Meet Our Team
Edward K. Mensah
Dr. Edward Mensah is an Associate Professor of Health Economics and Public Health Informatics at the Health Policy and Administration Division at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.
He is the Director of the Public Health Informatics Program at the School of Public Health and the founding editor of the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, a member of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs Task Force on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a Visiting Professor at the Department of Business Economics at the University of Lille (France), and an External Examiner at The University of Cape Coast (Ghana).
He has served as a Subject Matter Expert in value-driven investments in health IT at the Center for Global Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a systems analyst at Argonne National Laboratory.
Mensah received his PhD in economics from Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa, and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Chicago, focusing on health economics and technology evaluation. He holds an MPhil degree from The University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a BSc from The University of Ghana, Legon.
Thomas Laue
Tom Laue reported, wrote and edited stories for United Press International and the Associated Press in Illinois and Kentucky. He was also the chief communications officer for Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Illinois Housing Development Authority. He taught journalism at Columbia College Chicago and holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. For 14 years, he edited a five-state publication for Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare customers serving 650,000 people. Everybody says Laue hosts the greatest poker games ever.
Elizabeth Mensah
Elizabeth Mensah is a student at the University of Southern California majoring in creative writing and literature. She graduated from Joffrey Ballet and worked as a professional ballerina at the Ballet Memphis for 7 years, where she also served as the director of the ballet company's community outreach program. She is a producer for Informatics LifeLine.
Kevin G. Croke
Dr. Croke is a professor emeritus at the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Previously he was associate dean of the School, professor in the Division of Health Policy and Administration and research associate at Argonne National Laboratory. He is a licensed patent attorney in the state of Illinois. Dr. Croke holds a doctorate degree in engineering from Northwestern University and a law degree from John Marshall School of Law.
Susan K. Laue
Susan K. Laue is a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune, North Shore Watch, Crain's Chicago Business/City & State, United Press International, the Springfield Journal and Bloomington Pantagraph newspapers. She also owns Media Masters Inc., a firm of consultants specializing in communication, marketing, community & media relations and strategic planning in the fields of education, public health, transportation and environmental justice. Sue was an instructor at Columbia College Chicago for Columbia Links, a leadership and journalism program for Chicago high school students to learn news literacy, reporting and communication skills, giving voice to their concerns growing up in inner-city neighborhoods.
Matt Landt
Content Manager and webmaster for Informatics LifeLine. Matt also works as the lead application developer for Public Health & Safety, Inc. of Chicago in their efforts to modernize and revolutionize the field of home and building inspections. Matt holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), specializing in Socio-Technical Data Analytics.
Orleana Peneff
Orleana is a fourth year undergraduate at Bryn Mawr College, majoring in psychology. After graduation, he will pursue a graduate degree in criminal justice and criminology. He acts as an intern for Informatics LifeLine.
Nicholas J. Peneff
Dr. Peneff is both a Board-Certified Industrial Hygienist and a Board-Certified Safety Professional and is also a Doctor of Public Health. His 29 years of experience includes performing and overseeing hundreds of projects involving indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, mold, bacteria, noise, ambient air quality, silica, diesel exhaust, radon, mercury, drinking water quality, building ventilation, contaminant exposure monitoring as well as performing OSHA training, safety audits, environmental assessments, and abatement designs. His experience includes working with both public and private clients as well as regulatory and legal authorities. His practice focuses on the assessment of worker safety, personal protection, and impacts due to construction activities as well as the development of administrative and engineering controls to eliminate unsafe working conditions and unacceptable public health and environmental impacts.