIT include projects like our marketing and outreach, the website, and anything else he can do to support this incredible cause.
Hannah Pittock
Hannah is a graduate of the University of Chicago with a double major in economics and political science and co-founder of Step Up to SIT. Hannah takes huge pride in the Mayo Clinic mission and tradition of service and her Rochester community and is excited to apply her expertise in business and marketing to meet a real need. Hannah appreciates the value of Mayo Clinic’s leadership as a health institution and is ready to do her part to ensure that our nation’s health personnel can focus on their vitally important jobs at this time. After her spring break trip was cancelled and senior classes moved online, Hannah built Step Up to SIT’s online infrastructure on the drive back to Minnesota from Chicago!
Jordan Wages
Jordan Wages is a graduate of the University of Louisville Speed School of Engineering with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering (2009). He is excited to help support healthcare and other essential workers on the front lines by being involved with data processing for Step Up to SIT. Jordan built out Step Up to SIT’s matching capabilities, enabling the program to expand its scale to other American cities. He is passionate about infectious diseases, epidemiology, and infection control, inspired by his wife, Elizabeth, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist in Rochester, Minnesota.
Meet Our Ambassadors
Katie DeLong - Chicago, IL
Katie DeLong is a third-year at the University of Chicago majoring in Biological Sciences. She volunteers locally through the Neighborhood Schools Program and in UChicago Hospital’s Adult Emergency Department, and is excited to help provide some relief for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. To get in touch with Katie, send an email to chicago@stepuptosit.com
Seoho Lee - New York, NY
Seoho is a third-year at the University of Chicago majoring in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Cancer Biology. She has been volunteering at UChicago Hospital’s Comprehensive Cancer Center for the past 2 years and is passionate about healthcare and policy. She is very excited to become a part of the Step Up to SIT team and take on the role as New York City’s Ambassador! Through this role, she hopes to be able to provide some support for healthcare and other essential workers during the COVID-19 crisis. To get in touch with Seoho, send an email to newyork@stepuptosit.com
Gabi Friedman - Summit, NJ
Gabi is a senior at the University of Chicago, studying Chemistry. She is the oldest of four, and has been babysitting as long as she can remember. She’s spent three summers as a day camp counselor, and has a lot of experience working with kids and young adults with special needs. Gabi knows how crucial healthcare workers in NJ are to keeping all of our communities healthy and strong and looks forward to working with Step Up to SIT to help meet the needs of the workers and their families. To contact summitnj@stepuptosit.com
Mia Birkelund - Bay Area, CA
Mia is a junior at Aragon High School with a hopeful future in medicine and a long past of child care. Although finding a calling in physics, Mia spends most of her time working with younger students to better their education. She is elated to be a Bay Area ambassador and help the healthcare workers that are working tirelessly to help us. To contact Mia, send and email to bayarea@stepuptosit.com
Christina Davidson - Shiprock, NM
Christina completed her undergraduate work at the University of Alabama, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology in addition to winning two national championships with the Crimson Tide Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. She went on to pursue medical school in her home state of New Mexico, and graduated Pediatric Residency in 2019 from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Her and her husband now work as pediatric physicians on the Navajo Nation in Shiprock, New Mexico. Christina loves audiobooks, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and helping her medically complex patients and their families live their best life!
Julia Hussian - Twin Cities, MN
Julia Hussian is a senior at St.Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota majoring in Social Work with career focuses in global and public health. She has experience volunteering in a number of clinical settings, both locally and internationally, and has a diverse background working with youth and adolescents to address social and behavioral health concerns. She is excited to become a part of the Step Up to SIT team and take on the role as Twin Cities Ambassador during the COVID-19 health crisis. To get in touch with Julia, send her an email at twincities@stepuptosit.com
Ege Yalcindag - Boston, MA
Ege is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Chicago studying biology and French who hopes to attend medical school after college. When she is not working in her lab or cuddling newborns at UChicago Medicine, she can be found singing with her a cappella group, painting, drinking tea or tutoring her peers. As the daughter of two physicians herself, she is passionate about helping out the families of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to her by sending an email to boston@stepuptosit.com
Katherine Srail - Des Moines, IA
Katherine is a sophomore at the University of Iowa majoring in Spanish with a minor in Chemistry on the pre-medicine track. She is excited to help healthcare workers in these challenging times and has a special interest in matching children who speak English as a second language with students who speak those languages. She studied abroad in Spain and Chile, volunteers in healthcare settings, and answers the Johnson County Crisis Line, a local suicide helpline. To contact Katherine, email desmoines@stepuptosit.com
Samantha Guzman - Los Angeles, CA
Samantha is a junior at Palisades Charter High School who is dedicated to creating a positive impact within her community. She is a member of the PCHS color guard and she is very passionate about the activity. She is planning on majoring in Spanish and minoring in Latin American Studies. She is excited to help the essential workers that are needed during these challenging times! Samantha has been assisting her mother, who is a nanny, for years and has a lot of experience with children. She is of Latin American decent and speaks fluent Spanish. To contact Samantha, email stepuptosit.LA@gmail.com
Ada Glaser - Baltimore, MD
Ada Glaser is a sophomore at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore Maryland. She is hoping to go into a profession where she can help kids and families succeed. When she heard about Step Up to SIT, she knew she wanted to be a part of it! She has a lot of experience working with all age groups through volunteering at her church’s childrens’ and students’ ministries and helping out with her family where she is the oldest of six. She is very excited to be joining the team and is looking forward to easing some of the burdens parents are carrying right now as well as help students become involved. To contact Ada, email stepuptosit.baltimore@gmail.com